Growth Mindset Ideas & Freebies

Ideas and resources to promote a growth mindset in elementary students! Make sure to download the free resources in the post!

Hello Friend!

In recent years there has been a lot of enthusiasm and buzz around the topic of  “growth mindset”.  The research of Carol Dweck has become more well-known and many educators have learned about the power of mindset.

But research is also showing us that while teachers are quite familiar with growth mindset, they want more skills and resources to incorporate it into their classroom.  In a nationwide poll of K-12 teachers conducted by the Education Week Research Center, 77 percent said they were familiar or very familiar with growth mindset, but 85 percent said they wanted more professional development in the area!

Today I want to share some information on growth mindset that may deepen your understanding and provide you with actual resources that you can take back to your classroom and use with your students!

So let’s start with a little info on mindsets….

Through years of research Carol Dweck has identified two types of mindsets which she calls; growth and fixed.

growth mindset poster
 
 
fixed mindset poster

When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. Even at a young age, it is essential for us to teach our students that their intelligence can grow or develop with persistence, effort, and a focus on learning.

If you are just hearing about Growth Mindset or beginning your journey to learn more, I would encourage you to take a few minutes to listen to Dweck sharing her research.

Now that we have a bit of background info, I’m excited to share with you some great resources I have created and ideas I have found to help instill a growth mindset in my students.

I have compiled a list of book and video resources that are perfect to share with my students.  You’ll want to keep this list at your fingertips!

growth mindset resources

There are sooooo many great read alouds that are perfect to facilitate discussions of  perseverance, growth vs fixed mindset, and problem solving. Here are some of my favorites:

growth mindset books

To take a PEEK inside these read alouds and see what growth mindset lessons they match up with head to this blog post THE BEST GROWTH MINDSET PICTURE BOOKS.

My favorite videos for my first graders are these ClassDojo 5 (short episodes). In this series on Growth Mindset, two monsters named Mojo and Katie explore the different aspects of growth mindset, perfect for K-2 students.

The video topics include:
Your Brain is like a Muscle
The Magic of Mistakes
The Incredible Power of Yet
The Mysterious World of Neurons
Mojo Puts it All Together
 
 
You can link to the 5 episodes and discussion guides from here.
 
[spacer height=”20px”]Another good video Brain Jump with Ned the Neuron: Challenges Grow Your Brain is a short video that introduces kids to the powerful idea that taking on challenges can grow and strengthen our brains, and that we have the power to make our brains stronger every day.
 

My class needed a visual reminder to “grow our brain” so I made this poster, you can grab this FREEBIE at the end of the post!

growth mindset free poster

#truestory During a reading assessment I noticed one of my sweet boys was reading a book at a frustration level, I asked him if he wanted to discontinue the assessment and read a better fit book, he instantly replied, “No I am going to grow my brain Mrs. Winter!”

Once my kids had a basic understanding what growth mindset is we set goals for ourselves and hung them in the hallway.

growth mindset goal worksheet

Soon we will check in on our goals and see what action steps are needed to make our goals attainable. I’ll be sure to remind my students that their effort and belief in themselves will be integral in helping them reach their goals. Here is a sample of what I have planned:

growth mindset worksheet

To support my students as they work to develop their growth mindset I created bookmarks with reminders that their intelligence is unlimited.  I keep them in our classroom but also send them home with my students.  Be sure to grab these color and black and white bookmarks for your kids at the end of this post!

growth mindset bookmarks

Truly developing a growth mindset takes time.  One or two lessons at the start of the year simply isn’t enough.  It is something that must be reinforced all year long.  Here are a few more resources I created that you may be interested in using with your students throughout the school year.

growth mindset worksheet

growth mindset worksheet

If you are interested in seeing more of these Growth Mindset Resources including book and video links you can check them out by clicking below.

Growth Mindset Ideas and Resources
Growth Mindset Free Resources

If you ready to start fostering a growth mindset culture with your elementary students and unsure where to start? To help you out, I am happy to these FREE GROWTH MINDSET bookmarks! They are the perfect little gift to give your students!

For more ideas, check out this Growth Mindset blog post for more lessons and activities.

Taking time to teach your students about growth mindsets and supporting them as develop it is such a valuable use of instructional time. Helping your students to achieve their potential and motivating them to understand effective effort, persistence, and working hard to reach their goals should be a central aim of our teaching. [spacer height=”20px”]  

When students believe they can get smarter, they will put in extra time and effort into their learning which will lead to higher achievement.  I hope the resources I have shared offer a way to for you to begin to foster a Growth Mindset culture in your classroom.  It’s a wonderful gift you have the power to give to your students. [spacer height=”20px”]  

Looking for more resources on the topic?  I shared more ideas and FREEBIES in this Growth Mindset Blog Post

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I’d love to hear in the comments any other resources you have found to help your students be successful in achieving their goals!

Want to learn more about teaching growth mindset? >>>click the image to go to the post<<<

challenging students
growth mindset picture books
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