Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS
Middle School Needs Analysis
Alexandria Sylve-Parker
Liberty University
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Social
Spiritual
Characteristics
Physical
Description
Experience rapid growth spurts. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 36)
Young adolescents experience skeletal and structural changes; accelerated growth in the
limbs, muscles, heart, and lungs. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 37)
Adolescents will experience various development rates. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 36)
Adolescents experience the onset of puberty or the development of the sexual reproductive
system. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 37)
Young adolescents make friends and interact socially. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 44)
Middle schoolers experience gender differences in their socialization patterns. (Manning &
Bucher, 2012, p. 44)
Young adolescents begin to shift their allegiance and affiliation from their parents and
teachers to the peer group that becomes the prime source for standards and behavior
modeling. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 44)
Young adolescents increasingly seek freedom and independence from adult authority and
attempt to handle social tasks and situations without adult supervision. (Manning &
Bucher, 2012, p. 44)
Young adolescents try to find meaning about their life and spirituality. (AMLE)
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS 2
Summary
Middle school is one of the most vital and important years of a developing adolescent.
During the middle school years, children are dealing with emotional and life changing situations
as they are transitioning into young adulthood. When adolescents step into this stage of life,
everything that they know about themselves is different. Teachers who are in the classroom have
watch over the kid’s souls as they morph into who they will soon become. The needs of each
student will be different which is why it is important for teachers to alter their instructional
strategies to try and meet the need of each students in this stage of life. Often times, students do
not possess the ability to express their needs while the Word of God is very true in Matthew 7:7
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
During this stage of life middle schools kids are moving from the concrete operational stage to
the formal operational stage. The chart above breaks each of these stages into four areas which
are physical, social, cognitive, and spiritual. While each student will face all of these challenges,
each student will face individual encounters of these changes, as the text stated, “teaching would
Cognitive
Young adolescents will want to explore different spiritual matters. (AMLE)
Young adolescents will try to develop connections between others and themselves.
Young adolescents will want to explore different religions rather than rely on what they
have always been told by their parents. (AMLE)
Questioning their beliefs and others. (AMLE)
Young adolescents begin to develop the ability to make reasoned moral and ethical choices.
(Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 52)
Young adolescents may question school and home rules, think about their future, and
experience diminishing egocentrism. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 52)
Young adolescents’ diversity in cognitive development results in varying levels of
intellectual growth, varying degrees of creativity, a wide range of reading abilities, and
varying attention spans. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 52)
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS3
be easy if there were no need to worry about learners’ individuality” (Manning & Butcher, 2012,
p. 27).
The chart outlined all of the changes and challenges that a middle school aged student
would go through often times on a daily basis. It is absolutely imperative that teachers constantly
keep it in their mind how much students have to go through in their mind on a daily basis and
that most adults would crack under the pressure that young adolescents face as they navigate
through this stage of life. The combination of all of the factors of hitting puberty and all other
natural occurrences can leave students in an uproar and confused. Middle schools students need
an explanation and guidance for the events that occur in life and often times, this will come from
the classroom teacher.
Physical Characteristics
On page 31 of the text, authors Manning and Butcher describe the physical changes that
both middle school students experience both on the male and female side. Young adolescents
experience skeletal and structural changes; accelerated growth in the limbs, muscles, heart, and
lungs. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 37). These changes are also the growth spurts that children
see. It is imperative that students are taught how to deal with changes in their bodies through
individual teaching methods. Role-playing is one of the best methods that is most effective for
adolescents in this stage. According to Manning and Butcher (2012) the incorporation of physical
activities aides in the accelerated growth of the body parts in which our students are experiencing
(p. 37). In combination of role-playing physical activity is a great way to promote growth but one
must implement physical activity in the correct way in the classroom as the text support by
stating until my resent research on this topic I was unaware of what a devastating effect
competition between early and late matures can have on the self-esteem of my students (p. 36).
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS4
Social Characteristics
When it comes to meeting the social needs of the students, there are two strategies that
Manning and Butcher (2012) outline which are to avoid making middle school students ever feel
guilty or uncomfortable, and ensuring that I am providing learning strategies in my classroom
where opportunities to build self-esteem are abundant (p. 44). The general idea as a teacher it is
our job to ensure that we provide a positive environment for students as we do not know what a
student may be going through in their private lives during this trying time of development. 4
Helping students build self-esteem is another intricate part of helping student get through
the social aspect of this stage of development. A good way to do this is to build a sense of
community in the classroom. Cooperative learning, for example, can be used in a variety of ways
and always enables students to learn from one another and build the esteem of their peers (Dean
et al, p. 44). Sometimes kids that age like to think that they can figure things out on their own
and do not want to have anything to do with authoritative figures who can guide them which is
why it is important to be approachable. Young adolescents increasingly seek freedom and
independence from adult authority and attempt to handle social tasks and situations without adult
supervision. (Manning & Bucher, 2012, p. 44)
Spiritual Characteristics
Teaching in a public school that is not Christian based does not mean that a teacher us not
able to relate to students and help them with this stage in their life. Being mentally available for
students to express themselves as they come to find who they are is a characteristic that an
effective teacher that would have. In the Christian walk, we are stewards of the Word and are
required to conduct ourselves as such. Each and every time a student enters the classroom, they
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS5
should leave feeling the warm embrace that they are loved and accepted. Their religious belief
nor orientation should have an impact on the way that they are treated in the classroom.
Students are able to determine when a teacher is genuine and actually cares about them
which is why it is important to approach them with a pure heart and good intentions to bring
them through this stage of their development. It is important to remember that students at that
age are going to be curious about religions and spiritual beliefs. Young adolescents will want to
explore different religions rather than rely on what they have always been told by their parents.
(AMLE)
Cognitive Characteristics
The cognitive aspect of the development is the most diverse modifications that teachers
will have to adhere by on a daily basis when teaching middle school aged students. This is
because each student has a different level of understanding than each other but a teacher needs to
be able to reach all students and deliver the content. Students at this age are going to be between
concrete and formal developmental stages. It is important to implement activities that each
student will be able to take an advantage of such as foldables or interactive note taking methods.
The Cornell note taking worksheet is a great example of this. Students are able to jot down as
many important points as they see fit during a lesson or lecture. This strategy provides a
structured format which allows students to effectively learn the note taking process in addition to
learning the content of the lesson. As mentioned earlier, cooperative learning is imperative and is
not only help with social learning but the cognitive aspect as well. If the teacher is aware of the
cognitive levels of each student, they are able to do things like group the students according to
what is most reasonable and beneficial to the students.
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS6
Graphic organizers are also another way to appeal to each of the student’s needs. Graphic
organizer used with the appropriate reading levels are both important strategies to implement to
help tend to the needs of students whilst they are in the developmental adolescent stages. This
will mean for that teacher a lot of work and preparation when it comes to lesson planning but it
will make for an effective teacher and students that will gain more for the lesson being taught.
Like mentioned earlier, teachers have watch other the souls of each of the students and to cater to
the needs of the students.
Running Head: MIDDLE SCHOOL NEEDS ANALYSIS
References
AMLE - Association for Middle Level Education. (n.d.). Developmental Characteristics of
Young Adolescents. Retrieved November 12, 2017, from
https://www.amle.org/BrowsebyTopic/WhatsNew/WNDet/TabId/270/ArtMID/888/A
rticleI D/455/Developmental-Characteristics-of-Young-Adolescents.aspx
Instructional Strategies List - Washoe County School District [PDF]. (2015). Washoe:
Community Training and Assistance Center and Washoe County School District.
Manning, M. L., & Bucher, K. T. (2012). Teaching in the Middle School. (4th ed.). Boston, MA:
Allyn & Bacon. ISBN: 9780132487351.
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