Students in late elementary, middle school and high school have to spend a lot of time and energy on social issues, matters that have very little to do with actual schoolwork or jobs. Middle school can be especially rough socially… Middle school students are right in the thick of the social struggle. This is a time when all kids have to think hard about who they are and how they fit in. It is a time when everyone is developing the part of his or her life that takes place outside of the family and outside of the classroom. This is also a time when kids can be pretty mean to each other, when they keep testing and sometimes teasing each other, and when they decide which kids to include and which ones will get excluded by various social groups. It can be very rough and painful, so it is especially Important for middle school students to understand what is going on and to have some insight into their own social cognition and how it is working for or against them…Five social categories in school are: popular kids, fairly likeable kids, mostly hidden kids, controversial kids, and rejected kids.
Challenge:
Get students to write a paper on the social categories above.
Excerpt from Jarvis Clutch – Social Spy, Dr. Mel Levine and Jarvis Clutch.