Ideal for School Counselors
Equip your Elementary School students with the foundational tools they need for Student Success with the Grit and Growth Mindset Journal program. Designed for educators, School Counseling professionals, and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) specialists, this comprehensive system delivers a powerful, practice-based SEL Curriculum for developing critical life skills.
Why This Program is Essential for Your Students
The journal, rooted in research-based Behavioral Strategies, guides students through hands-on activities to master Executive Functioning Skills like planning, organization, and problem-solving.
- Foster Self-Awareness: Units on The Role of Emotions teach students to identify and manage feelings, promoting Emotional Regulation by recognizing “loud,” “quiet,” or “just right” emotions.
- Cultivate Resilience: The Growth Mindset units encourage students to embrace challenges, guiding them to “flip” a “fixed” thought into a growth-oriented plan for how to do better next time.
- Enhance Focus: Dedicated sections on Attention and Focus cover strategies for “Zoomed In” and “Zoomed Out” attention, and how to deal with distractions, leading to improved Task Completion.
- Build Social Acuity: Modules on Effective Communication introduce the STOP strategy (Space, Time, Objects, People) to “know the situation” and develop Perspective Taking skills, which are crucial for cooperation and Self-Control.
Grit & Growth Mindset curriculum is appropriate for:
- Pull-Out Instructional Model
- Push-In Classroom Model
- Small Group Instruction or Lunch Bunch
- Summer Camps
- After school groups
Executive Function Social Emotional Lessons
You can Use Today
The Complete Social Emotional Program Suite
Maximize impact and ensure fidelity across your school or district with our all-in-one resource package:
The Student Workbook: Grit and Growth Mindset Journal
The essential tool for every student. This journal features engaging, scaffolded activities on topics like:
- All About the Brain (cerebrum, cerebellum, amygdala, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex)
- Mindfulness to Regulate Emotions
- The STOP Strategy and Flexible Thinking
- Three lesson levels to accommodate diverse reading & language levels
Instructor Manual (Purchase Required)
The indispensable guide for educators and counselors. The manual provides detailed lesson plans, discussion prompts, and activity keys to help you effectively deliver the curriculum and ensure consistent implementation of Social Skills development.
Companion Slide Deck (Subscription Required)
Visually enhance your lessons and drive engagement with a subscription to our ready-to-use slide deck. Perfect for whole-class instruction, it complements the journal activities with visual aids and structured prompts.
Slide Deck Subscription
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Grit & Growth Mindset Student Journal
118 pages of exercises
6 units
18 lessons
2 self evaluations
Why a Structured Curriculum?
Without clear goals and objectives, it’s nearly impossible for educators to measure student progress. The Grit & Growth Mindset Curriculum is a program for educators (content teachers and counselors) to teach and coach social emotional skills with embedded tools to measure student outcomes. Each lesson has three language levels to support neurodiverse learners and two student self evaluations so students can reflect on and build specific skills.
The Grit and Growth Mindset Journal and accompanying instructor manual includes six units of instruction:
- Executive Functions and a Growth Mindset
- The Role of Emotions
- Effective Communication and Perspective Taking
- Attention and Focus
- Managing Stress and Completing Tasks
- Flexible Thinking & Applying My Skills
How do social emotional skills impact Parent | Student relationship and Student | Teacher relationships.
The mastery of these skills fundamentally alters the parent-student relationships by shifting the dynamic from conflict management to collaborative growth. When a student learns task completion, planning, and emotional regulation strategies, the frequency of homework battles, forgotten assignments, and emotional meltdowns significantly decreases. Parents move from being constant task-masters and emotional arbiters to being supportive coaches. The shared language of “Growth Mindset,” “STOP strategy,” and “just right emotions” allows for constructive conversations about challenges. Instead of arguing over a task, a parent can ask, “What is your next step in the STOP strategy?” or “How can you flip that fixed thought?” This empowers the student with self-agency and creates a more positive, trusting, and collaborative environment at home.
What is the role of grit in student success?
Popularized by Angela Duckworth, in her book The Power of Passion and Perseverance, grit has have been found the be the leading indicator of longer term success. Academic grit—a combination of passion and sustained perseverance toward long-term academic goals, especially when encountering a challenge—plays a crucial role in student success by determining how students respond to challenges and setbacks. The concepts in this journal underscore its importance in the following ways:
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- Sustained Effort and Practice: Grit is fundamentally linked to the “Effective Student Promise” mentioned in the journal: “Practice on purpose” and “Be truthful about your effort”. It is the determination to keep working on something even when it is not easy or fun.
- Overcoming Failure (Growth Mindset): The journal’s section on the Growth Mindset teaches students to embrace a “flop” and ask, “How can I do better next time?”. Grit is the fuel for this mindset, ensuring that the student doesn’t quit after a failure but instead makes a new plan and continues to practice how they can take different actions.
- Developing Executive Functioning Skills: Grit provides the long-term commitment needed to successfully “LEARN and PRACTICE these skills to be an Effective Student”. It gives a student the drive to utilize executive functioning skills, such as planning and staying focused, over a long period rather than giving up when the task becomes complex or demanding.
Empower Your Students: The Complete Executive Functioning & Growth Mindset Program
Now You Can Equip Elementary Students with the Tools for Academic and Emotional Success.
Give your students the foundation they need for lifelong learning with the Grit and Growth Mindset Journal Program, a comprehensive executive functioning and SEL curriculum for elementary educators, school counselors, and social-emotional learning (SEL) specialists.
This research-based, practice-driven program helps students build essential executive functioning skills, emotional intelligence, and a growth mindset, the proven combination for academic success and personal resilience.
Why This Program is Essential
The Grit and Growth Mindset Journal engages students through interactive lessons that teach planning, organization, attention, emotional regulation, and communication. Each unit combines neuroscience, mindfulness, and practical strategies to build confidence and self-management.
Effective Students Will Learn:
- Mastering Executive Functioning Skills
Strengthen planning, organization, and problem-solving through hands-on activities and behavioral strategies rooted in cognitive science. - Fostering Self-Awareness & Emotional Regulation
Lessons on The Role of Emotions teach students to recognize “loud,” “quiet,” or “just right” emotions and use mindfulness tools to self-regulate. - Developing Resilience & a Growth Mindset
Students learn how to “flip” a fixed thought into a growth-oriented plan—transforming mistakes into learning opportunities. - Enhancing Focus & Task Completion
The Attention and Focus units teach strategies to stay “Zoomed In” on priorities and overcome distractions for better productivity. - Build Communication & Social Awareness
Through Effective Communication modules, students practice the STOP Strategy (Space, Time, Objects, People) improving perspective-taking, self-control & cooperation.
Curious about how to best use Grit & Growth with your learning community? We are here to help.
Why Schools Are Adopting Executive Function & Growth Mindset Programs
Developing strong executive functioning and growth mindset skills is crucial for academic and personal success. These skills serve as the brain’s control center, enabling students to plan, prioritize, and manage time effectively. When combined with a growth mindset, the belief that intelligence can be developed through effort the students become resilient learners who see challenges as opportunities to grow.
Benefits include:
- Improved focus and organization
- Stronger emotional regulation
- Higher academic achievement
- Greater confidence and perseverance
Beyond academics, SEL and social skills empower students to build empathy, resolve conflicts, and collaborate effectively. These are foundational for a positive school climate and the number one indicator of future success.
Impact on Parent–Student and Teacher–Student Relationships
As students gain self-management and emotional regulation skills, family dynamics and classroom relationships transform:
- Parents shift from conflict management to supportive coaching, using shared program language (“STOP Strategy,” “Growth Mindset,” “Just Right Emotions”) to encourage reflection and problem-solving.
- Teachers experience fewer behavioral disruptions and improved student engagement, creating a more positive and collaborative learning environment.
The Role of Grit in Student Success
Grit is the blend of perseverance and passion for long-term goals. It is the driving force behind continuous improvement. The journal reinforces grit by encouraging:
- Sustained Effort and Practice: Students “practice on purpose” and reflect on effort and progress.
- Growth Through Failure: Lessons teach how to recover from setbacks and plan new strategies.
- Commitment to Learning: Grit helps students persist as they strengthen executive functioning skills and build lifelong learning habits.