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Middle School Assembly · Grades 5–8 · Two Programs · 40–45 Minutes Each
Nobody ever actually taught them how to study.
- Grades 5–8
- 40–45 minutes
- Two programs — run one or both
One program takes the panic out of test day. The other hands your students a memory system they will use on their homework that same night.
Check my dates See both programs
Or call me directly — (716) 940-8963. That’s my cell.
The problem
We tell them to study. We almost never show them how.
Every middle school has the student who swears they studied for three hours and still came out of the test with a sixty. Their parents think they must be exaggerating. Usually they aren’t.
What actually happened is that they read the chapter four times, highlighted most of it, felt thoroughly familiar with the material, and mistook that feeling for knowing it. Nobody ever explained the difference to them.
Studying is a skill, and it is taught almost nowhere. We hand a thirteen-year-old a textbook and a test date and quietly expect the method to arrive on its own. For the students who happen to invent a good one, it does.
The rest conclude they are simply not smart. That conclusion is the expensive part. It follows them into high school, it hardens into an identity, and it has almost nothing to do with how capable they actually are.
These two programs go after both halves of it — the panic that wipes out what they knew, and the fact that nobody ever showed them how to get it in there to begin with.
What I bring
Two programs. Pick the one your building needs.
Each one runs 40–45 minutes and stands completely on its own. Plenty of schools book a single program. Some run both in the same visit — there’s more on that further down.
Program one
Mental Keys For Exam Success
Every teacher has watched a student who knew the material walk into an exam and lose it. Not because they hadn’t learned it — because their nervous system decided that room was a threat.
This program treats that as a fixable, teachable problem, because it is one.
- What test anxiety actually is — explained so a twelve-year-old recognises it in themselves, which is the moment it stops being something to hide
- Taking control of their own state — simple, repeatable techniques they can use in the ninety seconds before a test starts
- Where the fear of failure comes from, and why for many students it shows up weeks ahead of the exam rather than on the day
- Playing to strengths — students this age latch onto their weaknesses every single time, and a little discouragement goes a long way
- No trickery involved — these are concentrated coping strategies for staying focused and confident under pressure
Program two
Develop Your Power Memory
Over 90% of school work runs on memory. Almost none of it is ever taught as memory.
This is the one students talk about at the dinner table, because they walk out able to do things they were certain they couldn’t do an hour earlier.
- Why pictures beat repetition — we arrive in the world with no language and no arithmetic, but with a brain that generates imagery instantly. This uses the equipment they already have.
- Several different memory systems — rhymes, mnemonics, patterns and more, each one demonstrated and then handed over
- Students demonstrating on stage — before the program is over, volunteers are performing feats of memory in front of the whole grade
- Support material for teachers and students, so it carries into Monday’s classroom instead of evaporating by Friday
- Works outside the gym too — breakout sessions, leadership conferences and study-skills days, not only full assemblies
A student who believes they’re bad at school is usually a student who was never shown a method.
Grades 5–8 · 40–45 minutes each · book one program or both
For your staff
What your teachers get out of it
An assembly is forty-five minutes. What makes it worth the money is what happens in the classrooms afterwards.
Shared vocabulary
For the rest of the year a teacher can say “use the picture method” and every student in the room knows exactly what that means.
Something they can do
Students leave able to actually perform two or three of the memory techniques. That’s practice they choose to do.
Follow-up materials
Sent ahead, for teachers and for students, so this turns into lesson time rather than an afternoon off.
Timed to your testing
Booked a few weeks before state testing, the strategies are still warm in their heads when it actually counts.
Zero prep
Nothing for your staff to organize, print, or supervise. I arrive, I set up, I go.
It reaches the quiet ones
The students who never put a hand up for help are exactly the ones sitting on a bad study method in silence.
If you want both
One visit. Both programs.
You don’t have to choose between them, and you don’t have to bring me back a second time. I run both back to back in a single visit — one drive, one setup — and schools split them whichever way suits the building.
Program one
Mental Keys For Exam Success
The one to lead with if testing season is what’s driving this.
Program two
Develop Your Power Memory
The one they ask about afterwards. Just as strong on its own.
Common splits: one program for 6th grade and the other for 7th and 8th, or both to the whole school across a morning and an afternoon. Ask me about the two-program day when you get in touch and I’ll tell you what it would look like for your building.
Only want one? Either program books perfectly well by itself. · See all my middle school programs →
Get the details
Send me your dates and I’ll send you everything.
Fill this in and I’ll email you the full outline for both programs — what’s in each one, how they fit around your schedule, and what a two-program day would look like if you want the whole building covered. I answer these myself, usually the same day.
What lands in your inbox
- The full outline for both programs, grades 5–8
- “Mental Keys For Exam Success” — what it covers and who it suits
- “Develop Your Power Memory” — the systems students walk out with
- How the day runs — I arrive, set up, and I’m gone before the buses
- A quote for your building, based on your date and where you are
- The two-program day, if you want both in one visit
Enough to print, forward, and walk into your next committee meeting.
Would rather just talk it through? Call or text (716) 940-8963 — that’s my cell phone.
Proof
What schools say about Cris Johnson’s assemblies
Middle schools and high schools first. The rest are from assemblies across grade levels — central schools, K–8 buildings and elementary.
“Cris is really great with the kids… He is both entertaining and informative. We have had him two years in a row and the kids really enjoy Cris’ programs. Outstanding!”
Carm ProctorPrincipal
Jefferson Middle School, Jamestown, NY
“Great control of the audience with an appropriate message!”
Dan BraceyPrincipal
Washington Middle School, Jamestown, NY
“Thank you for coming to Chittenango Middle School again this year! Our 5th graders truly enjoyed your assembly! Your commitment to helping students understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, through the use of magic tricks, makes a strong impact. Your show is entertaining, educational and fun! Thank you for what you do.”
Chris ChandlerSchool Counselor
Chittenango Middle School, Chittenango, NY
“It was totally entertaining and fun to watch. The kids were really involved and they loved it. It was really fun to see their personalities come out and their creativity. I would LOVE to recommend this program to other schools.”
Liz BannerTeacher
Brockport High School, Brockport, NY
“Cris is very energetic and funny. The kids and the teachers were very impressed. They LOVED it! One of our sixth grade teachers said it was the BEST assembly presented at this school in 20 years!”
Amy MckentySchool Librarian
St. John of Rochester School, Fairport, NY
“Wellness Day was a huge success and we are so grateful for your part in it. From the opening session through the afternoon groups our students were involved and in tune with the objectives of the day. We received a lot of positives in response to your involvement. Thank you for sharing your talents and for your interest and support of the youth of today.”
Linda HathawayWellness Committee
Geneseo Central School District, Geneseo, NY
“It was phenomenal.”
Scott MoorerPrincipal
Chestnut Intermediate School, North Olmsted, OH
“Excellent.”
Holly BrinkClass Advisor
Sherman Central School, Sherman, NY
“Cris did a great job with our assemblies! His presentation was developmentally appropriate and his message was delivered in a fun way. Outstanding message!”
Bonnie SmithPrincipal
West Valley Central School, West Valley, NY
“It was engaging, informative, extremely well done and a lot of fun. He kept the kids attention for 40 minutes… No easy task! I laughed as hard as the kids!”
Donna BensteadTeacher
Springville Elementary, Springville, NY
“Having fun with magic can also be educational with an important message. The message is still being talked about in the classroom!”
Cherish MignoliTeacher
Northern Chautauqua Catholic School, Dunkirk, NY
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Easy to host
I make this the easiest thing on your calendar.
- I bring everything. Professional sound system included, at no extra charge, however big your gym is.
- Your space is fine. Gym, cafeteria, auditorium, cafetorium, stage or floor level — and it works for a breakout room too.
- Fast set-up, and I work around your bell schedule rather than the other way around.
- Fully insured, with a certificate sent ahead if your district needs one.
- Follow-up materials for teachers and students so it turns into classroom time, not just an afternoon off.
- I hit 45 minutes. Schools plan around that number, so I treat it as a promise.
The no-risk part
If your students aren’t amazed, you don’t pay — and I donate $500 to your PTA or PTO.
In over 20 years of full-time performing, not one school has ever taken me up on it.
Book it
The good dates go early.
Study skills assemblies bunch up in the weeks before state testing, and those weeks fill first. The schools that get their first-choice date are the ones that reach out well before everybody else starts looking at the calendar.
Call or text me at (716) 940-8963 — that’s my cell phone — or email [email protected]. You’ll be talking to me, not an agency.
Middle School Study Skills Assemblies for Schools Across the Region
The study and test-taking habits students build in middle school follow them for years — and Cris Johnson’s study skills assembly gives grades 5–8 strategies they’ll actually use, delivered in a way that motivates instead of bores. Middle schools across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the wider Northeast bring it in to set students up for success. Book a date that lines up with your testing season.