As I continue my learning journey with Structured Literacy, I’ve been reflecting on the shifts that have had the biggest impact on my teaching.
The shift I will be reflecting on builds on the last post of progress monitoring, and focuses on something equally important for student growth: the power of positive self-talk.
In this video, Rita Pierson reminds us how relationships are at the heart of teaching. One line that stays with me is: “-18 sucks the life outta ya, but +2 ain’t all bad”. It is a powerful reminder to reframe how we share feedback to students, and families. Growth is growth. No matter how small, it deserves to be seen and celebrated.
This year, I have embedded positive self-talk in our daily routines, such as before exit tickets, assessments or even problem solving tasks. Students have generated their own phrases that they can say or write to themselves when a task is challenging. Together, we co-created a “self talk” chart that continues to evolve throughout the year. I regularly model it through “think alouds” to normalize it and show what it can look like in action.
I have noticed that naturally, students are starting to use this language independently! The power of this self-talk is really transforming my students mindset, perseverance and resiliency. It is helping them see themselves as capable learners.
I’m proud of this shift and excited to continue building on it, including writing (I will be reflecting on later in the series). I hope this inspires you to try it in your own classroom—you might be surprised by how powerful a few words can be.
