Middle School Enhances Advisory Curriculum to Foster Community and Real-World Skills

Middle School Enhances Advisory Curriculum to Foster Community and Real-World Skills
Bronxville, NY

From art creation to role-playing and collaborative activities, Bronxville Middle School educators are focused on helping sixth, seventh and eighth graders explore who they are, strengthen connections within their community and prepare for real-world challenges. As part of an enhanced middle school advisory curriculum, under the leadership of Julia Brogan, Alyssa Dioguardi, Connor Mitchell and Jennifer Zopp, the district has incorporated lessons on belonging, developing an inclusive school community and anti-bullying. 

During a recent eighth grade advisory activity, students created “Identity Art,” or a piece of artwork that showcased a part of their identity they wanted to share with others. In addition, they created social scenario role-plays that a typical eighth grade student would encounter.  

“By having students act out these scenarios, we created a way for them to come to life so that students have a firsthand experience with learning how to navigate these situations,” Mitchell said. “We also took the opportunity to overhaul the eighth grade portfolio building section to allow students the chance to showcase how their involvement in middle school connects to all aspects of the Bronxville Promise.”

The seventh grade advisory curriculum was updated to create an engaging and relevant learning experience for students that covered topics like the impact of texting and bullying through social media. In addition, educators incorporated more role-playing scenarios to encourage active student participation and real-world application. 

“We emphasized practical life skills, such as organizational techniques and effective group work,” Zopp said. “This included lessons on decluttering binders, working collaboratively in class, and developing effective study schedules for final exams.”

In their sixth grade advisory classes, students participated in a hands-on, interactive activity called “Common Thread,” during which the advisor would make a personal statement while holding a ball of yarn. Students who related raised their hand and the yarn was passed to them, creating a physical web as they held onto the thread. The goal of the activity was to highlight how shared experiences connect people, symbolizing the strength of community. The student enjoyed a visual representation of their connections and how the web showed the strong bond they share. It served as a discussion starter about the importance of unity. 

“Our community will become stronger when we connect and find common interests or stories,” Brogan said. “The group discussed how the web is symbolic of a community, what they learned about themselves and others, and how making connections makes a community stronger.”

The lessons were developed over the summer through a generous grant from the Bronxville School Foundation.