Seventh - Eigth Grade
Developmental Characteristics
Physical
May appear awkward as result of rapid physical growth
Experiencing the beginning of puberty
Differ greatly in rate of maturation
Need to become familiar with changing body with strong drives
Tend to tire easily
Have a high activity level and appetite
Enjoy cooperative games and competitive sports
Social Emotional
Sensitive to their appearance
Establishing a personal moral code
Unsure of their place in society
Depend on their peer group to develop identity
Critical of their parents and home
May adopt extremes and fads in clothing, speech, handwriting, and mannerisms
Form close one-on-one friendships
Enjoy small, peer-dominated group discussions
Have a strong desire to assert individuality and independence
Cognitive
Capable of high level of abstract thought
Beginning to think about their future life roles
Need time and freedom to engage in self-reflection
Are able to postpone gratification
Can plan ahead and organize tasks with little or no guidance from adults
Beginning to develop views about social issues
Strengths Circle
Students sit in a circle and take turns sharing a personal strength, with each person first repeating all the strengths named before them and then adding their own — building a growing chain of affirmations around the room.
Human Bingo
Students mingle around the room playing Human Bingo — approaching classmates to find someone who matches each square on their bingo grid, collecting their signature in that spot (one signature per person per card) — racing to be the first to fill their entire card and call "BINGO!"
The I Wonder Ball
Students play "No, No, No…THIS Is What Happened" in a circle — each person creatively replacing the previous person's silly excuse with their own — then toss a numbered ball around the room, answering increasingly personal reflection questions (across three levels) based on whichever number their right thumb lands on when they catch it.
What is it?
Students take turns drawing one puzzle piece at a time from a mystery bag, guessing what the full picture might be after each piece, and connecting pieces together as a group until someone figures out the image — then discuss how jumping to conclusions from limited information connects to real-life gossip and judgment.
Common Ground
Students play Common Ground — moving around the room to group themselves by shared preferences (favorite season, music taste, cat vs. dog person) and briefly connecting with classmates who made the same choice — then play Moment of Memory, listening to six words read aloud and racing to write down as many as they can remember across multiple rounds.
The Rubber Band Tower
Students play Would You Rather (moving to opposite sides of the room for each answer on relationship-themed questions), then work in small groups on the Cup Stacking Challenge — each person holds a rubber band string connected to a shared center band and the group uses it to lift and stack cups into a pile, tower, or pyramid without touching them directly.