Here is one of my favorite lessons teaching neuroplasticity. I had several requests for this from an Instagram post so for anyone who wants it, here you go! It is from my Mindset Matters (2016) curriculum book (pg. 68-69), but slightly revamped. I’m putting it here for easy access. Here is a link to the Read More …
Testing, testing, 1-2-3. Yup, it’s that time of year again. (Insert eye roll here). As we all try to instill hope into our little people as the high-stakes testing puts way too much pressure on them than is developmentally appropriate… (sigh) … it’s test prep lesson time. I shy away from these lessons on some Read More …
To start off this year, I’m doing a lesson with my students on their “one word”. I’ve been hearing lots of chatter about this concept as the new year has rolled around, and thought it would be a fun way to introduce goal setting with my students. Here is a video (plus lots of #oneword Read More …
Last week I did a lesson that I’ve been doing for a few years, but I changed it up and got the comment that made me know that this is a keeper. Ms. Gracy Griffith, 1st grade teacher said “Make sure you do this one again every year.” YAY for a WINNER lesson!! That’s the Read More …
Peter Reynolds’ Dot Day is every year on September 15th-ish and although this is my first year diving in, I know it will now be “a thing”. The Dot is a story that can be used in almost any content area.The themes of creativity, confidence, and growth mindset bring endless lesson ideas. And even if Read More …
There are so many great freebies on Mindfulness on Teachers Pay Teachers! I love to be inspired by others and I’m grateful to these vendors for making these downloads freebies. If you’ve ever heard me talk about how I teach growth mindset, you know that I love to start my lessons off with MINDFULNESS LESSONS. Read More …
So I started writing this blog post last night and then abracadabra today is a Snowmaggedon day in Georgia. I am posting now because a) if need a lesson for next week… voila, b) if you have kids with cabin fever, this might be just what you are looking for to do with your own Read More …
In my district standard transition to middle school protocol is that the students go to the middle schools for a tour and get lots of questions answered. It’s an awesome day that the kids love. But I am always looking for new lessons to help allay the fears and anxieties of our students who are about Read More …
Next week we are having Exceptional Children’s Week at my school. I’ll be going into my first grade classes for lessons, so it’s a natural time to reinforce the “Everyone is Unique” concept (not only a component of Mindset Matters), but a great lesson for every day and age… most especially this day and age. Read More …
Q: How can you help students deal the stress and frustration? A: Teach them about positive self-talk and that mistakes lead to brain growth. While brushing up my “Self-Talk, Making Mistakes and Looking on the Bright Side” lesson, I found many video clips that would be great to use as supplements. These would work great Read More …
