A Grace-Filled Classroom

Primary Teacher Inspiration Blog

STOP: Don’t tell your students they are smart!

In this growth mindset series, we’ve talked about encouraging mistakes in your classroom, engaging students in meaningful learning, and now we’ll talk about praising students the right way!

Why wouldn’t we want to tell students they are smart? You might be wondering…

Well, friend… being smart is certainly still a goal! However, I’d like for us to delve deeper into the idea of praising students the right way.

Here’s a thought to consider, praising a child for being smart is no different than praising a child for being tall. You either are, or you are not. Being tall or short is something that can’t be controlled. It’s genetic. Similarly, praising a child for being smart, would give the same idea. Either you are (smart) or you are not! The student will attribute success to a fixed trait that he/she was born with.
praising students, growth mindset

[Read more…]

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Creating a Growth Mindset Community

Whether you’ve been in school for several weeks or half of the year, it is never too late to create a growth mindset classroom community! Building a better understanding of growth mindset is key!

Teachers words and actions in the classroom carry a lot of weight as to whether or not students develop a growth mindset.

The following are ideas to help you ensure you’re fostering a growth mindset learning environment.

[Read more…]

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Secrets to An Awesome Welcome Back Letter

As you’re heading back to school and looking for something special to do for your students, you should consider sending them a letter!

Write a welcome back letter to your students as you head back to school this fall!Just think about it?

 

 

Kids never get anything in the mail. Heck…besides emails, kids might never interact with mail. Getting a letter from their teacher before school starts would definitely stand out with your students!

With these secrets…

…you will be able to write a letter in no time! [Read more…]

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Teachers’ Summer Bucket List

First things first… let’s do a happy dance because you are on summer break!

Second, what are you doing this summer?

Big plans? Little plans?

Every summer, I feel like I start off with great plans with all these ideas of everything I want to accomplish, but then at the end of the summer, I feel like I didn’t get anything done. Who’s with me? [Read more…]

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The Best Way to End the School Year

It’s that time of the school year…the end of the school year!

Raise your hand if you are ready for the last day of school! I mean ready as in you’re tired-running-out-of-ideas- and-pretty-sure-that-if-you-see-one-more-fidget-spinner-you-will-scream… ready?!

Are you raising your hand?

Me too!

That’s why I have the BEST way to end the school year… are you ready…

FREE end of year activities and ideas that will keep your second a and third graders engaged up to the last day!

[Read more…]

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What is a grace-filled classroom?

I’ve thought long and hard about defining a grace-filled classroom. It’s the name of my blog after all! I should have an idea, right?

I strongly believe though, that what it means for me and what it means for you could be different things. I’ve come to the conclusion that there might not be one right answer. Below are some ideas that I have. [Read more…]

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  • These Back to School task cards are a fun and engaging way for your new 2nd grade students to review 1st grade skills! There are 24 Math task cards and 24 ELA task cards that review 1st grade Common Core Standards.
  • Skip counting activities for first and second graders. Includes anchor posters for skipping forward and backwards and printables to practice skip counting starting with non-landmark numbers.
  • These fun and positive notes are just what you need to communicate with parents and let them know their child is doing great in school! From personal experience, I know that parents like to hear from their kid's teacher when their child is doing well! Plu
  • FREE resources to help embed character education in your classroom. Click now to download your freebie!
  • Time to have some fun in the sun with these engaging addition and subtraction word problem task cards! It's a great way to keep your scholar's minds focused even if they have summer on the brain! This is aligned with first grade standards. I've also used it with my second graders as review! This unit has 3 activities for your class: Addition and Subtraction Word Problems, Too Much Information Word Problems, Three Digit Addition|Basic Operations|Word Problems|Summer|
  • These goal sheets can be used weekly or monthly. I use them to set individual goals with my students in reading, writing, math and even behavior.The goal sheets are available in English and Spanish! Send notes home that Spanish-speaking parents will enjoy!|Goal Setting|Bilingual|
  • A growth mindset activity for elementary teachers that helps teachers begin talking about growth mindset. These free growth mindset printables have a nonfiction passage about the brain and a paired nonfiction text.
  • I thought encouraging mistakes in my classroom was crazy, until I realized that it encourages my students to have a growth mindset.
  • Are your students ready to be challenged with higher order place value problems? There are two versions that you can use! ✱Paperless:Use the slides to project for your class. Use this digital version to engage the whole class. ✱Printables: Use the printables to engage students in partnered discussions. You can also use them during a small group or at a math center.|Place Value|Math|Word Problems|
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