Erikson's Theory Applied to Middle Grades

According to Erikson’s theory, through age 11, children are in the Industry versus Inferiority stage where children try to establish a sense of self-worth. Beginning in adolescence, Erikson believed that children are in the Identity versus Identity Confusion stage where they are trying to figure out who they are and how they can act as many different roles (child, student, friend, brother). Therefore, students in sixth grade and middle school are transitioning from the Industry versus Inferiority stage to Identity versus Identity Confusion stage. They will be struggling with developing a sense of self worth so they need lots of positive reinforcement and they need to feel successful and accomplished. Peers are also becoming more important in students’ lives as they figure out who they are. Students may feel more self-conscious so group or paired work will help relieve some of that anxiety.
An example of an activity that Erikson would say would be appropriate for this age group would be conducting a poll on who the students want for president and then grouping them by who they voted for. Each group will research their candidate and their candidate’s position on various topics. Then they will form an argument about why everyone else should vote for their candidate and present it to the class. In another lesson, students studying Ancient Greece were given a chance to go back in time and live in either Sparta or Athens. Students then had to get into their city-state groups and list the pros and cons of their city-state. As a group they could come up with changes they would like to make to their cities to improve the quality of life for citizens. In both of these activities, students are working together so they are given a chance to feel successful as a part of a group.