7 Growth Mindset Activities for Positive Thinking

When students adopt a positive thinking and participate in growth mindset activities, they start to believe they can boost their skills and abilities through dedication and practice. Basically, a growth mindset is all about believing that intelligence and talents can grow. Want to see your students thrive? Encourage them to lose their fixed mindset!

Keep reading for 7 Growth Mindset Activities you can use with elementary students.

Activity #1: Growth Mindset Affirmations

Teach your students about the importance of affirmations. Help them understand that a positive attitude can help them overcome challenges and achieve their goals.

Want to help your students develop a growth mindset? Try getting them to recite positive affirmations every day! You could jot these affirmations down on slips of paper and pop them into a jar for students to pick from. Or, why not create a growth mindset bulletin board with affirmations they can read each day?

💡 Here are 5 to get you started:

• “I am brave, and I can try new things every day.”
• “Mistakes help me learn and grow stronger.”
• “I am a good friend, and I care about others.”
• “I can do hard things if I keep trying.”
• “I am proud of myself for doing my best.”

 

 

 

 

 

Activity #2: Positive Thinking Visualizations

Encourage your students to take risks and try new things. Help them understand that failure is a part of learning and growth.

Visualizations are an awesome way to help your students develop a growth mindset and see themselves achieving their goals. Here’s how you can try it out in your classroom:

💡Ask your students to close their eyes and picture themselves succeeding at whatever they’re working on—acing a difficult test, mastering a challenging sport, or anything else. Encourage them to really think about how they feel and what actions they’re taking to reach success.

It’s a fantastic exercise for boosting confidence and motivation! Want to see your students thrive? Give visualizations a shot and watch them shine! 🌟

 

Activity #3 Growth Mindset Activities: The Magical Yet

Encourage students to keep trying, even when they find something difficult.

Teach students to add YET to the end of sentences Why is the word “yet” so important? Yet implies that a goal can be reached. Yet puts a person in control, while acknowledging there is work to be done in order to get to the desired place. Adding “yet” to the end of a sentence turns it into a possibility. “I don’t know how to ride a bike….yet.” One of my new favorite books is,  “The Magical Yet” by Angela Di’Terlizzi. It is a great story that illustrates why the word YET is so powerful.

💡 Activity: “The Power of Yet” Poster- Create a classroom poster with the phrase “I can’t do this… yet!” Encourage students to add tasks they find challenging to the poster and revisit them regularly to see their progress. This helps reinforce the idea that they can achieve their goals with time and effort.

 

Activity #4: Looking for Evidence of Growth

Encourage your students to set goals and strive to reach them.

Help them to see that effort and perseverance are key to achieving their goals. provide attainable challenges. “This is going to be hard, but I will try and follow the steps I know to tackle it.” In this growth mindset activity, have students reflect on times when they have overcome a challenge or improved their skills. This can be done through journaling, discussions, or small groups. Once students have identified a time when they have shown growth, have them look for evidence to support their claim. For example, if a student says “I improved my math skills because I kept practicing even when I made mistakes,” ask them to find specific examples.  

💡Activity:  “Mistake of the Day” Sharing Circle- At the end of each day, have a sharing circle where students can talk about a mistake they made and what they learned from it. This helps normalize making mistakes and promotes learning from them. Encourage the other students to give positive feedback to foster a safe, growth-oriented environment.

 

Activity #5 Growth Mindset Journaling

Encourage your students to celebrate their successes, no matter how small. Help them understand that every success is a step towards their goals. 

Another activity you can do with your students is growth mindset journaling.

💡Every day, have students write down one thing that they did that showed a growth mindset. For example, “I kept trying even when I wanted to give up” or “I asked for help when I needed it.” At the end of each week, have students share their growth mindset journal entries with the class.    

 

Activity #6: Writing Growth Mindset Letters

Help your students to see the importance of effort and practice.

This growth mindset activity is a great way to help your students build confidence and motivation.

💡Have students write letters to themselves, imagining that they are looking back on their current situation from the future. In their letters, encourage them to describe how they overcame challenges, what growth mindset strategies they used, and how they ultimately achieved success.

 

Activity #7: Learn About the Failures of Successful People  

Teach your students that successful people learn from their mistakes. 

Most successful people experienced failure before success. Helping your students see the value in accepting constructive criticism will help them believe in their own ability to grow and improve. Positive thinkers are more likely to be successful in school and in life than those with a negative outlook. They are also more resilient and adaptable, meaning that they bounce back from setbacks more quickly. When students feel supported in learning and believe that they can improve with effort, they are more likely to take risks and persevere when faced with setbacks. I love to use these activities with students because their confidence and positive attitude towards learning shines through! 

 

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