How to Introduce Growth Mindset to your Intermediate Students

#GrowthMindset lesson in a nutshell. pic.twitter.com/2UtFrY1TMB

— 20 Percent Genius (@20percentgenius) August 31, 2015

 For the first time ever, we decided to teach a lesson on Growth Mindset to our students! Here's how we went about it!

Read The Most Magnificent Thing

Simply do a read aloud and discuss her character traits, or if you have time try this AMAZING reading lesson that promotes creativity and incorporates planning and peer feedback! (Yay for getting those Genius Hour elements in!) 

Read About how the Brain Works

We used this article to teach students that the brain is like a muscle that needs to be worked! We had the class read the article aloud, then had students answer comprehension questions with a group. 

Make Connections Between the two and Create an Anchor Chart

We asked students to share character traits (and provide evidence) of the main character in the story. We then asked students to share the gist of the Brain is Like a Muscle article. We set that a mindset is like a belief, and that the character in The Most Magnificent Thing believes in the Growth Mindset, and the author of the other article does as well. Based on this, we asked students to define what a Growth Mindset is. 

We provided examples of something someone with a fixed mindset might say and how to change your wording to shift to a growth mindset. Students then provided their own examples of both fixed and growth mindset phrases.

To conclude the lesson, we directed students' attention to the posters hanging in the room. We said that students can use these as a reference and add to it throughout the year. 

Ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, that's it! 

Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge - Day 14: Research and Problem-Solving Mini-Lesson

Day 14: Research and Problem-Solving Mini-Lesson

And today is where it all gets easier. Seriously. By today, most students should be done with creating their plan, and all of the preparation that has been done will allow for some independence.

BUT FIRST....Let me teach a mini lesson!

By this point, most students have had some time to work independently and start their research...and had some time to fail. If they haven't, maybe let them fail for a little while so they (and you) can see what they need help with. This mini lesson is a chance for you to have a discussion with  the class about what challenges students have had, then brainstorm ways to overcome them. We made a T-Chart just like this:

Problems I Encounter	Ways to Solve the Problem
I don’t know what website to use or can’t find a good website.	Try searching different terms.

If you purchase your Google Site Genius Hour Mega Bundle, the problem-solving mini lesson example is on there (as well as other mini lessons), but it is strongly recommended to have an open conversation like this with your class. If you address a lot of these issues up front, you can coast for a while and just keep your eyes peeled for some yellow or red cups!

This might be a good time to refer to Growth Mindset as well. Having a "problem" isn't always fun for these kiddos. Teach them the Growth Mindset language to help them with this process. 

Friendly Reminder...

Although at this point, you're probably strutting around the classroom with the wind blowing in your hair, or doing a happy dance and winking at the teacher across the hall....

Remember that they're still learning. Take a look at their documentation page and see if they are paraphrasing rather than copying. Check to see if they are using reliable websites. Check to see if they are getting a sufficient amount of work done in a session. Review their Reflection pages as well. It's a good opportunity to answer questions or help find go-to people. 

When reviewing one student's notes, I noticed that she added a chart in her documentation page. I then crowned her the Organization Queen. If I came across any disorganized notes, I suggested they get help from the Organization Queen. 

Sometimes after reviewing their documentation, notes, and reflections, I notice some big red flags. I take note and end up conferring with them first thing next Genius Hour session. 

Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge - Day 12: Writing a Plan & Organization Tips

Day 12: Writing a Plan & Organization Tips

Your class WILL be split in two.

Group 1:                                                         Group 2:

No matter what camp your students are in, the first time they write out a plan, it will look something like this:

• research dogs
• interview aunt
• write notes
• make project
• present

Wait a minute...What dogs? How are you going to interview your aunt without writing out questions or setting up a time to interview her? How are you going to "take notes" - photographs? Record a video? Jot down ideas from a website? What are you going to do to share what you learned? Do you need to gather resources? If so, what? 

So...let's take some steps back. 

We write the following on chart paper and post this in our room. After students write their plans, we have them go back to this chart and make sure that they have everything. 

Download the planning mini lesson here. Get ready to do some modeling...and make it FIERCE!

Let's say that you were trying to figure out which dog was the best fit for your family. After talking with family members and friends, you narrow it down to golden retrievers and french bulldogs. Your plan may look something like this:

Question: Which dog is the best fit for my family and why? How can I help others figure out the best dog for them?

1. Create chart with golden retrievers and french bulldogs

                                                    Golden Retrievers                       French Bulldogs

           Temperament

           Ease of Training

           Size

           Care

           Other

           

1. Research: golden retrievers temperament, golden retrievers care, golden retrievers training, & golden retrievers size
2. Write notes in chart
3. Research: french bulldog temperament, french bulldog care, french bulldog training, & french bulldog size
4. Write notes in chart
5. Ask aunt and friend if they would answer a few questions about their dogs (golden retriever & french bulldog)
6. Write interview questions
7. Set up interview times
8. Interview aunt & friend
9. Write down my family's daily schedule/needs (Are there allergies? How often is my family home to take care of the dog?)
10. Look at information and decide which is the best dog for my family and WHY
11. Share information with family
12. Create brochure to help others figure out how which dog is best for them
13. Practice presentation
14. Present

Five steps went to 14....and at this point, you're probably exhausted from wracking your brain of all of the different steps needed to complete your project.

Why do we have kids do this? LOTS OF REASONS!

• It helps them plan ahead.
• As students work through projects, we model that it's okay to go back and add a step or take a step. Everything is not going to go as planned.
• It keep them on track. They know the next step.
• Helps them break down a big project into more manageable pieces. This is an incredibly important life skill! 

YOU CAN DO IT!  But wait....now you have 20-30 different projects going on.

How do we stay organized?! 

Google Sites! Keep all plans, research, reflections, and projects in one place using our bundle. Using this template on our Google site helps us keep track of all Genius Hour work. Classroom management during this time is another challenge.

Green, yellow, and red cups to the rescue! We give each student 3 cups and explain what each means. 

It's just like a stoplight!

Green on top = Good to go

Yellow on top = Need some help, but can keep working for now

Red on top = Stuck - can't go on without help

By using these cups, it provides a quick way of glancing around the room and seeing who needs help. At first, you'll probably notice that your students will go right to the red cup. AH! The website isn't loading. I don't know what to do next. I don't know what this word means.

This will take some time. You need to help your students realize when they can keep working and when they need help immediately. 

Try it! It works!

Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge - Day 9: Question Drafts

Day 9: Question Drafts

WOOOOOHOOO! Your kids have research topics!

Now, it's time for the...

Research questions just don't appear out of nowhere, though. Before you can even start to answer a good solid research question (or YARD question!), you need to answer some smaller (INCH & FOOT) questions.

Our Genius Hour Preparation Activities will help you through all of this.

After students have narrowed down their topics into smaller categories, we have them start to develop their own inch, foot, and yard questions. This...can...get...tricky - but all this work is SO helpful in getting students to work on asking stronger and stronger questions.

This page can be found in the bundle [above].

Good research questions: 

• requires you to use a source other than yourself to find the answer
• can be researched - there is actually information out there to help you find the answer
• not too broad (too much information that would take too long to find the answer), or not too narrow (little exploration)

Have your students focus on the categories of Some or A Little as they generate questions. They should try to come up with questions for topics that they want to dive deeper into. 

Have them refer back to the Inch, Foot, Yard posters in your classroom!

Don't worry...

A research question is coming....

20 Day Genius Hour Challenge - Day 8: A Lot, Some, Little Activity

Day 8: A Lot, Some, Little Activity

Some students may be ready to go as soon as you give them the opportunity to pick ANY topic that they want to explore. Others may have ideas...

that may need some work.

If this is your first time, you may want to have your students do a little pre-searching before picking a topic. When you pre-search, you use Google or any search engine to dig a little deeper into different topics.

Ask yourself:

• What's new or interesting that I didn't know about this topic before?
• What new questions do I have now?
• Are there any connections that I can make with other topics?

After students have decided on a topic like "Dogs" or "3D Printing" or "kite-flying"...or...

We have students explore their topics a little further using an A Lot, Some, Little table (which is available on our TpT site - woohoo!)

Before you have kids do this, make sure you do 3 things: MODEL, MODEL, & MODEL!

No. Not like that.

Walk your kids through the process. Without modeling, you will get a LOT of charts that look like this:

Topic: Dogs

A Lot: fluffy, hairy, big, 4 legs, 2 eyes, big tail, Rover is the best!

Remind your students to think about the smaller topics within each category. What do you know A LOT about? What do you know some things about, but maybe you aren't an expert in? What have you heard an adult talk about or one of your friends mention once or twice? 

As your students work on this chart, walk around and help them dive deeper into their topics and stretch themselves to add to the list. They will be using a topic from the Some or A Little category for their Genius Hour projects?

WAIT A MINUTE...WHAT'S THAT?! You have some kids who can't doooooooo it...take a step back. Maybe direct them toward our Growth Mindset posters. Do some pre-searching OR have them fill out a chart like this to get their juices flowin'!

Resources:

Science Kids: Fun Science & Technology for Kids  Includes a wide variety of science related topics with interactive resources.

Career Resources - What do you want to be when you grow up?  Includes links to learn about different careers.

Genius Hour 20 Day Challenge

Two years ago we piloted a program (in our district referred to as Personalized Learning), but many refer to it as Genius Hour, Passion Projects, 20% Time, or any combination of those words combined. To stay consistent, we'll refer to it as Genius Hour, because that's what we're seeing used most frequently in the Social Media world -- but it's all very similar!

So...what is Genius Hour/Passion Projects/20% Time?! Genius Hour is where passions come alive! Students are given the opportunity to pose their own questions, problems, or challenges. With support, students will plan, manage, and reflect upon their learning. Students will switch roles from learner and teacher throughout the process. They will have the freedom to think independently and interdependently, take risks, and learn from their attempts. You and your students will not be able to get enough of it!

Follow along in this 20 day challenge to see one way to implement Genius Hour this school year! The goal is to work students up to independence. We'll be posting one post per day for 20 days!

These posts will include online resources, student examples, TpT Freebies, and MORE! Please feel free to ask questions and share your experiences! I'm looking forward to making my Genius Hour even more successful this year! 

"Since my first year teaching I've dabbled in Genius Hour components, but it wasn't till last year's pilot that I felt really good about what I was doing with these students. Why?? Because this is a new way of thinking for this kiddos, and you have to gradually work with them on this process! You can't expect to hand them a packet, and have them come up with something great. Feedback, collaboration, and scaffolding will get them there." 

- Lauren

Please note that this may take more than 20 days depending on how in-depth you get with the lessons.

Day 1: What is Genius Hour?
Day 2: Brainstorm Your Interests
Day 3: Website Evaluation
Day 4: Researchable Questions - Inch, Foot, or Yard?
Day 5: Bloom's Taxonomy and Research Questions
Day 6: Reflection Practice
Day 7:Searchable Words for Google
Day 8: A Lot, Some, Little Activity
Day 9: Question Drafts
Day 10: Critical Friends
Day 11: Finalizing Questions & Final Project Discussion
Day 12: Writing a Plan & Organization Tips
Day 13: Help Wanted Board
Day 14: Research & Problem Solving Minilesson
Day 15: Research & Setting Up an Interview
Day 16: Knowing When to Move On & Where Am I Board
Day 17: Conferring
Day 18: Creation Station & Video Tutorials
Day 19: Share!
Day 20: Genius Hour Self Evaluation