Engaging lessons, strategies, and tips that help students develop self-awareness and manage social challenges so they can navigate middle school and focus on academics. Engaging lessons, strategies, and tips that help students develop self-awareness and manage social challenges so they can navigate middle school and focus on academics. In an era of Common Core State Standards and accountability, students need to use the time they spend in school focused on academics and ready to learn. However, middle school has always presented special challenges. This is a time when students can spend a lot of time grappling with physical changes, forging interpersonal relationships, managing increased responsibility, and more-all of which can distract them from the primary purpose of school. The researched-based lessons in this book will help teachers delve into key social and emotional learning topics, such as: Self Esteem - Emotions - Cognition - Peer Relationships - Bullies - Stress Overall, this book will give teachers not only an understanding of the basic issues and research underlying social and emotional learning but also practical tools for introducing the topic into the curriculum. For use with Grades 5 & Up. Tom Conklin has been writing educational materials for teachers and children for more than 15 years. This is his fourth book for Scholastic Teaching Resources. He lives in New Jersey.