Mindsets in the Classrom: Chapter 8

Good Evening!

Normally I would not be writing on a holiday but my sweet girl and her wonderful daddy are both napping so I have little free time. I am writing tonight about chapter 8 of Mindsets in the Classroom and I will be linking up with the ladies at Hello Sunshine as well.

 This was an awesome chapter. It had so many wonderful lessons and books for all grade levels that we can use in our classrooms to teach our students about the brain and growth mindsets. She gives us ideas for everything from preassessments to teaching growth mindset terminology. I thought I would share two of my favorite ideas with you that I will be using during our first week of school this year.

 She gave the example of using thread, yarn, and rope to show how neural connections grow when we continue to work at something new. Thread is the first stage of the connection. As you practice more and get better at the concept your connection grows which is represented by the yarn. Once your continue practicing and reach mastery your connection is even stronger and is now represented by the rope. She also used the thread to demonstrate how a connection can stay thin and frail or even break if we do not keep trying to learn and make that connection stronger. What a simple, engaging activity to help young elementary students understand how neurons build connections and grow stronger as we learn and practice each new concept. 

She also used a clip from Meet the Robinson's to help students understand that failure isn't the end of something; it is only the beginning. It's something to celebrate because we discovered a way that something doesn't work. Now we look at the problem again and see if we can find a new path for solving it. This is such an important lesson that I think all classes should start with at the beginning of a school year. Students need to know and understand that failing at something is not the end and they need to know that their teachers and classmates will be their to help them find another path to learning the lesson. She includes a list of discussion questions for the middle of the clip and the end of the clip to help with your discussion on failure. I think that young kids would love this and learn from it. Besides, what little kid doesn't remember a cartoon? I've included the clip below.

Remember: KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!

I would love to read your thoughts on this outstanding, idea packed chapter. Link up with us at Hello Sunshine if you can.

Ashley