Instigator of Thought activities offer teachers powerful ways to build their practice and hone their craft. By trying these activities, you are receiving ideas that are immediately useful and can spark professional learning – at your own pace and in a way that you control.

What You Will Need:

• 5 Minutes, repeated over several days

• ​Materials

  • None!

Directions

For one day (or one lesson), track the number of times you say “yes” versus “no” to your students. Which do you say more often?

The next day, challenge yourself to say “yes” more than you say “no” – and more often than you said “yes” the previous day. Some simple ways to say “yes”:

• Instead of “No, your answer is wrong,” try “What an interesting mistake! Yes, I can see the strategy you used.”

• Instead of, “No, you can’t write your essay in marker,” try “Yes, we can get the markers out during Choice Time.”

• Instead of “No, you may not sing during math,” try “Yes, I would love to hear you sing at recess!”