I want learners to embrace challenges and learn from them. Amazing drawing and technology skills don’t develop instantly—they take time to develop—and anyone can develop them. Difficulties are inevitable—and they are growth opportunities.
Jo Boaler writes in her EdSurge article: “Research shows that struggling is absolutely critical to mastery and that the highest achieving people in the world are those who have struggled the most.” She also writes that students “should value the time of struggle and know that they are on their way to being better, wiser and equipped with a stronger brain. Getting answers right is OK, being stuck and finding them hard is fantastic.”
Shapegrams Lessons have their own punny encouragement posters. Members can download individual posters from Lesson’s webpage.
Even if you’re not a member, you can download a PDF or view slides with all 60+ silly growth encouragement messages. I really do hope that you will have groan after viewing these posters!
5 thoughts on “Growth Mindset Posters and Slides”
This is absolutely amazing. I will share these thoughts (quoted and properly cited) in my classes and talks.
I started using Shapegrams just for fun and the kids thrived. I saw my third graders identifying simple shapes in things around them and the development for an “artist’s eye” mesmerized me. Once they “figured out” the Shapegram, I traded them for a job well done and gave them a black and white coloring page. It took a few times, but then they realized it was attached to the video. And they became big fans of puns. I loved how this made connections in so many ways for them. I even saw some kids put the pun mindset poster in the folder pocket so that it became their cover. Most brought them home for the family fridge! What great fun we can have if we only play through the struggle!
I am wondering if you or anyone grades Shapegrams. I would not want to grade it on artisitic ability but rather effort.
Good question, Kelly. I did not grade Shapegrams when I offered them to my fifth graders. They were motivated to do them without a grade. If that was not the case, then I would likely grade some sort of reflection that I’d assign for them to complete after working on the Shapegram.