Need a new growth mindset lesson for K-3? Growth Mindset Ninja by Mary Nhin is a great book to introduce the power of yet and I found a great craft to go with it. I used it this year in 2nd grade but this can be a K-3 activity.
The book is short and sweet (available here) and I embedded a read aloud by the author in the PPT I use to guide my lesson. The craft I borrowed from a freebie by Speech Steps on TPT and I adapted it for the lesson.
Materials needed: Cardboard toilet paper towel rolls, plastic straws for belts, markers, brain stickers (optional but great for this $2.99 per 100 at orientaltrading.com Click here ) glue stick (sometimes the brain stickers need more stick, scotch tape might help with straws as belts.
Step 1: Yes, there is a little prep for this lesson. It includes collecting enough toilet paper rolls for how many students you have. Then drawing the rectangle on each cardboard roll. (I started collecting 2 weeks prior the lesson and if you can get the students on board to help bring ’em in, probably done it a week before.)
Step 2: Students will need markers and glue sticks for the craft. Once in the class, follow the PPT to guide you, and tweak it to your liking. I show the read aloud of the story (by the author on YouTube), then introduce the craft. Something about using a medium other than paper is very exciting for the kids.
The craft takes about 15 minutes. (Side note, I did this lesson in 2nd grade and since I am following the MINDSET MATTERS curriculum, the lesson prior to this I reviewed Mindfulness and I told them next lesson we would be doing a cool craft about growth mindset… training your brain.) This book talks lots about the Power of Yet which is one of the next concepts to cover.
Step 3: For the craft, each student gets one toilet paper cardboard roll with pre-drawn rectangle, one straw, one brain sticker, a pre-made label that says “Name: Growth Mindset Ninja Mission: To Train my Brain”,
Step 4: The step by step for the craft are on slides 8-12 and also here as a freebie. The only things I add are gluing the name tag on and putting a brain sticker on the ninja. Also I omit the sword… because, well… I don’t want ninja sword fights to take away from the point of the lesson.
Step 5: Optional Ninja Maze click here to supplement this lesson. Need a brain break? Here is a Being Awesome Ninja Kidz Music Video.
I have loved watching the students create and learn with this lesson. Let me know your thoughts! 🙂 ~Lisa