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    The Power of Yet!

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    At a Glance:

    Grades:4, 5
    Subject:SEL (Social-Emotional Learning)
    Topic:Fixed and Growth Mindset
    Lesson Length:45 mins - 1 hour

    Standards / Framework:

    What will students learn in this activity?

    Students will explore the power of “yet” and create a “Things We Can’t Do Yet!” comic.

    What should students know before this activity?

    Students should have an understanding of the terms fixed and growth mindset to guide their discussions.

    How can teachers introduce this lesson?

    • Ask students to remember a skill they learned at a younger age and can consistently do well now, and discuss.

      • What did it feel like when they first tried the skill?

      • Were they frustrated? Annoyed?

    • Discuss fixed and growth mindsets. When we struggle learning a skill or concept, which mindset are we more apt to feel?

    What will students do?

    • Have students create a comic showing themselves attempting to master a skill or concept they haven’t learned yet. The comic should include:

      • A caption naming or describing the skill or goal they are trying to achieve.

      • Speech bubbles that show themselves embracing "the power of yet!"

    • Pair Share:

      • Discuss a time in school that you struggled with something.

      • Explain what the challenge was and how it felt to have that challenge.

      • How did you overcome it?

      • What were some steps that got you there? 

      • Discuss a school skill you struggle with right now.

    • Discussion:

      • Choose volunteers to share some of their current school challenges.

      • Have them repeat what they can’t do and add “yet” to the end of it. For example, "I can’t do long division… yet! I can’t read long chapter books… yet!"

      • Explain that the skills they thought they’d never master in school and now can do weren't impossible, it just hadn’t happened "yet." Having a growth mindset means knowing and believing you will get there and it’s just not now.

    How can teachers wrap up the lesson?

    • Print the comics or display them in a digital gallery under the title “Things we can’t do YET.”
    • Students can refer back to this visual to remind them that they are always making progress.

    How can teachers differentiate this activity?

    • Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.

    • Preteach vocabulary.

    • Provide sentence starters for discussion, comic creation, and reflection when necessary.

    • Allow students to work with a peer model.

    • Allow students to write in their home language.

    • Allow students to sort scenarios or images of growth vs. fixed mindset.

    • Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

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