I saw this set of posters on Twitter the other day and really liked it. “Dear Teacher” (@DearTeacherLT) has created the “Motivational ABC’s – Success Mindset Posters,” and sells them for $1.99 on Teachers Pay Teachers. If you prefer to keep your money in your pocket, there are some free Growth Mindset resources on TPT as well. Also, check out my Growth Mindset Pinterest Board for even more resources!
The genius behind Zen Pencils is Gavin Aung Than. Zen Pencils is a “a cartoon blog which adapts inspirational quotes into comic stories.” I admire Than’s talent immensely, and I was so thrilled when I discovered his site. Like many people, I collect inspiring quotes, and when Than’s graphics accompany them, they are true art.
You can get your own set of three free, high quality posters from Zen Pencils by signing up for updates here. They feature quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson, and I think they are perfect for the classroom. If you go to Than’s blog, he even gives you tips for framing his posters. More prints are available, of course, from the Zen Pencils store. One of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein is featured above, and can be found in the store.
I also like the Downloads page. My plan for next year is to download the wallpapers to the desktop computers in my classroom – maybe even the iPads – so when they are not being used there will still be some inspiring graphics on their screens!
A couple of weeks ago, I offered you a link to a download of a chart describing Edward de Bono’s Thinking Hats. A few days ago, I found this post on Edgalaxy that offers a free download of seven Thinking Hats posters. I like the color that pops on each of them, as well as the concise description of each Thinking Hat. Here is a link to Edward de Bono’s book if you would like more information on the Six Thinking Hats.
These minimalistic posters, from Hydrogene Portfolio, could be good “hooks” for your students. They could: research the women on the posters, try to find more women to add to the set and develop similar posters, discuss why there is not a set of six men who changed science (or, is there?), create sets of posters for another group (such as 6 children who changed the world or 6 books that changed literature). Kaplan’s Depth and Complexity icons could be easily used: How did science change over time as a result of the work of these women? What ethics were involved in their contributions? Does everyone see their work as positive? What rules were changed as a result of their work? To create a poster, you can try Glogster Edu or Big Huge Labs.