Description
When a student says, “I can’t do this,” puts their pencil down, or gives up after a mistake, telling them to keep trying may not be enough. They may need help understanding that difficulty is part of learning and practicing how to respond when they feel frustrated. Growth mindset worksheets and perseverance activities give teachers a structured way to teach those skills alongside literacy instruction.
Train Your Dragon to Do Hard Things: Growth Mindset Worksheets & Activities is an SEL interactive read-aloud book companion for Steve Herman’s picture book. It combines guided discussion, reflection, and differentiated SEL and ELA activities to help students explore what it means to face challenges and keep learning. Students consider the character’s choices, connect the story to their own experiences, and reflect on how they respond when something feels hard.
Teach Growth Mindset Through Discussion and Practice
Understanding growth mindset involves more than repeating a positive phrase. Students need opportunities to examine what they believe about their abilities, recognize how those beliefs affect their choices, and consider what they could do differently.
This companion includes a fixed-versus-growth mindset visual, self-evaluation, discussion questions, and reflection activities. These provide starting points for conversations about effort, mistakes, frustration, and learning new skills. The goal is to help students recognize that struggling with something today does not mean they will never be able to do it.
Connect Perseverance Activities With Literacy Instruction
The interactive read-aloud lesson plan includes questions for before, during, and after reading. Students make predictions, discuss the character’s responses to challenges, and connect the story’s message to situations in their own lives.
Follow-up activities extend those conversations through writing, character analysis, and reflection. You can address perseverance and resilience while also teaching comprehension and writing skills, making it easier to include SEL instruction within your literacy time.
What’s Included
This 100-page printable resource includes materials designed for approximately 15–20 hours of instruction, depending on the activities selected and your students’ needs:
- Interactive read-aloud lesson plan with before, during, and after reading questions
- Growth mindset visual comparing fixed and growth mindsets
- Growth mindset worksheets, self-evaluation, and reflection activities
- Perseverance activities addressing challenges, effort, and continuing when tasks feel difficult
- Making predictions, summarizing, and making connections
- Character traits and character analysis activities
- Compare-and-contrast activities and writing prompts
- ELA posters, visuals, and example pages
- Differentiated activity options
- Real photographs used in selected activities
- Family connection notes to extend the conversation at home
Flexible Ways to Use the Companion
Use the materials during whole-class read-alouds, small-group SEL instruction, counseling or intervention groups, centers, or independent practice. The differentiated options and variety of activities also allow you to revisit the skills across several lessons, including in self-contained classrooms.
You do not need to complete every page. Choose the discussion questions and activities that match your instructional goals, students’ learning needs, and available time. The resource brings SEL and ELA materials together so you can spend less time gathering separate activities.
File Format and License
This resource is a digital download containing printable PDFs. Download files are available after purchase.
This listing is for the companion teaching materials. The picture book is not included.
Licensed for use by one educator. Redistribution or sharing of the files is not permitted.
Learning to do hard things is a skill students will need beyond the classroom. This companion provides structured opportunities to discuss challenges, reflect on choices, and practice a more constructive response when learning feels difficult.
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