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Bulletin Board Ida

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Bulletin Board Idea

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Rubric

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Famous Failures

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Free Printables

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Both kids and adults need a growth mindset. And many of the resources for kids are good for adults as well. My daughter, Christina, and I both like to color growth mindset quotation and affirmation coloring pages together with my 4½-year-old granddaughter (Christina's niece), Zoey. While some of these printables are designed for kids, many of them are wonderful for a wide variety of ages. I'll share links to a variety of free growth mindset printables for kids and then a variety of free growth mindset printables that work for both kids and adults.
Disclosure: This post contains some affiliate links (at no cost to you).
People didn't talk about growth mindset until the concept was popularized by psychologist Carol Dweck in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (first edition published in 2006). You can find a good summary of Carol Dweck's ideas on growth mindset here. Here are many resources for teaching growth mindset from Edutopia.

I'll be adding to this list as I find new free growth mindset printables online. If you have a free growth mindset printable that I missed, please leave a comment so I can add it to the list!

Free Growth Mindset Printables for Kids

These are growth mindset printables that have specifically kid-themed images or relate to kids at school. Some are lesson plans or classroom posters for classroom teachers or homeschoolers.

Growth Mindset Free Printable Book for Kids (subscriber freebie) from The Kitchen Table Classroom

How to Nurture a Growth Mindset in Children (Free Story & Activity) from Entangled Harmony

Growth Mindset Goals Notes for Kids from Crazy for First Grade

Growth Mindset Quotation Posters in 3 Sizes from KnowledgeWorks

Growth Mindset Printables (including lesson plans) for parents and teachers from The Ned Show

Growth Mindset Freebie (subscriber freebie) from Mrs. Winter's Bliss

The Power of Yet Page from The Brown Bag Teacher

Growth Mindset Phrase Cards (subscriber freebie) from Parents with Confidence

Download: Growth Mindset Activities for Kids from Understood

Growth Mindset Free Downloads for Teachers from Mindset Works

Growth Mindset Printables for Parents from MindsetKit

Growth Mindset Lesson (Kindergarten) from MindsetKit

Growth Mindset Goals: Keeping My "Selfie" on the Right Path from Kirsten's Kaboodles

Growth Mindset Math Poster from Mashup Math

Success Folders Pack from Appletastic Learning

Free Growth Mindset Downloads (many) from Growth Mindset Maths

Growth vs. Fixed Mindsets Sorting Activity from Crafting Connections

7 Math Mindset Posters from Math Geek Mama

Growth Mindset Learning Stations from Upper Elementary Snapshots

Growth Mindset Bulletin Board from Room Mom Spot

Growth Mindset Classroom Poster for Teacher s from We Are Teachers

Growth Mindset Lesson Plan from Khan Academy

Growth Mindset Printables from Teachers Pay Teachers (long list)

Free Growth Mindset Printables for Kids Every Friday (subscription freebies) from Big Life Journal (I get these every Friday, and they're great! There are often activities that are fun to do together with a child ... and that will help you both!)

Free Growth Mindset Printables for Kids and Adults

These growth mindset printables work for a wide variety of ages. Some of them are even perfect for both preschoolers and adults!

Growth Mindset Art from Moments a Day

Growth Mindset Coloring Pages from Classroom Doodles

Growth Mindset Coloring Pages from Erin K. Monaghan Creative

2018 Calendar with Growth Mindset Quotes from Londage at Home

Growth Mindset Printables from Teachers Pay Teachers (long list for kids and adults, although a few are specifically for teachers)

In addition to a long list of inspiring growth mindset quotes, you'll find a number of word-art freebies (which I add to whenever I publish another one) in my best growth mindset quotes for kids and adults.

Free Human Brain Printables

If you'd like to include a study of the brain along with your growth mindset activities, I have a post at Living Montessori Now with free human brain printables and Montessori-inspired brain activities.

More Growth Mindset Resources

You'll find lots of inspiring- and character-building songs in my free growth mindset songs for kids post.

Both kids and adults can gain a lot of growth mindset inspiration from famous failures.

You'll find lots of great growth mindset books in my post with the the best growth mindset books for kids.

Big Life Journal site has lots and lots of amazing growth mindset resources for a variety of ages.

Big Life Journal Activity Kit is a PDF with 25 growth mindset activities for ages 4 and above. You'll find many more great growth mindset products at Big Life Journal!

If you have a free growth mindset printable I'm not aware of, please let me know in the comments below!

Wondering where it's best to follow me?

If you're interested in kid-related content, sign up for the Living Montessori Now newsletter. I share my Bits of Positivity parenting and character-education posts in the weekly Living Montessori Now newsletter along with lots of great kids' activities and Montessori ideas from my Living Montessori Now blog. You'll get a monthly freebie (and previous monthly freebies) with link and password if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!

If you're interested in inspiration and motivation, the best place for you will probably be the Bits of Positivity Facebook page. You'll find lots of inspiration there from the Bits of Positivity blog and from around the Internet. For word art inspiration, be sure to follow me at the Bits of Positivity Facebook page and on Pinterest! And for all my posts in a reader, check out Bloglovin '! Thanks so much!

Learn more about my eBook Montessori at Home or School: How to. Teach Grace and Courtesy! I'm also one of the coauthors of the book Learn with Play - 150+ Activities for Year-round Fun & Learning!

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The Ultimate List of Free Growth Mindset Printables for Kids and Adults

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Long list of free growth mindset printables for kids as well as free growth mindset printables for both kids and adults; great resources for teachers and parents!

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Letter to parents - free

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Are you going to teach your students about a growth mindset this year? If so, your parents will want to know what it's all about! Here's a little handout you can give out to parents on Back to School Night or copy onto the back of your classroom newsletter.

Looking for more parent letters? Click HERE

Need more growth mindset materials? Click HERE for my Growth Mindset Bulletin Board Set.

If you enjoy this product, please leave some feedback below! To stay up to date on new products and sales, click the green star next to my picture to follow me.

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Are you going to teach your students about a growth mindset this year? If so, your parents will want to know what it's all about! Here's a little handout you can give out to parents on Back to School Night or copy onto the back of your classroom newsletter.Looking for more parent letters?

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Upper Intermediate Learning Centeres

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Growth Mindset Station #1: Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

Fostering a growth mindset begins with teaching students the difference between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. With this activity, students read each statement and determine which category it fits with most closely.

Growth Mindset Station #2: How the Brain Builds Pathways

This station is based upon what researchers have discovered about how our brains operate. Researchers have discovered that when we learn a new skill or piece of information, pathways are created in our brain between neurons . These pathways are weak at first, but become stronger as we repeat and practice the skill. To show how these pathways become thicker and stronger with repeated practice, I created the following visual. Students begin by using a colored pencil or marker to color the neurons shown in each brain. Students then glue (or tape) thread on the first image, ribbon on the second image, and then yarn and rope (or chord) on the last two images to connect the neurons.

Growth Mindset Station #3: Mistakes and Failures

Dealing with mistakes and failures in the most positive way possible is the focus of this second station. Students read the scenarios on the two cards. At the bottom of each card, students are instructed to write about the event from the perspective of a person with a fixed mindset in the first speech bubble on their worksheet, and to write about the event from the perspective of a person with a growth mindset in the second speech bubble.

Growth Mindset Station #4: Self-Talk

As we teachers know, positive self-talk is powerful . A few upper elementary students do this automatically... it's simply how they think. Many students, however, need to train their brain regarding positive self-talk. Negative self-talk happens all too easily. Replacing that negative self-talk with positive self-talk is the focus of this station. Students simply replace the negative statements shown in the left column by writing positive statements in the right column. If there is enough time, I also allow my students to cut Xs out of construction paper and glue them on top of the negative self-talk thought bubbles.

Growth Mindset Station #5: Criticism vs. Feedback

Another thing we teachers know is that the ability of students to differentiate criticism from feedback is an ability that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. When students arrive at this station, they read the scenarios on the two cards. At the bottom of each card, students are instructed to pretend that they are talking to the classmate described in the scenario. They are to write what they would say to help that classmate view the teacher's (or coach's) remarks as feedback rather than criticism.

Also, feel free to check out my PowerPoint and partner plays- just click on the images below. These stations would be an excellent follow-up activity after working through the PowerPoint with your students. The stations line up with the 5 main topics covered in the PowerPoint. Both of these activities are available in printable and digital versions.

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Foster Growth Mindsets with Free Learning Centers!

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Foster a growth mindset in your upper elementary and middle school students this year with these four FREE learning activities! They can be set up as stations around your upper elementary classroom! Topics include the brain, positive self-talk, dealing with mistakes, and accepting feedback.

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Big Idea:  Learning is a lifelong enterprise
Curricular Competency:  Identify & appreciate their personal attributes skills, interests and accomplishments
Content:  Personal Development & goal setting strategies
Core Competencies:  Positive Personal & Cultural Identity - I understand that learning is continuous, I understand I will continue to develop new abilities and strengths and Personal Awareness & Responsibility - I can persevere with challenging tasks, I can take ownership of my goals

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The belief that the ability to learn is not fixed

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Instead of....Try Thinking...

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Website

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Did you know that you can actually help your kids get smarter?

Today's scientific brain research shows that by teaching kids about something called "Growth Mindset" - you can help them become better learners, become more persistent, and more intelligent and resilient overall!

This post breaks it all down for you. You'll find 10 easy tips to teach your child to have a growth mindset and you'll be well on your way to helping your child be the best person they can be!

Amazon affiliate links are included in this post. See my disclosure for more details.
The Parenting Scenario

I first became interested in learning about growth mindset when my 5 year old son Onetime started resisting practising piano.

Me: It's time to practise your piano.

Onetime: (groans) I'm tired Mama.

Me: Your teacher expects you to practise everyday so you get better honey.

Onetime: Ughhh...can we do it later?

Me: (starting to groan inside too...) We need to do it now so we don't run out of time before bedtime.

Every night it would be the same conversation...over and over...groan after groan.

I really need to figure this out, I thought, if he's going to continue to take and enjoy music lessons - something I really value.

After wondering if learning about growth mindset might help, we had a little chat about how every time Onetime plays his piano scales, the neurons in his brain are growing more and more connections together.

Holding my hands towards each other and wiggling my fingers to show how the neurons reach for each other and connect up, I could see his eyes light up.

Once the connections are there, the scales and songs get much easier to play because the messages to your hands from your brain move faster and easier, I explained.

Although I'd like to say that Onetime began gleefully practising after our chat, I can't. But he did give the scales a second go for the day and noticed himself that the second time was better than the first.

Next piano class, I even overheard him telling his piano teacher all about how neurons start to grow more connections the more he practises!

My son has a fixed mindset about a lot of things, and I figure it's going to be a bit of a trek to help him develop a growth mindset. But knowing what I know about the power of mindsets, and their correlation with later success in life and happiness, I figure it's worth my time to learn as much as I can about how to help him develop a positive mindset.

My Growth Mindset Research

In order to help my son, I started reading as much as I could about mindsets, and looking for resources to help teach him. And I found a goldmine of good stuff!

It's taken me a while to gather these up for this post and my list continues to grow. I've done my best to distill the research out there into 10 simple guidelines to help guide kids to have a growth mindset.

For each tip, you'll find strategies to teach it, as well as picture books and other resources that help reinforce the concept.

But before I share these 10 tips with you, you might want to take a few minutes to learn a bit about what having a growth mindset means and how it benefits children and parents.

Today's post is the final in a mini-series of three posts. Although the posts can be read in any order, you might find that you understand more if you start from the beginning with: Growth Mindset for Parents 101 and then check out the Growth Mindset Self-Assessment.

Already up to speed on growth mindset? Read on!

10 Ways to Help Your Child Develop a Growth Mindset

1. Teach your child about the brain and how it learns

According to Dr. Dan Siegel, M.D. author of The Whole-Brain Child , kids start to develop a growth mindset just from learning about how their brain works and grows.

Once kids understand that the brain actually physically grows connections as they practise and learn new skills and concepts, they get excited about the learning process and feel less worried about making mistakes.

The more you use your brain the more brain you'll have to use! ~ Your Fantastic Elastic Brain

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It by JoAnn Deak

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain explains in kid-friendly language what the brain is and how it works. It explains how connections between neurons strengthen the more we practise a skill and it helps kids understand how effort and persistence boost their intelligence! It has fun illustrations and will lead to lots of interesting discussions about growth mindset.
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
A Walk in the Rain with a Brain by Edward M. Hallowell - a kid-friendly tour of how the brain works and grows

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind |

The Whole-Brain Child Workbook: Practical Exercises, Worksheets and Activities to Nurture Developing Minds by Dan Siegel

2. Teach your child about the different mindsets

If you want your kids to develop a growth mindset, self-awareness is a great place to start! I know I need to work on this myself.

You can start by teaching them to recognize the two different mindsets by reading them books or by watching a video.

After a few lessons at school about the basic differences between the two mindsets, all of my Kindies (4 and 5 year olds) could differentiate between examples of the two mindsets when discussing story characters.

I regularly hear my junior students (grade 4-6) point out fixed mindsets in each other, and my intermediate students (grades 7 and 8) can apply the terms to accurately describe the thinking and policies of Donald Trump!Ha!

Making A Splash - Growth Mindset for Kids by Carol E. Reiley

Making a Splash is a fun book that shows the differences in mindsets between two siblings learning to swim. This book has everything you need to explain growth mindset to your child.

It emphasizes effort and persistence in achieving success, and explains why some people have to work harder than others at certain skills. It even has a detailed section for parents that explains growth mindset and gives all kinds of suggestions for discussion with your child.
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck - Learn all about the two mindsets and how they impact the way we approach relationships, work and life!

3. Model growth mindset thinking

One of the best ways we can encourage our children to have a growth mindset is to work on developing one ourselves. After all, as developmental psychologists have known for a long time, kids learn much of their behaviour and attitudes from watching how we react to our challenges.

The easiest way to do this is to let your kids overhear you thinking aloud positive phrases when you make mistakes or find something difficult

Instead of... "I'm not very good at this." or "This is too hard."

Say... "This is really hard for me. I guess I better keep practising."

Although it may feel a little awkward at first, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes and sounds.

This thinking aloud strategy is commonly used by teachers when modelling how to think while reading and you should notice eventually that your children will start to use these phrases themselves.

I Knew You Could: A Book for All the Stops in Your Life by Craig Dorfman

I'm in love with this modern sequel to The Little Engine That Could. I've given this book as a gift to students graduating from highschool and university as well as read it to my school-aged students.

It documents the little engine's travels through the difficult and challenging journey of life. He meets obstacles with a positive attitude and learns that his attitude often determines how things turn out.
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka - This is such an encouraging book for any child struggling with learning to ride a bicycle, or any other skill.

4. Discuss negative and positive self-talk

Talk to your kids about their "inner voice" and how it sometimes tells them things that aren't always helpful. Teach them to challenge those negative inner statements with more positive alternatives.

Sylvia Duckworth, my favourite sketch-noter, and a fellow Canadian, created this fantastic sketch-note which should give you some ideas of where to start.

Visit Sylvia's website!

Bubble Gum Brain by Julia Cook
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
This hilarious book likens having a growth mindset to having a brain made of bubble gum that grows and constantly learns and stretches. It tells the funny story of two boys trying to learn how to ride a unicycle. The one boy has bubble gum brain and the other has "brick brain" - or a fixed mindset.

The book shows the different kinds of self-talk that kids with both mindsets tend to have and it teaches how having a growth mindset encourages perseverance and success.

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper

This classic story has been around for generations because of its timeless message that a positive attitude and effort is more important to your success than your talents.

You'll be joining your child chanting "I think I can, I think I can!" by the end of this one.

My Day Is Ruined!: A Story Teaching Flexible Thinking by Bryan Smith

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

Ish by Peter H. Reynolds

Good News, Bad News by Jeff Mack

5. Recognize effort over success

Instead of focusing your attention on the times when your child is successful, recognize the times when they are putting effort into what they are doing.

After all, no one can control whether they are successful or not. All they can do is try.

So if you recognize your child's efforts, win or lose, they will come to understand that what is important is their effort.

This kind of recognition promotes an internal sense of self-efficacy.

In other words, your child will come to believe that her successes are due to her level of effort (which she can control), rather than an innate level of talent or skill (that she can't control).

Additionally, recognizing effort is not just helpful for kids who struggle. It is also helpful for kids who achieve success easily because it pushes them to continue challenging themselves.

Sometimes You Win-Sometimes You Learn for Kids by John C. Maxwell

When Wendy and Wade lose their Woggleball game, their grandfather helps them realize that important lessons are learned from losses. The kids learn about setting goals for improvement, and the importance of persistence and effort in success.
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
A great book to start conversations about the importance of failures.

Winning takes effort, this much you will see. What you learn from your loss can bring victory!

6. Teach them the power of "YET"

I can't tie my shoes.

I can't ride a bike.

I can't read.

Have you heard these words, or something similar?

It can be heartbreaking to hear your child say these things. And it's almost guaranteed that they are feeling frustrated, sad and hopeless when they say them.

Why not next time you hear such a phrase, add on the word "YET" to the end of their sentence. And point it out to the child.

Just feel the difference...

I can't tie my shoes YET.

I can't ride a bike YET.

I can't read YET.

It's more hopeful, more optimistic, and so much more encouraging.

Teach your child to add the magical power of YET to their thoughts and words!

When Pigs Fly by Valerie Coulman

An adorable story about a cow named Ralph who wants his Dad to buy him a bicycle. The father cow tells him that he'll buy Ralph a bicycle when pigs fly. From there on, Ralph endeavors to find a way to help pigs fly.
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
Along the way, he models the power of YET and shows that with a little creative thinking, and a lot of persistence, any obstacle can be overcome!

This book can be difficult to find in print, but there is a great little video of it here you can watch.

A fun Power of "YET" poster from Creative Access.

Another free Yet poster from Danielle Murphy.

7. Help them set goals

Helping your child set goals for himself, and then guiding him through the process of achieving those goals, helps boost his ability to see himself as capable of continual improvement and learning.

According to Carol Dweck, it's important that when we set goals we come up with a specific plan to improve.

Have you heard of a S.M.A.R.T. goal? Basically, this is an acronym for helping to set meaningful goals. All goals should have all of the following components.

S = Specific - Who? What? Where? When will I work on this?

M= Measurable - How will we know if we succeed?

A = Achievable - Is this realistic? Can this be done? Do I have only 1 or 2 goals to focus on?

R = Relevant - How will this help me? Can I see the benefits of achieving this goal?

T = Timely - When do I want to be able to do this by?

To do some goal-setting with your child, start by having your child brainstorm and record all the things they do well, and then brainstorm things they want to get better at.

You can then help your child come up with a plan for achieving their goals, ensuring that it is achievable by breaking it down into manageable steps.

When your child has decided on their goal, why not invite them to record it on this free g oal-setting printable created by the Crazy for First Grade blog.

Someday by Eileen Spinelli
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
A beautiful book about a young girl and her dreams for the future. From discovering dinosaur bones to travelling the world to competing in the Olympics, this book will inspire kids to think big and to imagine endless possibilities for themselves.

Someday provides a great place to start talking with your child about his or her dreams and what they can start doing now to move towards those goals!

Today I Will: A Year of Quotes, Notes, and Promises to Myself by Eileen and Jerry Spinelli

How to Teach Kids Perseverance and Goal-Setting - fantastic article at Parents.com

8. Celebrate mistakes and struggles

Allow your kids to fail and make mistakes.

But, isn't that hard to do? And why would you want to do that if you can help them succeed?

Because making mistakes is how we learn.

Instead of teaching our kids to fear mistakes, why not teach them to celebrate mistakes?

At the end of the school day, ask about what was difficult today, or what they worked hard on.

At dinnertime, ask each person at the table to share a mistake they made today and what they learned from it.

After a failure, talk about what they would do differently next time to improve.

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
Rosie wants to be an engineer. She loves designing and building new inventions, but becomes scared of making mistakes when one of her inventions is made fun of. When supportive Great Aunt Rose visits, Rosie learns that mistakes are a part of learning and should be celebrated for what they teach!

I love how Great Aunt Rose cheers Rosie on by saying, "Your brilliant first flop was a raging success. C'mon let's get busy and on to the next."

Mistakes That Worked: 40 Familiar Inventions & How They Came to Be by Charlotte Foltz Jones

Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg

It's Okay to Make Mistakes by Todd Parr

Watch this video on celebrating mistakes with kids by Positive Parenting Solutions.

Read about this parenting technique that supports kids when they're struggling.

9. Avoid labeling your child and others

Whether it's a good label (You are so smart!) or a negative one (Don't be such a lazy bones!), when we label our kids, we are placing them in a figurative box that outlines how they are supposed to be.

Instead of motivating kids, both positive and negative labels communicate a fixed mindset.

If we want our kids to understand that they can continually grow, change and improve, we want them to believe that regardless of their innate talents, their success depends on the amount of effort and time they put in.

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
Beatrice is an amazing kid. Every year she wins the local talent show and she always manages to do everything right. Everyone in town calls her "The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes." Until one day she does, and Beatrice learns that it's much more fun to live a life full of imperfection.

This story teaches the reader that it's okay to make mistakes, and the importance of not taking yourself too seriously.

Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery by Judy Arnall

Read about Self-Esteem and the dangers of labelling children, both good and bad.

10. Model growth mindset behaviour

Let your kids see you...

Persisting with difficult tasks

Trying to learn something new

Taking on challenges with enthusiasm

Making mistakes and persisting

Meeting failures with renewed effort to succeed

Sky Pig by Jan. L. Coates
Other Helpful Books and Resources:
In this adorable story, a pig who really wants to fly tries making all kinds of inventions to get him into the sky. One after one, his inventions fail but he never gives up and in the end, his persistence pays off.

It's perfect for talking about persistence, and the importance of having a positive attitude towards failure. I also love the gorgeous illustrations which are a mix of plasticine and paper collage elements!

What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada

The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett

Going Places by Peter and Paul Reynolds

Ryan The Spy and: The Inventor's Secret: A Growth Mindset Series by Jason Rago

That's it for my tips and recommendations to help a child develop a growth mindset. If you have any other ideas - I would truly love to hear them. Leave me a comment below!

Find even more ideas and resources on my Growth Mindset Parenting Pinterest board!

Keep on growing!

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10 Ways to Teach Kids to Have a Growth Mindset - One Time Through

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Did you know that you can actually help your kids get smarter? Today's scientific brain research shows that by teaching kids about something called "Growth Mindset" - you can help them become better learners, become more persistent, and more intelligent and resilient overall! This post breaks it all down for you.

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Website

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Kids with a growth mindset are more engaged and motivated learners. Here are some ideas of how to teach a growth mindset.

I was so excited to learn about how a growth mindset can dramatically improve a child's academic performance and motivation to learn, that I set out to develop a way to teach this incredibly valuable information to my kids at home, to help them develop a growth mindset. This information is as important for homeschooled kids as it is for kids in a public or private school.

Learn more about what a growth mindset is by reading this post.

How to Teach Kids About a Growth Mindset

Listen to this post by clicking the player below:

With a few simple strategies, we can teach our kids about the power of a growth mindset.

Teach About Their Brain

The first thing our kids need to know is that our intelligence isn't fixed - that it can change. It can get stronger or weaker depending on how much effort we are willing to apply.

Download the article, You Can Grow Your Intelligence and read it out loud or have your older children read this by themselves and discuss the ideas about brain function. Lead them to understand that the brain is like a muscle that gets stronger with use and that learning prompts neurons in the brain to grow new connections.

Teach your kids that they can improve their IQ and talents. Present the evidence and teach them that education is something that have control over.

Just as a baby isn't born talking but learns over time, they don't know everything but can learn over time with work.

Teach them that people with a growth mindset believe that they can learn, change, and develop needed skills. They are better equipped to handle inevitable setbacks, and know that hard work can help them accomplish their goals.

Here is an informative video you can watch with your kids.

Another way to teach about the growth mindset is by telling stories about achievements that resulted from hard work. For instance, talking about mathematical geniuses who were more or less born that way puts students in a fixed mind-set, but descriptions of great mathematicians who fell in love with math and developed amazing skills engenders a growth mind-set. Try reading a biography of Thomas Edison for starters.

Model a Growth Mindset

A lot of how our students (or kids) pick up on a growth mindset will be from observing and listening to you as their parent or teacher. Show kids how to recognize fixed mindset thoughts and how to replace them with growth mindset thoughts.

Praise the Process

Parents and teachers tend to think that praising kids' intelligence builds confidence and motivation to learn. While this type of praise may give the student a brief boost in confidence, we learned in my last post on the research behind a growth mindset, this kind of praise leads to a fixed mindset - one that is more concerned with looking smart and keeping the parent or teacher's admiration than on actually working hard to learn. Parents and teachers do better to focus on praising the 'process' or personal effort and any effective strategies used, which fosters motivation by placing value on what students have done and what they need to do to continue to be successful.

Dr. Dweck's research demonstrated how the simple act of praising effort, or the process the student took to learn, rather than ability, can have a dramatic effect on cultivating a growth mindset.

Here are some ideas to phrase your feedback in a way that develops more of a growth mindset to get you started:

I see that you have been trying so hard at ...

You are becoming more confident at ....

Good job taking on such a hard task ...

You are taking on harder tasks and that must make you feel confident.

I like the way that you ....

You must have tried really hard at this.

I see that you are trying again, great thinking.

You remembered to use the procedure for ....

It must feel good to follow those steps you have taken.

What a brilliant way to approach the task.

I noticed you are thinking through the steps we discussed.

You were confident with the task and I know you will be with the next step.

I am watching the way you're approaching this and I think your effort is outstanding.

The steps you took must have really helped you...
I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. Albert Einstein
More Thoughts on Teaching Kids so They Develop a Growth Mindset

Do you have a student (or child) that thinks they aren't smart or who think that they can't learn? Try to figure out what they understand and what strategies they could use. Great teachers believe in the growth of talent and intelligence in their students and will take the time to learn how their students (or kids) learn.

If 'Plan A' didn't work, there are 25 other letters in the alphabet!

Many of you reading this today are here because you are teaching kids with dyslexia. Because of our kids' struggles in the early years of school, it is fairly common for them to believe that they are not smart.

What to say when they struggle despite strong effort:

* OK, so you didn't do as well as you wanted to. Let's look at this as an opportunity to learn.

* What did you do to prepare for this? Is there anything you could do to prepare differently next time?

* You are not there/here yet.

* When you think you can't do it, remind yourself that you can't do it yet.

* I expect you to make some mistakes. It is the kinds of mistakes that you make along the way that tell me how to support you.

* You might be struggling, but you are making progress. I can see your growth (in these places).

* Look at how much progress you made on this. Do you remember how much more challenging this was (yesterday/last week/last year)?

* Of course it's tough - school is here to makes our brains stronger!

* If it were easy, you wouldn't be learning anything!

* You can do it - it's tough, but you can; let's break it down into steps.

* Let's stop here and return tomorrow with a fresher brain.

* I admire your persistence and I appreciate your hard work. It will pay off.
"Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability-along with confidence in that ability-is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 35 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings." Dr. Carol Dweck
Developing a growth mindset will take consistency over time. You will know that your kids are implementing the growth mindset when you see them becoming more persistent, not ruminating about their own failure much at all but instead thinking of their mistakes as problems to be solved.

How can you see teaching this growth mindset changing your kids' attitudes and motivation to learn?

Read more about Mindset by reading Dr. Dweck's book, Mindset.

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How to Teach Kids About the Power of a Growth Mindset | Homeschooling with Dyslexia

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Kids with a growth mindset are more engaged and motivated learners. Here are some ideas of how to teach a growth mindset. I was so excited to learn about how a growth mindset can dramatically improve a child's academic performance and motivation to learn, that I set out to develop a way to teach this incredibly valuable information to my kids at home, to help them develop a growth mindset.

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Kid President

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Growth Mindset (1 of 5) | Social Emotional Learning for kids

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Lesson Idea - The Power of Yet

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Growth mindset - a phrase that can easily be coined the education fad of 2015-2016. Although I do like to avoid most fads (bleached hair, suntanning oil, and silly bands were all lost on me), why not take the best from the proverbial education pendulum and allow it to positively impact our classrooms? Recently my 1st grade classroom has morphed into a K/1 combination classroom and then resulted in HUGE gaps (academically, socially, & emotionally) between my students. Today I'm sharing one of our most powerful community-building lessons we've shared since becoming a combined classroom! As a result, we have seen a huge change in the mindset of our students.

Build Your Growth Mindset with Intentional Read Alouds

Intentionally chosen read alouds and texts in a classroom have tremendous power. From writing mentor texts, to texts that lend themselves to particular reading strategies, our students need models and this is the perfect way.

Giraffes Can't Dance (affiliate link) is one of my favorite read-alouds. It's a smooth read, include rhymes, and is a perfect platform for launching a conversation about differences in the classroom. The book centers around a Giraffe who can't dance like all the other jungle animals and is made fun of because of his lack of dancing skills; thus why Gerald is the perfect character for teaching students about growth mindset!

Poor Gerald feels absolutely deflated and knows it's time for him to leave the jungle dance floor. This is the climax of the story and a perfect time to have a stellar classroom conversation about diversity, acceptance, love, and the power of "yet". I have a tendency to become involved in books, so I always tag this page with a sticky note, so I don't blow past my stopping point.

A Class Brainstorm

This was the place where our first class brainstorm took place - things we can't do YET. I started sharing with my "Yet" - "I can't whistle Yet" and recorded my idea on our class chart with my name underneath. Students had a few minutes to think and then, we took turns share their "yets" with the class. From writing words to doing a backflip, we discovered everyone has something they cannot do YET!

Then, we continued reading to discover that Gerald soon finds a dance of his own! His 'yet' has become a 'now'. All it took was practice, confidence in himself, and time!

Individual Student Responses Highlighting the Power of yet

After reading students used this graphic organizer to illustrate and make plans for their "yet". From school to life, students chose their own 'yet' and each one was perfect. We shared them together and then, made a classroom Yet Book that sits on our library display shelf.

How you do foster 'yet' attitudes in your classroom? Do you have any favorite read alouds, activities, or sayings? I would love to hear your ideas!

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Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet - The Brown Bag Teacher

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Encourage students to realize the power of growth mindset with this read aloud and free graphic organizer perfect for primary classrooms.

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There are SO many quotes to inspire students with growth mindset