Affirmations

Happy 2012!  I want to start the year off impressing you with the importance of positive thought. Affirmations are positive statements that we say to ourself about ourself. Here are some examples of positive I am statements:

Thinking positively can change your life significantly. Becoming aware and paying attention to the  positive aspects of your life truly does change your entire focus.
Students can be taught to do this! It is a particularly important skill to learn for students who may be struggling in the classroom. Consider a student who is struggling with learning to read. She may dread being called for reading group! Being asked to do something they are not good at can significantly impact self-esteem.
Some students are more aware of their learning differences than others, but irregardless, a student struggling with any academic task is working harder than the norm. If they are not suffering from lack of self-confidence they may be suffering from academic and/or mental fatigue.
Teach the student to focus on what they do well. Using either "I am" or "I can" statements is a great beginning. Help your students develop a bank of affirmation statements. Either post them in a central spot, or keep them on a ring to be used as needed.
Encourage students to use positive statements when chased with a challenging classroom activity.  For example, before that reading group have the student design a personalized affirmation statement that they recite before beginning. It could sound something like this:

I am making progress with my reading. I know that if I get stuck on a word that I can use my reading strategies to help myself. I am smart and I can figure out which strategy will work best. I am a hard worker and will do my best when I get stuck. Trying hard makes me proud.


An affirmation statement helps the student to focus on the positive. This affirmation statement, for example, reminds the student that they are making progress! It also empowers the student, reminding them that if they get stuck while reading they know just what to do! The statement affirms that they are working hard and they should be proud of their effort and work ethic.
In addition to having an affirmation statement for parts of the school day which are difficult, it is important to help students find things they do well. For example,
I am a great artist.
I am a good friend.
I can help others tie their shoes.
I can work with friends to solve a problem.


Affirmations can make the classroom a more positive place. They can be used as a means of recognizing that everyone has something to contribute. They help students to "find" themselves, promoting self-awareness and self-confidence in the process. Learn more about affirmations here.  I hope you will consider using affirmations in your classroom in 2012!