7th Grade Ready: Expert Advice to Help Parents Navigate the Year Ahead

Updated for the 2024-2025 school year!

Whether your child is entering middle school for the first time in 7th grade or has already spent a year there as a 6th grader, you'll find loads of information in 7th Grade Ready useful to you and your student. Each contributor to 7th Grade Ready is a current or former 7th grade teacher who has worked extensively with parents and families.

Beginning with how 7th grade differs from 6th and moving through preparing them for 8th grade, this book will serve as your guide. It describes what to expect in a variety of areas and what to look for as you navigate your child's physical, emotional, and academic growth.

7th Grade Ready includes:

Expert advice on a wide range of topics, from academic expectations to emotional and social development.Practical suggestions and relatable anecdotes.Conversation starters for you and your middle schooler to open new lines of communication that can continue throughout the school year.Effective strategies to balance guidance and support with encouraging self-reliance, helping parents strike the right balance.

Contributors have all been Teachers of the Year or finalists in their state or are nationally recognized educators.

7th Grade Ready is edited by Timothy M. Dove, who was the 2011 and 2012 Ohio State Teacher of the Year, where he was a 7th and 8th grade teacher. He has also been an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University. Since retirement from K-12, Tim has been a consultant with Battelle for Kids in Hong Kong, Learning Forward, the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), and the Collaboration for Effective Education, Development, Accountability and Reform (CEEDAR) Center.

Seventh grade can be a major year of change for your child. 7th Grade Ready helps you as you support your student to be the best they can be.

7th Grade Ready is one of a series of guides published by Parent Ready. Parent Ready's guides help parents navigate the milestones, challenges, and passions of their adolescent and young adult kids. More at https: //parentready.com.

Contributors include:

Dylan Huisken, 2019 Montana Teacher of the Year

Kristi Reinke, 2021 North Dakota Teacher of the Year

Joy McKarns, 2021 Ohio District Teacher of the Year and State Finalist

Joan Ebel, 2018 Nebraska Teacher of the Year finalist

Cindi Rigsbee, 2009 North Carolina Teacher of the Year

Stacey Donaldson, PhD, NBCT, 2010 Mississippi Teacher of the Year

Barbara J. Hopkins, PhD, 1988 Nebraska Teacher of the Year

Tyler Bartlett, 2015 Wyoming Teacher of the Year

Nikki Bartlett, 7th grade ELA teacher

Jamey Olney, 2000 DoDEA Teacher of the Year

Angela Wilson, DoDEA 2012 National Finalist

Tom Jenkins, 2021 Ohio Teacher of the Year Finalist

Erin McCarthy, 2020 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year

Meghan Everette, EdD, 2013 Alabama Teacher of the Year Finalist

LéAnn Murphy Cassidy, 2018 Connecticut History Teacher of the Year and Connecticut Teacher of the Year Finalist