Small Group - Lesson Plan Template
School Counselor: Ginny Blake
Date: February - May 2016
Activity: Growth Mindset Group
Grade(s): Identified Third Grade Students (Total of 20 students)
Program Goal #3:
ACHIEVEMENT: By the end of the 2015-2016 school year, identified underperforming 3rd grade students will increase their MAP scores in reading from 3 points below growth to reach their “Target Growth”.
ASCA Mindsets & Behaviors (Domain/Standard):
Domain: Academic and Social/Emotional
Category 1: Mindset Standards
M2. Self-confidence in ability to succeed
M6. Positive attitude toward work and learning
Category 2: Behavior Standards
B-Self-Management Skills: 6 – Demonstrate ability to overcome barriers to learning.
Learning Objective(s)(aligns with Competency):
1. Students will be able to describe the characteristics of a growth mindset and a fixed
mindset.
2. Students will be able to explain and demonstrate how neurons work in our brain and
how we can become smarter.
3. Students will be able to identify fixed mindset self-talk and words, and change them to
growth mindset statements.
4. Students will be able to explain what to do when they experience “set backs and
roadblocks, and how to become life-long learners.
Materials:
- Growth Mindset Interactive Lessons by Hope Newport (Teachers Pay Teachers) 2015
- “Growth Mindset for Students” video by ClassDoJo Production, 2016
- Making A Splash by Carol E. Reiley (Squishy Botz) 2015
- “Ormie” video by Rob Silvestri (Arc Productions) 2013
- Ready-To-Use Resources For Mindsets In the Classroom by Mary Cay Ricci (Prufrock Press Inc.) 2015
- The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires (Kids Can Press Ltd.) 2014
- “Growth Mindset Workbook” by Ginny Blake (2016). I’ve created a workbook for each group participant. Instead of having loose papers, resources, conversation starters and discussion points introduced separately from one session to another, I’ve included everything I want to cover (for all sessions) in one workbook. It’s a great way to review and reinforce topics from one week to the next, and it’s a nice teaching tool they can use to explain to parents what they’ve learned in the group. Overall, it’s a culmination of their thoughts and work in the group.
Procedure:
20 out of 69 third grade students were identified as being below their target growth in reading in the fall of 2015. The twenty students (out of four classrooms) were divided into four groups depending on their class schedule and scores from their Fall MAP Testing. Eleven students made their target growth at the Winter MAP Testing, and nine students did not meet their target growth goal at the Winter MAP Testing. We decided to offer the Growth Mindset Group to all twenty students to reinforce skills and learn about the growth mindset concept. I had started another Growth Mindset 4th grade group before the Christmas break. They called themselves the “Dream Team”. The third grade groups decided to call themselves the same name.
Because of different class schedules in the four classrooms, we decided to divide the group members into four groups, all receiving the same content. The nine students (who did not meet Fall and Winter MAP Testing were divided into two groups, five in one group and four in the other. This was the “Dream Team 1” group. The eleven students who did not meet their Target Growth in the Fall MAP Testing, but did in the Winter MAP Testing were divided into two groups, five in one group and six in the other. This was the “Dream Team 2” group.
Session One: “Secret About Your Brain!”
• Greet students and review the purpose of the group
• Discuss confidentiality and group rules/expectations
• Give the Growth Mindset Pretest and explain how we’ll use it in the group
• Introduce the “Growth Mindset” topic by watching the MoJo video - Episode 1, “Secret About Your Brain”. MoJo doesn’t think he’s smart enough for school and should pack up his things and leave school forever. He believes that you’re either born SMART or NOT and he realized that he was “not”. Katie explains that it’s not how it works at all and anyone can be smart … even MoJo. She goes on to explain that science has discovered an incredible secret… “The brain is like a muscle. When you try challenging things, the brain grows. Giving your brain the exercise it needs to get stronger will makes you smarter.”
• Follow the video with a discussion about how they see it. Can MoJo become smarter? Can anyone get smarter? How about group members? Group members absolutely love this video series. By the end of this session, they are asking to see more episodes. We usually have time to watch the first three episodes, and they get a very good idea what the group is all about.
• Students are asked if they would like to join an eight-week group on how they can learn to become smarter. So far, I’ve had 100% of invited guests want to join the group.
Session Two: “Understanding a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset!”
• Read the book, Make A Splash by Carol Reiley. Discuss if group members think they are more like Lisa or Johnny, or times when they are like both characters.
• Have them rank themselves on the scale on page 8 of the workbook. Are they more like a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?
• Read and discuss the information on pages 8 and 9 about goals, effort, setbacks and school performance.
Session Three: “The World of Neurons!”
• Watch and discuss Episode 4 of the MoJo series. A summary of the video is described on page 11. “The brain is made of tiny bits called neurons. When these neurons connect, they send electrical signals back and forth to talk to each other. Everything we can do (from reading to riding a bike) only happens because neurons connect.” The more we practice and learn how to do something, the more our neurons connect.
• Give each group member a neuron (made of cardstock) with a string to hang around his or her neck. The neuron is found on page 13. Have a long piece of thread, yarn and a rope available for this activity.
• Ask group members to volunteer to be pretend neurons.
• Ask students if someone could share something new that he or she learned recently. An example could be division.
• Take a piece of thread and ask two of the student neurons to connect by each of them holding one end of the thread. (Note how thin this connection is between neurons.)
• Continue by using a piece of yarn with an example of something a student has learned, but still needs some practice. An example could be multiplication. (Note how the connection is getting stronger.)
• Continue by using a rope with an example of a skill they have mastered, like addition or subtraction.
• Take a picture of students doing this activity, so they can put it in their workbooks.
• Review pages 14 and 15 and discuss how they could use this on a daily basis.
Lesson Four: “Mindset Begins With Your Words!”
• Give a picture to each student from the “neuron activity” from the last session. It may be placed on page 12 of their workbooks. Review any thoughts from the week.
• Discuss the new topic for this session, “The Power of Words”.
• Read through all of the sentences on page 18 and talk about the “Instead Of” sentences versus the “Try Thinking” sentences. Discuss which sentences they most identify with and why. Give them some practice and have them write in some of their own examples on page 19.
• Give them an assignment for the week, and have them catch themselves saying or thinking any positive or negative statements.
Session Five: “Scenario Cards and Role Play Cards!”
• Have a discussion on anything group members caught themselves doing or saying in the past week.
• Today is a day to practice thinking and saying positive and negative statements in many different situations.
• Introduce the scenario and role-play cards. Read through a couple of them.
• Ask for two volunteers. Decide who will be the LEARNER and who will be the BRAIN. The LEARNER will act out the scenario, and the BRAIN will encourage the LEARNER to use Growth Mindset talk.
• If the volunteers get stuck, the rest of the group can give them some ideas.
• Do a few as a group first, and then have group members pair up as partners and practice several cards together.
• Come back together as a group and share any scenario cards and experiences.
• Have a reflection time on anything they learned from this activity, and how they could use it in the coming week.
Session Six: “Making Mistakes and Bouncing Back!”
• Give students a chance to share any experiences from the past week. How did students use Growth Mindset talk? Are they becoming aware of the “Power Of Words” … their words?
• Start out this session with the “Ormie” video, and introduce the topic of making mistakes and bouncing back.
• Read the book, The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires. Ask them if they’ve had any experiences like this. How do they react when they have a “set-back”?
• Watch the Episode 2 and 3 of the MoJo series. What happens if you keep trying and it doesn’t work? Mistakes and challenges help us grow along the way.
• Discuss how it feels when we make mistakes and have challenges.
• Take a picture of each student showing how they feel at different stages.
• Identify something they can’t do right now, and add the word “YET.
• Practice this habit every day this week. See if you notice a more positive attitude when you use … “I can’t do this YET”.
Session Seven: “Putting It All Together!”
• Watch Episode 5 of the MoJo series. When students keep trying and it doesn’t work … or if they think they can do anything and it doesn’t work … they may feel like giving up! MoJo discovers that it’s not just about trying hard, or being able to do anything. He now thinks it’s much simpler than that. It’s about working on challenging things. It’s the only way to grow your brain. So if you learn to love challenges, you’ll always be growing. Getting a little better every day. Until one day you can do something incredible.
• Discuss times they have felt like giving up and stop trying.
• Talk about how they feel about the Growth Mindset concept. How is it working for them?
• Have group members complete the Growth Mindset Post-Test.
Session Eight: “What Next?”
• Discuss the results of the posttest.
• Discuss any “Take Away” ideas they’ve gotten from being in the group.
• Read “My Growth Mindset Goal” page 33.
• Have group members discuss and choose a goal. If they need ideas students can refer to the next page and check out several Growth Mindset behaviors.
Other Sessions: Continue group sessions if students are interested.
• Group members can continue to visit with the counselor on a weekly basis to work on the “Self-Reflection” worksheet and discuss their goal/s.
Session Nine and Session Ten:
After completing the “Growth Mindset Goal” page (workbook page 33) and the “Growth Mindset Self-Reflection” page (workbook page 34), we met to discuss their progress.
Session Eleven:
• In April, The Class DoJo Series came out with a new series called “The Big Ideas”. All of the groups came back in May to watch the three new episodes of this program. All of the students expressed an interest in coming back next year to work on their goals. I will follow-up with them in the fall.
Plan for Evaluation: How will each of the following be collected?
Process Data: Twenty students were invited and participated. The total number was divided into four groups depending on their class schedule and scores from their Fall MAP Testing. Each group met for thirty minutes one time per week.
Perception Data:
A Growth Mindset Pre/Post Test will be given to group members at the beginning and at the end of the eight-session small group.
Growth Mindset Pre/Post Test.
(Attitude/Beliefs) By the end of the group experience, students reported being 75% more motivated to do their best in school and feeling 65% better about themselves as a learner. (Knowledge/Skills) By the end of the group experience, students reported knowing 100% more about a fixed mindset, growth mindset, changing a fixed mindset to positive growth mindset thinking and language, and how neurons work in the brain.
Outcome Data:
Outcome data will be collected through the NWEA MAP testing results from fall, winter and spring reporting periods.
At the end of the 2014-2015 school year, the second grade students (going into third grade) had the lowest NWEA Map Growth scores than any other grade levels in the school.
2nd Grade Students … Going into 3rd Grade Students Data:
Met Growth = 35.7%
Below Growth = 54.3%
No Start Info = 10.0%
At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the same students (now 3rd graders) scored a lot higher on their NWEA MAP Growth scores. They jumped from 35.7% Met Growth (Spring of 2015) to 70.1% Met Growth (Spring of 2016).
3rd Grade Students Data:
Met Growth = 70.1 %
Below Growth = 23.9%
No Start Data = 4.5%
No End Data = 1.5%
Follow Up:
Group members will be invited to join the Growth Mindset Groups again in the fall of next year. Our MTSS Team meets monthly to monitor the progress of all students.
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