Growth Mindset Activity for Science Class

In this growth mindset activity for science class, students learn about famous people who failed first but persevered to great success. This multi-part lesson shows students that the true nature of SCIENCE is to try, try, try again!

⭐ Save 50% on this resource in our Scientific Method Unit! ⭐

GO PAPERLESS! A digital Google Slides version of this activity is included!

The STARTER ACTIVITIES focus on the GROWTH MINDSET in SCIENCE.

• COMPLETE A SELF-ANALYSIS related to learning and the growth mindset.
• READ about how the growth mindset and the scientific process are related.

PART ONE focuses on people who have struggled before they succeeded.

• READ newspaper-style readings about successful people… with a catch. The headlines focus on the struggles of these (later) successful individuals. Articles highlight their early lack of success rather than what they are famous for.
• ANSWER questions about the scientific process – the PROBLEM, HYPOTHESES, and EXPERIMENTS of each individual.

PART TWO focuses on how having a GROWTH MINDSET led them to great success.

• READ about the same people, but this time the headlines are about their incredible successes – the reason they are famous.
• ANSWER questions that focus on the success that the people experienced, the CONCLUSIONS of their experiments, and the impact of the GROWTH MINDSET on their success.

NOTE: Individuals included are purposely not all scientists so that students can see everyone learns through experimentation. Included individuals are:

• Olga Gonzalez-Sanabria, International Space Station engineer
• Dr. Jane Wright, chemotherapy pioneer
• Thomas Edison, inventor
• Robert Knievel, daredevil and stuntman
• Michael Jordan, basketball star

Teacher Notes:

• Save 50% on this resource in our Scientific Method Unit! 
• NGSS Science and Engineering Practice: Asking Questions and Defining Problems
• Please note that this growth mindset activity for science class is not editable.
• SAVE TIME AND COPIES! Make just one class set of the readings and have students read them as stations. Or, use the digital Google Slides version of this activity (provided) instead!