Encourage Students to Embrace Failures and Develop a Growth Mindset 

Teaching students to understand that in life, we will face challenges, opportunities, and even failures is crucial to their social emotional learning. They need to understand that failures are not roadblocks; they are stepping stones towards growth and success. By using the language involved in a growth mindset, we are encouraging our students to develop and understand how to face challenges and failures.

These printable bookmarks are a lovely reminder of some of the language we want our students to be using, including:

• Good things take time, with a spot for students to write about why being patient and continuing to try when something is difficult is essential. 
• I can change my mindset, with a spot for students to write how they can change their mindset with words.
• All things are hard before they are easy, with a spot to write about why they won’t give up on something just because it is difficult.
• Mistakes are how I learn, with a spot to write about how they can learn from their mistakes.
• Change your words, change your mindset, with a spot to write about why words and mindset need to change.
• Failure is success if we learn from it, with a spot to write why they will keep trying to succeed.
• Believe in the power of yet, with a spot to write about something they might not be able to yet, but how they will accomplish this goal.
• Don’t stop until you’re proud, with a spot to write about why they will keep trying until they are proud.

How to Use These Printable Bookmarks

Once you’ve downloaded the PDF or editable Google Slide version of this resource, you can decide how you will use it in your classroom. 

If you are focusing on strengths and weaknesses and looking for a way to encourage a growth mindset in your class – you may like to get students to pick a bookmark that relates to an area they want to get better at, for example, if they find it frustrating how long it takes to understand something – you might like to give them the bookmark that states ‘Good things take time.’ 

Students can then stick this bookmark on their desks – or have it handy in their everyday workbooks to remind them of their growth mindset goal.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator.