Sixth grade is a funky year for most kids. It is a transitional year from childhood into
the first blush of the teenage years.
Sixth graders are going through a hormonal obstacle course
on the inside. Some are changing drastically
on the outside, others aren’t changing at all and everyone is noticing. All sorts of things that never bothered them
before become of paramount importance.
For some, their arms and legs outgrow the rest of their
bodies, leaving them awkward and clumsy.
Girls tend to sprout up, often leaving many of the boys behind for a
couple of years. Everybody starts
developing towards full maturity and the blessings and curses of that tend to
make pretty much everyone wish they were in someone else’s body.
This is the year some parents notice that their child is
getting a bit more ‘sassy’. These tweens
need more space and less space and they vacillate between young people and
children.
Their friends change as well. Many become concerned about being ‘cool’, not
fitting in properly and what their peers think about everything. Their friendships often change and they start
finding a niche where they can fit. Some
kids don’t go through any of this at all and remain untouched by such concerns
until they are older. All and all, it
can be a maddening year.
I’ve often said that sixth graders do not belong with
elementary kids and they have no place as of yet with the seventh and eighth
graders. In fact, most of them should be
buried beneath the school. The good news
is they only stay sixth graders for one year.
What on earth do you tell this transitional, morphing group
of people? Most think they are too old
for stories and the stuff they think they want to hear is way too old for them.
The answer, for me, is push the boundaries just a bit.
The set I offer for sixth grade is called ‘Hormonal Boys and
Hyena Girls’. It goes into the crazy
stuff that happens behind the scenes in sixth grade, from the boys who think it
is funny to hurt each other and don’t seem to understand how their rough play
turns into an actual fight, to the girls who end up crying in the bathroom
because somebody didn’t like their haircut.
The kids are always amazed I know what they are dealing with. It never occurs to any of them that we old
folks really were in sixth grade once upon a time.
This is the first group I tell really scary ghost
stories. The caveat being that I gauge
the students who seem to be the most freaked out and I ease back a bit so that
things don’t get too scary. Why do I
tell these kids really scary stories?
This is the first age where none of them will be willing to admit to
their parents they are scared. This
means no aggrieved parents are going to call the school and complain. Besides, they like these stories.
The second category of stories I tell to this group falls
under the heading of gory and cerebral.
Morgan and the Pot of Brains is a good example of this. A kid who is picked on until he shuts down
completely goes on a lifelong quest to achieve his brains by cutting out the
hearts of the things he loves best in the world. It turns out all right, but the very graphic,
funny, sad and interesting twist to the ending is right up the alley for these
emerging people.
The Debate in Sign Language is also a favorite of this
group.
Once I lead them through a really dark story, I can tell
them fun folktales and they love it.
They don’t even remember they are too old for stories. The truth is this group will love anything as
long as you package it right, but going at them through the truths of who they
are is also a good way to get them to reflect, even if only cursorily, on their
own situation.
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