Day 1: Grit, Mindset & Starting Strong
Grade 9 English Day 1: Kick off your Grade 9 English course with a focus on resilience and community. This Day 1 lesson plan includes a “Getting to Know You” activity, Angela Duckworth’s TED Talk on grit, and a foundational “Growth Mindset” workshop. This lesson is highly supportive of SEL efforts in the classroom. It is designed to set an empowering classroom culture for de-streamed (ENL1W) or traditional ELA classrooms.
Learning Goals and Standards
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Explain the meaning of grit as perseverance toward long-term goals
- Distinguish between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset
- Reflect on their own learning habits and beliefs about ability
- Set one personal learning intention for the course
- Participate respectfully in community-building discussion activities
Psychologist Angela Duckworth defines grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals,” a concept strongly linked to persistence through setbacks—an important foundation for secondary learning success.
Aligned Global Competencies / Standards / ELA Curriculum
This lesson supports widely recognized secondary English and learner-development outcomes, including:
- OECD Global Competence Framework
- Developing learner agency
- Reflecting on personal strengths and growth
- IB Approaches to Learning (ATL)
- Self-management skills
- Reflection skills
- Common Core (Grades 9–10 Speaking & Listening)
- SL.9-10.1: Participate effectively in collaborative discussions
- UNESCO Global Citizenship Education
- Identity awareness
- Personal responsibility for learning
Resources for Grade 9 English Day 1
Bell Ringer
Day 1 vs. Day 100” Reflection
Write this on the board:
Think of something you are good at now that used to be difficult.
What changed?
Students respond in notebooks:
- What was hard at first?
- What helped you improve?
- Did talent or practice matter more?
Then follow with:
This course is your Day 1. What do you want Day 100 to look like?
Why this works:
It quietly reframes identity from ability to progress, which prepares students to receive the grit message instead of resisting it.
Lesson Flow for Grade 9 English Day 1
Greet Students & Welcome (10 minutes)
Warm introductions and a brief orientation to the year ahead.Course Overview (15 minutes)
Share themes, units, outcomes, assessment, and resources.Community-Building Activity (20 minutes)
Students complete the professional “Getting to Know You” handout and optionally share in small groups.Viewing & Discussing the TED Talk: Grit by Angela Lee Duckworth (15 minutes)
This talk explores the power of passion and perseverance for long-term goals. It introduces students to essential attitudes for academic success and personal growth.
(Consider showing the video or providing a link in advance.)Begin: A Journey from Fixed to Growth Mindset Lesson Plan (30 minutes)
Use this lesson (from Teachers‑Blog) that guides students through self-assessment, reflection, and interactive activities to explore and shift from a fixed to a growth mindsetWrap-Up & Transition (10 minutes)
Have students reflect on one takeaway, question, or personal goal inspired by the session; preview what tomorrow will build upon.
First-Hand Suggestions for Grade 9 English Day 1
On the first day of Grade 9 English, I focus less on content and more on how students see themselves as learners. Many arrive already convinced they are either “good” or “bad” at English, so starting with grit helps reset that thinking right away. I’ve found that when students understand that effort matters more than talent, they become more willing to participate, take risks, and stick with challenging reading and writing tasks later in the semester. Setting that tone on Day 1 makes the rest of the course run more smoothly.
Differentiation
For Students with IEPs
- Provide sentence starters:
- “Something I improved at over time was…”
- “Practice helped me because…”
- Allow verbal instead of written reflection
- Offer a visual fixed-vs-growth mindset anchor chart
- Preview vocabulary: perseverance, mindset, effort, challenge
- Use think-pair-share before whole-class discussion
For English Language Learners
Pre-teach key terms:
| Word | Student-Friendly Meaning |
|---|---|
| grit | not giving up |
| effort | trying hard |
| mindset | how you think about learning |
| challenge | something difficult |
Strategies:
- Show images/examples of skill improvement (sports, games, art)
- Allow responses in point form
- Pair with supportive peer partner
- Accept drawings + keywords instead of paragraphs
- Provide bilingual glossary where possible
Grade 9 English Day 1 FAQ
Is this Day 1 lesson suitable for students who have already heard of Growth Mindset? Yes. While many students have heard the term, this lesson uses Angela Duckworth’s research on ‘Grit’ to pivot from a psychological concept to a practical academic tool. It’s a perfect refresher that sets a professional tone for Grade 9 English.
How does this lesson align with the Ontario de-streamed (ENL1W) curriculum? This lesson directly supports the ‘Foundations’ strand of the Ontario curriculum by establishing self-reflection habits and literacy goals. It focuses on the internal transition students must make to succeed in a more rigorous secondary ELA environment.
What if I don’t have time to finish the full Growth Mindset workshop in one period? Don’t rush the ‘Getting to Know You’ activity! That community building is vital. If needed, you can stop after the Grit video and carry the specific Mindset workshop over to the first half of Day 2.
