Grades
PreK - 6
How to Celebrate Small Victories With Students
Boost confidence and your students’ love for learning as soon as they walk through your classroom door!
How to Celebrate Small Victories With Students
As a teacher, you have the ability to make your students feel seen. It’s an amazing superpower and one you can harness just by being the biggest cheerleader for even their smallest accomplishments.
“When we take the time to slow down and acknowledge their hard work, it builds their confidence,” says Avery Lieske, a third-grade teacher in Alabama. “Teachers are so powerful because we have the ability to use our words to uplift our children in a way that makes them feel they can conquer the world.”
The next time one of your students finds small success in your classroom, here are a few ways you can make a big deal out of their little victory!
One of the simplest ways to celebrate your students’ successes is by offering praise in the right way, says Samantha Bradshaw, a second-grade teacher in Wisconsin.
“It is important to note when offering praise, you should focus more on the process than the outcome,” she says. “Use the sentences that start with ‘I notice…,’ instead of ‘I like…,’ to be more encouraging to students.”
Additionally, you can create long-lasting joy by jotting down your praise. “Using sticky notes to write short notes of praise or encouragement to your students is a quick and easy way to celebrate victory throughout the day,” says Bradshaw. “Students enjoy receiving these personalized notes.”
Lieske celebrates her students all day, every day, and wants her students to feel seen the moment they walk through the classroom door. One way she does this is by making a playlist stocked with one favorite song from each of her students.
“The playlist is called ‘Lieske Class Walkout Songs,’” she says. “When the students enter the room or do something amazing, I will play their song.”
“We have also built such a family community that my students will give ‘shout-outs’ to each other when they see their friends working hard, meeting a goal, or making good choices,” says Lieske. “Celebrating even the smallest of victories ensures that every child is seen and makes children want to keep learning!”
Bradshaw also likes to put her students’ work on display in the classroom to boost their confidence and keep them motivated. “Students feel a sense of pride when they see their work on the walls,” she says.
“Another way I like to celebrate victories is offering the student the opportunity to call home and tell their parents about the learning victory they had during the day,” says Bradshaw.
When you celebrate your students’ little victories, you’ll not only build their self-esteem, but also their love for learning. Bradshaw likes to encourage her students’ learning love even more by giving them voice and choice in their classroom.
“Students are allowed voices by working together with their teacher to make decisions in the classroom,” she says. “Students are allowed choice through choice boards, flexible seating, or even what materials they use for a project.”
Lieske, too, likes to give an extra boost by giving her students opportunities to lead. “Giving children ownership of their learning and providing opportunities for them to take the lead in class will most certainly help build their confidence,” she says.
Shop books to build confidence below! You can find all books and activities at The Teacher Store.
Wednesday Addams meets The Curious Garden in this delightfully peculiar story about finding joy in being wonderfully weird.
This is a story of self-love that teaches children that their physical layer is just that -- one layer -- and below it lies a rich tapestry of attributes that make them unique and wonderful.
Introducing Pig in Jeans! A hilarious and endearing picture book about Brian, an extraordinary pig who loves to wear jeans and is always hiding silly things in his pockets!
This cookie has never felt like a smart cookie no matter how hard she tries, especially in comparison to all the clever cupcakes and brilliant rolls in the bakery. Will a dash of creativity and a sprinkle of confidence be enough to help her learn that perfect scores and having all the answers aren"t the only ingredients for intelligence?
Beauty is much more than how one looks on the outside. True beauty is found in conquering challenges, showing kindness, and spreading contagious laughter. Beautiful girls are empowered, smart, and really, really strong!
This inclusive picture book rejoices in the specialness of each person's beauty and ability
Rubin loves the beautiful sounds that are played by the orchestra. He wants to learn to play the violin and make his own music. But when Rubin plays, it doesn't sound like he imagines it should. Rubin goes into the forest to practice alone and despite only getting the violin to screech, he finds an unlikely audience that loves his unique style.
With light-footed rhymes and high-stepping illustrations, this tale is gentle inspiration for every child with dreams of greatness.
Based on the experiences of athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick, this book will inspire kids to stay true to their identities and advocate for change while celebrating self-discovery.
In a sweetly appealing tale of overcoming your fears, newcomer Gaia Cornwall captures a moment between a patient and encouraging father and a determined little boy you can't help but root for.
Camilla Cream loves lima beans, but she never eats them. Why? Because the other kids in her school don't like them. Camilla Cream is very worried about what other people think about her, but at the very moment she most wants to fit in, she becomes completely covered in colorful stripes! Worse yet, she seems to change colors to match whatever is happening around her. When the class says the Pledge of Allegiance, she turns red, white, and blue! Instead of blending in, she's standing out.
This laugh-out-loud companion to Ross Burach's The Very Impatient Caterpillar, The Little Butterfly That Could, and Goodnight, Butterfly playfully encourages readers to embrace their own uniqueness while also presenting the steps of pollination.
Told through creative language play, and with depth and whimsy, this picture book reminds readers of their own agency and the power they have to direct their own path.
This inclusive and empowering picture book from Sofia Sanchez-an 11-year-old model and actress with Down syndrome-reminds readers how important it is to embrace your differences, be confident, and be proud of who you are. Imagine all of the wonderful things you can do if you don't let anyone stop you! You are enough just how you are.
Cielo loves to skateboard! But when she messes up on a new ramp, she's embarrassed and afraid to fall again in front of so many people. With the help of some new friends, Cielo summons the courage to try again (and again, and again), and learns that falling is not failing - true fierceness isn't about landing the perfect trick, it's about picking yourself back up when you don't.
Brave Dave is the empowering story of bear named Dave, who discovers the importance of simply being himself!
Molly Lou Melon is short and clumsy and has buckteeth and a voice that sounds like a bullfrog being squeezed by a boa constrictor. But armed with the encouraging words of her grandmother, Molly Lou confidently confronts the class bully at her new school. A not-to-be missed story for the less-than-perfect part of everyone!
An inclusive poem of self-acceptance is warmed by radiant portraits of young women of color.
It's time for this year's Going Places contest! Finally. Time to build a go-cart, race it-and win. Each kid grabs an identical kit, and scrambles to build. Everyone but Maya. She sure doesn't seem to be in a hurry...and that sure doesn't look like anybody else's go-cart! But who said it had to be a go-cart? And who said there's only one way to cross the finish line?
In this empowering new picture book, beloved author Peter H. Reynolds explores the many ways that a single voice can make a difference. Each of us, each and every day, have the chance to say something: with our actions, our words, and our voices. Perfect for kid activists everywhere, this timely story reminds readers of the undeniable importance and power of their voice.
Turn little pouts into big smiles! Mr. Pout-Pout Fish is nervously awaiting his first day of school, and he frets about not knowing how to write his name, how to draw shapes, and how to do math - until he's reassured that school is the perfect place to learn how to master all of these new skills.
Positively bursting with energy and imagination, this ode to self-esteem encourages kids to appreciate everything about themselves, inside and out. Messy hair? Beaver breath? So what! This little girl knows that being proud of being you is the most important thing to remember.
Declarative text and bright visuals coach readers to practice empahty.
With a simple, witty story and free-spirited illustrations, Peter H. Reynolds entices even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark, and to follow where it takes us.
An impassioned plea to find the beauty in riding life's highs and lows as a creative original.
This inspirational picture book reminds listeners and lap-sitters of the value of being themselves.
Lily Hippo is too loud. She sings too loudly, she laughs too loudly, and everyone knows when she is around. At home she disturbs the peace and wakes the baby. At school she gets her friends into trouble. She can't help it. But one day a new teacher, Miss Loopiola, comes to school to teach music and drama, and Lily discovers that she is doing exactly the right thing at last. When the school play comes around, Lily finds she is loud in just the right way.
Are you brave enough to be your true self? Ikarus Jackson is. But it isn't always easy. The people in his neighborhood point at his wings. The kids at school laugh. The teachers call him a distraction. One girl identifies with him, but she is too shy to speak up. Finally, when his classmates' taunts send Ikarus drifting into the sky, the girl sets out in search of him, and so begins her own journey of self-discovery, leaving both of them transformed.
