Transitioning from 8th to 9th Grade (Part 1)

At Tutor Associates, we don’t want our students or their parents to face any surprises.  The jump from 8th grade to 9th is a big one!

For some students it may mean changing schools.  Even if this is not the case for your child, the jump from 8th to 9th means that teachers raise the bar on the quality of work that they expect to receive.  We’d like to share with you some tips and tricks to help make this transition a smooth and happy one.

Don't Cram Summer Reading into August!

Okay - so spending the summer reading The Great Books isn't at the top anyone's 'fun list'.  It isn't surprising that many students wait until August to tackle their summer reading. What they don't realize is that high schools expect students to read multiple books (often one for English and one for History) and to come prepared on the first day to discuss and analyze these texts. Teachers will expect analysis to be deeper and more thorough than what had been expected in 8th grade. Essays, either in-class or take-home, will follow the completion of books more quickly than before. However, students can avoid being unprepared by purchasing the books in June and planning their reading based on length and difficulty level ahead of time. Having chapter goals for each week helps keep things on track. Students should make sure to read with pen-in-hand, with the goal of finding patterns as they read.

Continue reading part II of this series here.