growth mindset

*Update: After presenting at the WLU conference in July 2018, several people tweeted out my “Who We Are” charts. I’ve revised this previous blog post with charts from the past 3 years and updated book recommendations. Enjoy!

I love the way winter break is like pushing the reset button. I’ve enjoyed relaxed days with friends, family, books and the mountains. It’s been fabulous. It’s recharged my mind, my body and my soul. I’ve allowed myself to step away from my classroom (physically and mentally) and now I feel a renewed sense of excitement, energy and possibility as I get ready to return in a few days.

My kids and I have enjoyed 17 days off. While it’s been wonderful, I know that January 3rd is going to be like starting all over again in many ways. Seventeen days to a five and six year old is an eternity. But I love the idea of a second “first day” of sorts. It’s a chance to re-establish our community, to get to know one another again, to reteach those things that were falling apart in December and to revisit what kind of class we are. It’s like a blank slate that we can create together again.

One thing I always do that first week back is to ask my kids, “what kind of class do we want to be? What kind of community do we want to have? Who are we?” Those are big questions, but my kindergarteners never fail to think deeply, to reflect on what was working and what wasn’t, and to create a promise of sorts that guides us for the rest of the year.

We start this conversation in our morning meeting on the first day back. I take notes on chart paper as we talk and start to determine what really matters to us. We read new books and revisit old favorites that first week back and talk about what makes characters kind and likable, or unkind and unlikable, and how that might look in our classroom. We talk about what makes us special and unique and about how we are different and alike. We talk a lot about how we treat each other when we agree and when we disagree. We read books like Grumpy Bird, Each Kindness, It’s Okay to Make Mistakes – and any Todd Parr book, Red, A Crayon’s Story, I Used to Be Afraid, Walter Was Worried, The OK Book, Elephants Cannot Dance, Ish, The Invisible Boy, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and Last Stop on Market Street – just to name a few of our favorites. Some more favorites to add to this list are: Love, Love the World, Sparkle Boy, I Am Peace, Be Kind, The Big Umbrella, In My Heart: A Book of Feelings, Brave as Can Be: A Book of Courage, All My Treasures: A Book of Joy, The Skin You Live In, Julian is a Mermaid, Why Am I Me?, I Am Enough, She Persisted, Be Who You Are, Not Quite Narwhal, Chocolate Me!, and A Unicorn Named Sparkle. The main idea here is to determine what would make our classroom a wonderful place to be, how can we respect and celebrate each others differences, how can we live in a joyful place together, how can we make a difference – and how can we contribute to that.

We revisit the chart daily, adding and revising our thinking. After a week or so, we create our own chart – through interactive writing – that reflects who we are in this classroom. We always display it in a prominent place so that, as one of my kids said last year, “everyone who comes in here knows that this is how they have to be. You can’t be mean and come in our room.”

Last year’s chart as a work in progress – adding things to it as we discuss. (2016)

This document serves as a class pledge or promise for the rest of the year. We read it and use it as a tool to solve problems, resolve issues and remind us of what kind of class we are. It’s a powerful tool to come back to when the inevitable problems arise.

Last year’s finished chart with photos! (2016)

How do you reset after a long winter break? Best wishes to everyone for a fantastic second “first day”!

Update: Here are the charts from 2017.

And here are the charts from 2018:

I was catching up on Twitter when this post caught my eye:

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What an excellent question! I only wish I had been at that conference to join in on what I’m sure was an amazing conversation.

The term “struggling readers” has always bothered me. I’ve never liked “struggling” coming before “readers” (or writers, or mathematicians, or whatever identity you are describing). When Pat and I titled our book, we wanted to make sure that “readers” was the first, and most important, identity mentioned – so we decided on “Supporting READERS who Struggle”, instead of “Supporting STRUGGLING Readers”. However, after reading this quote I couldn’t stop thinking about this. Is it the same thing? By labeling our readers “struggling” (either before or after labeling them as “readers”), are we implying that this is a fixed way of being? That they aren’t readers who are growing and learning – they are readers who are struggling?

But is “struggling” a bad word?

Can struggling be a sign of a growth mindset?

I read an article a few months ago about having and nurturing a growth mindset, where the authors question whether “struggling” might be a good thing. “That struggling means you’re committed to something and are willing to work hard. Parents around the dinner table and teachers in the classroom should ask, ‘Who had a fabulous struggle today?'” I love this. “A fabulous struggle.” I know that for myself, some of my “fabulous struggles”, like completing a 108 mile trail run in the mountains or finishing graduate school left me with a huge sense of accomplishment, pride and joy. It wasn’t easy. I struggled. A lot. And I had a lot of help and support. But it was worth it.

Learning to read isn’t always easy. It can be a struggle for some children. But what if we changed our conversation about what “struggling” means, and instead, teach children that struggling is a fabulous thing to do? That, if you are committed to something, and work really hard, you can feel that amazing sense of accomplishment and joy. I think the conversation we have with our students would be the easy part. None of my kindergarteners would tell you they are “struggling”. That word is never used, and they all see themselves as readers – whether they are reading pictures in books, the letters in their name, retelling a familiar book or reading all of the words in an Elephant and Piggie book. They are simply “readers”. It is the conversation with adults that we need to change. When we discuss children in our CT meetings and our progress monitoring meetings the word struggling comes up often. After all, it is our “struggling readers” that we are meeting about. But what if we framed our conversation about the “fabulous struggles” these kids are having and how we can support them and help them grow as readers and empower them? What if our conversations worked towards growth and empowerment and looked at effort, good teaching and moving our readers (and writers, mathematicians, etc…) towards growth and success?

I’m looking forward to exploring this more. My school is focusing on the growth mindset as one of our professional learning strands for the upcoming school year. I think this question begs conversation, reflection and thought as we examine our language and our practice.

I would love to hear your thoughts on “struggling readers” and a growth mindset. Please share!

Catching Readers Before They Fall

What Kind of Class Do We Want?

“Struggling” Readers in a Growth Mindset