Grades 1–3
Steps to Learn Something New
Number six steps of Jayden learning to ride a bike, from the first wobble to riding down the street, then write about a skill you learned.
SEL worksheet · Growth mindset
Effort Praise or Talent Praise?
Circle effort or talent for ten compliments, then turn a talent compliment into one that praises effort and strategies.
- Grade level
- Grades 3–5
- Time
- About 20 minutes
- Topic
- Growth mindset
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Growth mindset, Perseverance, Positive self-talk, Learning from mistakes
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- Praise for effort notices how hard you worked, the strategies you used and how you kept going.
- Praise for talent says you were just born good at something. Effort praise helps a growth mindset grow.
- Circle Effort or Talent for each compliment.
- You worked so hard on that story!
- You’re a natural at soccer.
- I can tell you practiced your spelling words.
- You’re so smart, you didn’t even have to try.
- You tried a new strategy when you got stuck.
Teacher tip
This one is good for grown-ups too. Share it with families.
How to use it
- Celebrate a “mistake of the day” where the class learns from an error.
- Connect it to a real hard task, like a tricky math page.
- Keep finished sheets in an SEL folder so kids can look back on their growth.
Watch for
Praise for being “smart”. Try praising the effort or the strategy instead.
Talk about it
- What is something you couldn’t do last year that you can do now?
- How might someone else see it differently?
Take it further
Keep a learning journal where kids note one thing that was hard and how they kept going.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More growth mindset worksheets
Grades 1–5
My “Yet” Web
Fill an idea web with six things you can’t do yet, at school, at home, in play and more, then pick one to practice first.
Grades 3–5
Meet Your Brain
Match five brain parts, like the amygdala and the hippocampus, to what they do, and see how your brain learns and handles big feelings.
Grades 1–4
Growth Mindset Word Search
Find twelve growth mindset words, like yet, effort and practice, hidden across, down and on a slant, then use one in a sentence.
Free for teachers
Get the free Classroom Drawing Kit
12 printable pages: six step-by-step lessons, a grid activity, draw-and-write sheets and teacher notes, sent with your welcome email. After that, new classroom printables by email.