We LOVE using REAL people to teach students about growth or learning mindset and Michael Jordan is a perfect person to introduce a learning mindset.In the book Salt in His Shoes, young Michael Jordan feared he'd never be tall enough to play the game that would eventually make him famous. To lift his spirits, his mother told him that salt in his shoes would help him grow tall enough to make baskets. This heartwarming picture book, written by the superstar's mother and sister, and exquisitely illustrated by artist Kadir Nelson, teaches hard work and determination are much more important than size in becoming a champion.
We believe that it this is perfect close reading picture book because of its high interest (basketball and achieving dreams!) and it leads to an inquiry about how people achieve their goals. We’ve also found that the lessons learned from this text connect beautifully to the CCSS mathematical practice 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, and the concept of having a mindset for learning, making it an anchor lesson that can be referred to again and again over the course of the year.
Michael Jordan’s mindset played a huge role in achieving his dream of being able to make baskets. His mindset is what continued to help Michael achieve great basketball success throughout his career.
In our updated product we have lessons and posters that introduce and help students practice the Mindset for Learning traits, found in the book A Mindset for Learning by Kristine Mraz and Christine Hertz. The Mindset traits are:
Optimism: Putting aside fear and resistance to learn something new.
Persistence: Keeping at it, even when a task is hard.
Flexibility: Trying different ways to find a solution.
Resilience: Bouncing back from setbacks and learning from failure.
Empathy: Learning by putting oneself in another person’s shoes.
In our Close Reading with Salt in His Shoes resource we include:
- Close reading questions to stick into the book Salt in His Shoes. (see our post about Post-It Sticky Notes)
- Mindset Posters to hang up with a place under each trait for students to sign when they are "caught" using a trait
- Eight Step-by-step lessons that include close reading for what the text says, how the text works, and what the text means
- Student Printables
- Intertextual Connections- nonfiction, video
- Links to videos and challenging tasks resources
- An inquiry lesson about Achieving Dreams
- Application of learning through Goal Setting
Close Reading With Salt in His Shoes is a comprehensive unit with everything you need to to integrate close reading and growth mindset in an authentic and relevant way!
Students will be engaged and inspired by young and older Michael Jordan as he overcame his barriers to achieving his dreams.
Visit our Teachers Pay Teachers store to preview this incredible resource!
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