聯(lián)接與跨越 Bridging the Gap 【連載六】

本專欄以《聯(lián)接與跨越》為題，以一位華裔美國中學生的親身體驗，提供常識性的對美國小學和中學學習環(huán)境與學習方式、校園生活、課余活動、升學準備、交友與聚會等中國學生和家長感興趣的話題，提供短小精悍的中英雙語介紹。

本專欄分“小學篇”和“中學篇”，分別在我刊《小學教師》與《中學教師》中以連載的方式刊出。下文為“小學篇”的第六篇文章。

作者簡介：王若桑，出生于美國康涅狄格州。現(xiàn)為美國羅德島州南郡高中4年級學生。

Connie R. Wang is currently a junior student of the South Kingstown High School，

South Kingstown， Rhode Island， USA.

六、從小學到初中的過渡

在美國，大多數(shù)小學系統(tǒng)是一到五年級，即年齡6～10歲左右。在小學最后一年，學生們已經(jīng)為升入初中，即六到八年級做好了準備。學校努力讓學生們在各個方面，例如學習和社交方面，都能適應，從而使學生們從童年到青春前期能平穩(wěn)過渡。

在學習方面，小學學生是通過了解數(shù)學、科學和英語的概念等來準備的。雖然在不同學校、其年級之間各種概念的教授或許不同，但到了小學畢業(yè)時的基本教育程度是一致的。科學課是通過一些基礎(chǔ)試驗而引入的，進而引入關(guān)鍵性思考和分析等。雖然學生們在初中之前很少接觸生物學和地球科學等，但對一些簡單概念的理解，例如密度、體積、質(zhì)量等，會被引入，以便為以后的科學教育做好鋪墊。高年級的數(shù)學是在小學初期加減法運算的基礎(chǔ)之上，引入除法、分數(shù)和比率等。由于英語教育不像數(shù)學和科學等學科那樣一成不變，老師們會通過更多的獨立性學習方法讓學生來適應初中的學習方式。學生們可以自己選擇要讀的書來幫助他們開發(fā)個人的閱讀品味和喜好。此外，他們還可以由此學會選擇自己所喜愛的寫作風格和流派。在所有新引入的概念中，最重要的初中準備是養(yǎng)成學習的習慣。家庭作業(yè)開始成為每天必須做的事，學生們能每天按時完成作業(yè)，會轉(zhuǎn)化為今后上初中、高中及其以后其他人生階段的良好工作習慣。由此而來的是時間管理，諸如按時完成作業(yè)這樣簡單的事，恰恰也是培養(yǎng)良好習慣和走向成功的基礎(chǔ)。

在社交層面，學生們是通過幾個方面來逐漸習慣初中時的氛圍。學校通常會提供一些讓學區(qū)內(nèi)所有五年級學生們在一起的機會，使其在升入初中之前，讓大家彼此有接觸和了解。學生們必須學會從平時只接觸50～100名本校同學，到知道100-200名本學區(qū)的同學。大量的新同學或許會讓人難以應對，所以讓五年級學生學會接觸其他陌生的同學是必要的。此外，學生們會被介紹他們以后在初中和高中或許會選擇的課外活動。例如音樂課，會通過教授學生們某種特殊的樂器，使學生們能參加今后初中和高中的樂隊。我是在五年級時學習單簧管演奏的，當我發(fā)現(xiàn)我真的很喜歡單簧管時，我參加了學校每周兩次的音樂課。這種活動對升入初中的過渡幫助很大，因為這種你從小學就會玩的器樂讓你感到了歸屬和去學校的目的。體育運動也是在學校上體育課引入的。雖然有些學生已經(jīng)參加了校外運動隊的活動，但更多的學生是通過體育課來學習玩足球、棒球、橄欖球等運動項目的。因此，很多學生由此來選擇他們是否希望參與初中的某項體育運動隊。這是一種很好的結(jié)識有共同愛好的新朋友的方法，同時也能建立個人的某種定位。雖然這種定位的感覺剛剛開始，但它在新的環(huán)境中是很重要的。它能幫助學生們?nèi)グl(fā)現(xiàn)自己的興趣所在。

總之，從小學到初中的過渡通常是不容易的，但是學校會盡到最大努力，用最合適的方法來向?qū)W生們介紹其將要面臨的新環(huán)境。雖然學校劃分年級的系統(tǒng)略有不同，但新的教學概念和課外活動的結(jié)合會引導學生們成長為未來社會的領(lǐng)袖和公民。

中英文對照

Article 6： The Transition from Elementary School to Middle School

In America， most elementary school systems run from 1st grade to 5th grade， around ages 6-10. In the last grades of elementary school， students are prepared for middle school， which is 6th grade to 8th grade. Schools strive to ensure that the children are prepared in a multitude of ways， both academically and socially， so that the transition from childhood to the preteen years can be easier.

On the academic viewpoint， elementary students are prepared for middle school by being introduced to new math， science， and English concepts. The grades at which the concepts are introduced vary from school to school， but generally by the last year of elementary school， most of the educational levels are equal. Science is brought into the classroom with simple labs that lead to more critical thinking and analyzing. While students don't learn biology or earth sciences until middle school， simple concepts such as density， volume， and mass are developed to form a base for future science classes. Higher level math skills build upon the addition and subtraction from the first few years of elementary school to bring in long division， fractions， and ratios. Because English is not as concrete a subject as math and science， teachers try to stimulate more middle school level skills by giving more independence to the students. Students are able to choose the books they read to help them develop their own taste and preferences in genres， in addition to being able to choose what genre they wish to write about for free writing prompts. Of all these new concepts involved， the most important preparation for middle school is the formation of the students' academic habits. Homework becomes a part of the daily routine， and a student's healthy habit of turning in homework on time translates to good work habits in middle school， high school， and beyond. With that comes time management. Something as simple as keeping up with homework assignments can be the foundation for good habits and success.

On a social level， students are slowly acclimated to middle school atmospheres in many ways. Schools often provide some type of get together for all the 5th grade students of the district to meet together and get to know one another before starting middle school. Students have to go from knowing and working with about 50-100 kids to doing the same with about 100-200 kids. The big influx of new people can be overwhelming to some， so these 5th grade get together are important.In addition， students are introduced to extracurricular groups and clubs that they will likely follow into middle school and high school. Music classes， for example， become geared towards teaching the students specific instruments so that they can participate in the organizations of middle school and high school. I learned how to play the clarinet in the fifth grade and， upon realizing that I really loved the instrument， I went to in school music class twice a week. It helped in the transition to middle school because it was something familiar from elementary school and it gave me a sense of belonging and purpose in the school. Sports are also introduced during the school day in gym class. Though some students are part of sports leagues outside of school， many learn about the sport from in school gym classes that teach the children how to play soccer， softball， and football， to name a few. From this， many students choose whether they wish to be on particular middle school teams and leagues. This is great way to make new friends who enjoy similar hobbies， as well as develop a sense of identity. A sense of identity is important going into the new environment， and though that sense of identity is just beginning to grow， it is helpful for students figure out where their interests lie.

In summary， the transition from elementary school to middle school is not always easy， but schools try their best to introduce the changing environment in comfortable ways. Though school systems differ in how they separate grades， the integration of new educational concepts and extracurricular activities lead students into their paths as the future leaders and citizens of the world.