This page includes:

 

1.  A How-To Guide for Making Friends in Middle School

2.  Top-Ten Social Skills Kids Need to Succeed

 

“How to Make Friends in Middle School”

 

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

 

Step1

Show someone else a bit of kindness. The first step to making new friends in middle school is to get out and be the kind of friend you'd like to meet. When you see another new student struggling in some way, break the ice by offering a smile and some encouragement.

 

Step2

Keep a positive attitude. When your day isn't going your way, don't let it affect your whole outlook or take it too seriously. Other people will be drawn to your ability to laugh off little setbacks.

 

Step3

Nurture your talents and interests. Make friends with people you have something in common with. Sign up for extracurricular activities and you'll find kids who like what you like.

 

Step4

Introduce yourself. It's probably the hardest thing to do if you worry about rejection, but you'll never know whether that person sitting next to you in the assembly could be your new best friend if you don't say "Hi."

 

Step5

Enlist the help of your friends from elementary school. Just like you, they're in new classes with new people. Introduce each other to the kids you're meeting in class and after school, and you'll have a larger group of people to pal around with.

 

Step6

Invite someone over after school. Ask that kid from math class to hang out and stay for pizza. It's a great way to get to know each other outside the pressures of the school setting.

 

 

Tips & Warnings

• Keep up your self-confidence even if you don't click with every kid you meet. You won't be friends with everyone in middle school.
• Plan things to do with your old friends and new friends on the weekends so that you can spend more relaxed time together.
• Don't forget your old elementary school friends just because you're making new friends. They might not be having as easy a time as you at meeting new people.

 

(taken from eHow Relationships and Family Editor; http://www.ehow.com/how_2258653_make-friends-middle-school.html)

 

 

“Top Ten Social Skills”

 

Good manners and basic social skills such as taking turns can be just as important to kids’ success in school as a focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic.  In the book The Social Skills Improvement System—Classwide Intervention Program, Authors Frank Gresham and Stephen Elliott discuss the top 10 skills that students need to succeed based on the authors’ survey of more than 8,000 teachers. 

 

The top ten skills:

 

1.      Listen to others

2.      Follow the steps

3.      Follow the rules

4.      Ignore distractions

5.      Ask for help

6.      Take turns when you talk

7.      Get along with others

8.      Stay calm with others

9.      Be responsible for your behavior

10. Do nice things for others