Activity 1.1: Growth Mindset Phrase Guide

✅ “What do you notice about this word?”
✅ “What clue could help you here?”
✅ “Let’s look at the beginning. What sound do you see?”
✅ “Does that make sense in the sentence?”
✅ “What strategy could you try?”
✅ “Let’s break this word into smaller parts.”
✅ “Look at the picture—does that give you a clue?”
✅ “What word would make sense there?”
✅ “Let’s sound it out together.”
✅ “That’s a tricky one! What do you want to try first?”

Normalizing Struggle

✅ “This is a challenging word. That’s okay—you’re learning!”
✅ “Even grown-ups get stuck on words sometimes.”
✅ “Tricky words help your brain grow stronger.”
✅ “I love that this word is making you think!”
✅ “This word is tough! That means you’re stretching your brain.”
✅ “It’s totally normal to need help with new words.”
✅ “You’re working hard on this—I can see your brain thinking!”

Inviting Collaboration

✅ “Let’s figure this out together.”
✅ “Want me to give you a hint, or do you want to try again?”
✅ “Should we be word detectives on this one?”
✅ “Let’s use our strategies. Which one should we try?”
✅ “I’m curious how we could solve this word puzzle.”

2️⃣ WHEN CHILD MAKES SAME MISTAKE REPEATEDLY

Instead of “You should know this!”

✅ “This word keeps tricking you! Let’s figure out why.”
✅ “Hmm, this word is being sneaky. What makes it hard?”
✅ “You know what? Some words take lots of practice. That’s normal.”
✅ “This word needs a little more time in your brain. That’s okay!”
✅ “I notice you’re working on this word. It’s a tricky one!”
✅ “This word is still teaching you something new.”
✅ “Your brain is still practicing this word. It will stick soon!”
✅ “Some words take longer to remember. That doesn’t mean anything’s wrong!”

Making It Memorable

✅ “Let’s create a silly sentence to remember this word.”
✅ “What would help you remember this word tomorrow?”
✅ “Want to make up a story with this word?”
✅ “Let’s come up with a trick to remember this one.”
✅ “Should we draw a picture to help us remember?”

3️⃣ WHEN CHILD SELF-CORRECTS

Celebrating the Strategy

✅ “You caught your own mistake! That’s what smart readers do!”
✅ “I loved that you fixed that yourself. You’re monitoring your reading!”
✅ “Yes! You noticed that didn’t make sense and you fixed it. Brilliant!”
✅ “You’re becoming such a strong reader—you catch your own mistakes now!”
✅ “That’s exactly what great readers do—notice when something’s wrong and fix it.”
✅ “I saw you go back and check that. That’s expert reading!”
✅ “You didn’t even need my help—you figured it out yourself!”
✅ “That self-correction shows me your brain is really thinking while you read.”

4️⃣ WHEN CHILD GUESSES WILDLY

Instead of “Stop guessing!”

✅ “That’s a brave guess! Now let’s look closely at the letters.”
✅ “I like your thinking! Let’s see if the letters match that word.”
✅ “You’re trying to make it make sense—good! Now let’s check the word.”
✅ “That word would work in the sentence! Let’s see what this word actually says.”
✅ “Interesting guess! What letters would you see if it was that word?”
✅ “Let’s slow down and look at each sound in this word.”
✅ “You’re thinking about the story, which is great! Now let’s look at the letters.”

5️⃣ WHEN CHILD WANTS TO GIVE UP

Validating and Redirecting

✅ “This feels hard right now, doesn’t it? That’s okay.”
✅ “I can see you’re working really hard. Should we take a quick break?”
✅ “Let’s stop here and come back when you’re ready.”
✅ “You know what? This book might be a little too tricky right now. Let’s pick something easier.”
✅ “Hard things are frustrating! Want to try a different book?”
✅ “You’ve done a lot of hard work. Let’s end on something fun.”
✅ “I’m proud of you for trying so hard. Should we switch gears?”

Reframing Challenge

✅ “The challenge is how you’re learning. Let’s try one more page.”
✅ “I know this feels hard. But remember—hard things help you grow!”
✅ “You’re doing hard work, and that’s making you stronger!”
✅ “Every struggle is your brain getting smarter.”
✅ “Want to see if you can get through this tricky part? I’ll help you.”

6️⃣ WHEN CHILD GETS FRUSTRATED

Acknowledging Emotion

✅ “I can see you’re frustrated. That makes sense—this IS hard.”
✅ “It’s okay to feel frustrated when things are challenging.”
✅ “You’re working so hard. It’s okay to feel tired.”
✅ “I get frustrated with tricky things too. You’re not alone.”
✅ “Reading can be frustrating sometimes. That’s normal.”

Offering Support

✅ “Let’s take three deep breaths together.”
✅ “Want to stand up and shake it out?”
✅ “Should we take a quick wiggle break?”
✅ “Let’s get some water and come back.”
✅ “How about I read the next page, and you can listen?”
✅ “Would it help if we read this together?”
✅ “What would make this easier right now?”

7️⃣ WHEN CHILD SUCCEEDS

Celebrating Process, Not Just Result

✅ “I loved how hard you worked on that page!”
✅ “You stuck with that tricky word. That took real persistence!”
✅ “Look how you used your strategies on that page!”
✅ “You read that whole chapter! I’m so proud of your focus.”
✅ “You finished that book! Remember when it felt too hard?”
✅ “You read for 20 minutes without stopping. That’s growth!”
✅ “You tried a new strategy today. That takes courage!”

Highlighting Growth

✅ “Remember when this book felt impossible? Look at you now!”
✅ “Last month, this would have been too hard. Now you’re reading it!”
✅ “You’re getting stronger as a reader every single day.”
✅ “I can see how much your reading has grown!”
✅ “You used to need help with words like that. Now you read them easily!”

8️⃣ WHEN YOU NEED TO GIVE FEEDBACK

Instead of “That’s wrong”

✅ “Almost! You got the beginning right. Let’s look at the end.”
✅ “Good try! Let’s look at that middle sound again.”
✅ “You’re so close! What’s that sound at the end?”
✅ “That would make sense, but let’s check the letters.”
✅ “I like your thinking! Now let’s see what it actually says.”
✅ “You found part of it! Let’s keep going.”
✅ “That was a smart guess. Let’s sound it out to be sure.”

Teaching in the Moment

✅ “This word has a tricky part. See this? That makes a ___ sound.”
✅ “You know what’s interesting about this word? Watch this…”
✅ “Want to learn a trick for words like this?”
✅ “This is a pattern you’ll see again. Let’s remember it.”
✅ “Here’s something cool about this word…”

9️⃣ WHEN CHILD COMPARES THEMSELVES TO OTHERS

Redirecting to Individual Growth

✅ “Everyone learns at their own pace. You’re exactly where you need to be.”
✅ “Let’s not worry about anyone else. YOU are making great progress!”
✅ “You’re not racing anyone. You’re growing at your own perfect speed.”
✅ “What matters is how YOU’RE growing, not where anyone else is.”
✅ “I’m so proud of YOUR progress. That’s all that matters.”
✅ “Let’s compare you to YOU last month. Look how far you’ve come!”
✅ “Every reader has their own journey. Yours is beautiful.”

🔟 WHEN CHILD SAYS “I CAN’T”

Adding “Yet”

✅ “You can’t… yet. But you’re learning!”
✅ “You can’t do it yet, but you will!”
✅ “Not yet! But you’re getting closer every day.”
✅ “You can’t YET. That’s the most important word—yet!”

Reframing Ability

✅ “You can’t… by yourself right now. But together, we can!”
✅ “You can’t read this book today. But soon you will!”
✅ “This is hard for you right now. Soon it won’t be!”
✅ “You’re still learning this. That’s okay!”
✅ “You can do hard things. You’re doing one right now!”

🚨 EMERGENCY PHRASES (When YOU’RE Frustrated)

To Buy Yourself Time

✅ “Let me think about this for a second.”
✅ “Hold on, I need to take a breath.”
✅ “Let’s both take a deep breath together.”
✅ “Give me just a moment to think.”
✅ “Hmm, let’s pause and think about this differently.”

To Reset

✅ “You know what? Let’s start this page over.”
✅ “Let’s take a break and come back to this.”
✅ “I think we both need a wiggle break. Let’s stand up!”
✅ “Let’s try a different book.”
✅ “This isn’t working right now. Let’s change our approach.”

To End on a Good Note

✅ “Let’s stop here while we’re still having fun.”
✅ “That was great work! Let’s end there for today.”
✅ “You worked so hard today. I’m proud of you. Let’s stop now.”
✅ “Let’s finish with something easy and fun.”
✅ “We did good work today. Time for a break!”

💬 PROCESS PRAISE LIBRARY

“I loved how you…”

✅ “I loved how you sounded out that word slowly.”
✅ “I loved how you went back and reread that sentence.”
✅ “I loved how you didn’t give up on that tricky part.”
✅ “I loved how you used the picture to help you.”
✅ “I loved how you asked for help when you needed it.”
✅ “I loved how you tried different strategies.”
✅ “I loved how you stuck with it even when it was hard.”
✅ “I loved how you caught your own mistake.”

“I noticed you…”

✅ “I noticed you checked to see if it made sense.”
✅ “I noticed you broke that big word into smaller parts.”
✅ “I noticed you used what you already know.”
✅ “I noticed you were really thinking about that word.”
✅ “I noticed you took your time instead of rushing.”
✅ “I noticed you didn’t give up.”
✅ “I noticed you tried a different strategy when the first one didn’t work.”

“I saw you…”

✅ “I saw you looking closely at the letters.”
✅ “I saw you thinking hard about that word.”
✅ “I saw you go back and fix that yourself.”
✅ “I saw you using your strategies.”
✅ “I saw you being patient with yourself.”
✅ “I saw you work through that challenging part.”
✅ “I saw you concentrate really hard on that.”

❓ CURIOUS QUESTIONS LIBRARY

To Invite Problem-Solving

✅ “What do you notice about this word?”
✅ “What clue could help you?”
✅ “What strategy could you try?”
✅ “What would make sense here?”
✅ “What could you try first?”
✅ “What part is tricky?”
✅ “What do you already know that could help?”

To Build Metacognition

✅ “What were you thinking when you read that?”
✅ “How did you figure that out?”
✅ “What made you think it was that word?”
✅ “What strategy did you use there?”
✅ “How did you know to go back and check?”
✅ “What helps you when words are hard?”

To Check Understanding

✅ “Does that make sense?”
✅ “Does that sound right?”
✅ “Does that fit the story?”
✅ “What do you think that word means?”
✅ “Can you picture what’s happening?”

🌟 POWER PHRASES FOR EVERY DAY

Morning/Start of Reading

✅ “Let’s see what adventure your book has today!”
✅ “I’m excited to read with you!”
✅ “What are you hoping to read today?”
✅ “Ready to use your reading superpowers?”
✅ “Let’s discover something new together!”

During Reading

✅ “You’re doing great.”
✅ “Keep going—you’ve got this!”
✅ “I can see you thinking!”
✅ “Your brain is working so hard!”
✅ “You’re figuring it out!”

End of Reading

✅ “I loved reading with you today!”
✅ “You worked so hard today. I’m proud of you!”
✅ “Thank you for reading with me.”
✅ “I can’t wait to see what happens next!”
✅ “That was great work today!”

📋 CREATE YOUR PERSONAL PHRASE BANK

Choose 10 phrases from this guide that feel most natural to YOU.

Write them here (or highlight them above):

Practice these 10 phrases this week. Once they feel automatic, add 5 more!

💚 REMEMBER

Your words matter, but your tone matters more.

The exact phrase doesn’t have to be perfect. What matters is:

Your tone is warm and curious (not frustrated)
Your face is relaxed (they’re watching!)
You genuinely believe what you’re saying
You’re focused on growth, not perfection

Every growth-mindset phrase you use:

Builds your child’s resilience
Teaches them that struggle is normal
Shows them how to problem-solve
Strengthens your relationship
Creates a lifelong reader

You’re doing important work. One phrase at a time. 🌸