Growth Mindset in the Elementary Classroom (FREEBIE)

Have YOU read this book?

Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci

If so, what did / do you think!?  I'm in chapter 6 and so far, so good!  I appreciate that the author has taken such a big idea and narrowed it down to the classroom.

My awareness of and interest in growth mindset started last fall when I switched to a new school district.  Being a "new" teacher again, I was required to participate in the mentor / mentee program and part of our time was spent discussing...

Mindset by Carol Dweck

This was a pretty good read in the sense that it taught me about growth mindset in general.  But if you're a teacher, I recommend Mary Cay Ricci's book instead.  She also has a resource book for teachers that I feel is worthwhile.

Read-to-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci

Okay, so are you wondering how I have applied my personal learning on growth mindset in the classroom?  Well, please read on!  :)

First off, I use a lot of short videos.  Class Dojo has a couple of series of videos that are AWESOME!

Here is the first video of the first series: "Growth Mindset for Students."  This series is complete (five in total).

And this is the first video of the second series, "Big Ideas," which is actually unlisted (I think because they are still working on this series), but if you have the link or you click on the image above, then you can view it.

Kizoom explains how challenges grow our brains.

Khan Academy does a great job of explaining things in kid-friendly terms in this video.

Of cooooourse, I also read a lot of books that have a growth mindset theme or lesson.  Here are some of my favorites!

  

Click HERE to read details on how we used Rosie Revere, Engineer in our classroom.  Ada Twist, Scientist does not come out until September 6th, 2016 (my birthday, eeeek!), but I'm sure it will be just as amazing as the first two!  You rock Andrea Beaty!

Speaking of authors that rock, let's throw Peter Reynolds into that boat!

And some more...

My husband claims that I say this about most children's books I read and own, but when I say, "Todd Parr is one of my FAVORITE authors!!" I really mean it.  :)

Todd Parr's colorful illustrations and simple (yet powerful) text make it the perfect book to use when first introducing your students to growth mindset.  FREEBIE ALERT: I created a response sheet that you can use with this book.  You can find it by visiting my TPT store.

If you want to talk with your students specifically about the brain, this is a good one!

Sometimes we include some growth mindset writing.  Growing Firsties has an A-MAZ-ING freebie that we use over the course of a couple weeks.  We discuss and work on a page here...a page there.

I am a huge proponent of school-to-home (and vice versa) communication, so of course I share with our families that we learn about growth mindset in our classroom.  For example, I sent home a FREE parent letter kindly provided to us by Sarah Gardner.

I also plaster our doors and walls with quotes that have a growth mindset theme.  Thanks to many of our gracious colleagues, there are LOTS out there for free!  Here are just a few examples of those kind teachers and their freebies:

Stephanie Ann

Boy O'Boy Designs

Tales from Miss D

Squeaky Altman-Lewis

I keep this hallway display up all year.  It is another FREEBIE...this one coming at you from Pinkadots Elementary.

On a final note, I have a "Growth Mindset" Pinterest board, in case you're interested in following.

Phew!  Seeing as I have not blogged in months and I'm on summer break, this required a lot of brain power, haha!  I hope you gained something from this post.  I'd love to hear how you use growth mindset in your classroom.  Feel free to comment below!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  :)

Featured Teacher Tuesday - Week 20

NOOO!  It has come to an end!  This is the last blog post (at least for now) of the weekly linky party, Featured Teacher Tuesdays, hosted by Heidi Martin.

Our last, but certainly not least, featured teacher is... Heidi Neels!

Heidi Neels, from Flipping for First, is a spunky and organized first grade teacher!  Years of tumbling and cheerleading as well as a passion for teaching made her blog name come to life.  She has been teaching for 9 years, 6 of those being in first grade.  Heidi has truly found her teaching niche!

Heidi has been married for 15 years (yep, he is tied up in the basement) and has two beautiful girls, ages 15 (do not do the math) and 10!  Faith brings joy in her life each and every day.  God has blessed her family and teaching career.  She is a middle child (typical middle child syndrome) and requires lots of attention from those around her.

Organization fuels Heidi through first grade.  (It may be a disease!)  Check out her blog for some amazing tips on how to organize Words Their Way, Listening Stations, Behavior Management, Erin Condren Planner, Common Core Assessments, Classroom tips and so much more!

Laughing is important to Heidi!  Mo Willems, first grade quotes, and National Lampoon movies can put a smile on her face.  Just like Wimberly, Heidi can worry a lot!  Therefore, Heidi clings to

Psalm 46:10 - “Be still, and know I am God!

Heidi’s best seller is her "Editable Daily Behavior Chart."  This is an amazing product that every teacher who has a student with challenging behavior needs.  Heidi loves to hear success stories about teachers using this in their classrooms!

"Fry’s First 100 Sight Words" came about when Heidi had 30% of her students struggling with sight words!  Yikes!  To overcome this obstacle, Heidi created a product that focuses on teaching the words in context using pictures, repetition, and motor skills.  She ended that year with 100% of her students knowing all first grade sight words!  Love it!

Heidi’s "First Grade Common Core Math Assessments" are a full year’s worth of assessments!  She even has a blog post with a yearly calendar to help you plan.

Check out one of Heidi’s freebies!

Don’t forget to join me in following Heidi!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  :)

Featured Teacher Tuesday - Week 19

Meet Karen Wasdin from Silly Sam Productions!

Karen is a baseball mom from New Jersey who loves to watch her son play for the high school team and his travel teams. Her husband is a videographer / photographer and she enjoys assisting him in producing sports and educational videos in his business, MoonGate Video Productions. Karen's family enjoys taking trips to MLB stadiums in different cities as well as finding beautiful places to capture animals in their natural habitats - with cameras ready at all times.

Karen has been teaching for 30 years in New York and New Jersey. She has experience ranging from preschool to high school. She has spent most of her career teaching firsties and 2nd grade basic skills students.

MAKE LEARNING FUN! That is her philosophy and the key to keeping learners engaged, participating, and remembering all their awesome educational experiences. "Good Happy Morning" is how she greets her first graders on each new school day!

“A classroom is an amazing place," Karen says, "Actually watching the learning process in action is incredible!” She also loves writing curriculum and studying Brain-Based Learning. Her specialties include cooperative learning, behavior management, motivation, and differentiation. Inspiring learners and making learning fun is her life's journey.

Finding ways to help her young learners understand the trickiest concepts has driven her to create multi-sensory approaches and engaging lessons that MAKE LEARNING FUN! These techniques can be found in her products at TpT.

Color-Coded Mental Math Addition and Subtraction Posters use the color-coding technique to help learners make connections to math strategies.

Point of View is an integrated Reader’s and Writer’s Workshop unit that has students look at the story of the Three Little Pigs through the eyes of different characters. Then they do the same with their own personal narrative about their first day of school. This helps them truly discover and empathize with others and recognize feelings other than their own.

Short and Long Vowel Super Bundle Package is an extensive unit covering the heart of the first grade phonics curriculum. Word Houses use patterning chunks and vowel sounds to help students become stronger readers and writers. Creating their own vowel books helps students celebrate all that they have learned.

You can find and follow Silly Sam Productions here:

Blog: Laugh and Learn with Silly Sam

Twitter:  @sillysamprod

TpT: Silly Sam Productions

Pinterest:  Silly Sam Productions

Facebook:  Silly Sam Productions

Instagram:  sillysamproductions

Thanks for stopping by!  :)

Featured Teacher Tuesday - Week 18

It is FEATURED TEACHER TUESDAY!

This week our featured teacher is Stephanie Darling from Special Adventures!

Stephanie Darling is currently a 1st grade teacher in Central Arkansas.  This is Stephanie’s first year in 1st grade; she previously taught special education for 5 years.

Stephanie is married to her husband Kenny, who is also a teacher.  They work in the same elementary school where they met just a couple years ago.  They were engaged and “ran off to Vegas” to get married.  Their little family has grown by 1 as they have a yellow lab, Ozzie keeping them on their toes.  

Stephanie loves teaching!   She is having a blast this year in first grade and is very passionate about helping all students learn in fun and engaging ways.  Stephanie has really enjoyed learning so many new things from teachers in her online teaching communities such as Facebook, blog, TPT, and more. You can find Stephanie on:

Facebook  

Instagram @specialadventures

Periscope @StephaneDarling

Blab @StephaneDarling

Twitter @StephaneDarling

Pinterest

Besides running her blog, Stephanie is also a TPT author!  You can find her store at Special Adventures with Stephanie Darling. Some of her newest products include…

*Seasonal Mystery Passages for Fun Close Reading Practice*

Click the link to check out Stephanie’s latest winter-themed passage.

These packs are perfect for working on reading comprehension and close reading as well as vocabulary development.  

Stephanie also has created an entire year of 2nd Grade Math Curriculum and has a growing bundle that (when completed in June) will be an entire year of 1st Grade Math Curriculum.  These sets are aligned to CCSS and have all you need: games, hands-on engaging lesson plans, reinforcement pages, differentiation, assessments, explicit instructions for use, etc. to save any teacher time, money, and energy in planning and teaching math.

Thanks for stopping by! :)

Featured Teacher Tuesday - Week 17

It’s Featured Teacher Tuesday!

This week I would like to you to meet Christina from Hanging Around In Primary.

Christina has been teaching for 21 years (gasp!) Most of her teaching has been in Grade 1 but she has also taught Kindergarten through Grade 4.  She also spent 3 ½ years working as a substitute teacher at the beginning of her career.  She has been teaching in a small village just outside of Kingston, Ontario, Canada for most of her career.  

When not teaching Christina is spending time with her family: a busy 12 and 15 year old and a husband who runs his own business.  She loves to travel and spend time time at the cottage.  

Christina has always had a passion for teaching.  When she was growing up there was no question about what she wanted to do when she grew up.  A first grade teacher was her dream job and she has been fortunate enough to teacher 6 year olds for the majority of her career so far.  

Christina has always had a passion for creating her own classroom materials and sharing ideas with her colleagues.  She stumbled upon Teachers Pay Teachers in 2012 and got the nerve up to post her own products in the winter of 2013.  Since then she has continued to add products and really grow her store.  She has many freebies to help early primary teachers out in Math, Literacy and Classroom Management.  Click on the covers below to check out some of her popular freebies.  

Christina loves to teach using centers to engage students and keep them practicing crucial skills.  Some of her most popular math centers are

She also creates products that support directed teaching as well.  These comprehension checks are perfect for whole group teaching as well for small group instruction.  The Word Jail is one of her favourite products.  She uses it to help students learn to read and spell those tricky rule breaker words.  Her students love it.  

   

Christina has been blogging for about a year and half.  She enjoys sharing what is happening in her classroom and showing off her products in actions.  You can check out a few of her most popular posts below.  If you like what you read be sure to follow her to keep up with her posts!  

 

You can also follow Christina on Social media.   Check out her accounts below:

I hope you enjoyed meeting Christina this week for our weekly Featured Teacher post.  See you again next week when you will meet another first grade teacher!  

Thanks for stopping by! :)