Classroom Lesson

For those of you who know the YouthLight interactive programs for digital white board and computers, you are probably familiar with the author of this product, Will Moody. I use the program he did "Teaching Self-Regulation" with Brad Chapin in small groups SMART Guidance Program.

I just got the "Mind Your Mindset" 10 lesson curriculum. This is a perfect tier 1 set of lessons that include many key concepts and skills. Mindset can be hard to explain to students but Lesson 1 in this program, An Introduction to Mindset,  does it very clearly.  Lesson 5,  Perfecting Your Goal-Setting Mindset, is an engaging way to teach SMART goals. The lesson opens with an animated sequence and then moves on using clear visuals showing the steps to her goal. I like that the lessons have multiple scenarios and examples because children need repeated practice to acquire the skills they are introduced to in lessons. The lesson I would use if I did not have time to teach them all is seven, The Thoughts We Think, The Words We Say. It uses the analogy of a positive mindset as a big, beautiful balloon and when we say negative thoughts to ourselves, it's like throwing darts at the balloon. The lesson goes on to have a laser blaster that zaps away negative, can't do thoughts.

I am not in the specials rotation, but if I was I would buy all the YouthLight "Smart Guidance" programs. I strongly recommend youthlight/MindYourMindset for any elementary counselor who want to help students see the power of a positive, growth-focused mindset.