Think This not That Worksheet

The thought a student has right after something goes wrong usually decides what happens next. “I am not good at this” ends the work; “I can get better at this” keeps it going. This think this not that worksheet takes that split and makes it visible, pairing a giving-up thought with a keep-going thought and asking a second grader to choose between them on paper, where the choice can be talked about, corrected and practiced.

Five numbered cards each hold two short thoughts about the same moment: work that feels too hard, a skill that has not clicked yet, a mistake, the urge to quit, and being stuck. The student reads both and fills in the bubble beside the one that helps them keep trying. The helpful thought is not always the second one, so the page cannot be finished by pattern alone. Use this think this not that worksheet at morning meeting, in a counseling group, as a calm-down-corner reference, or as a five-minute follow-up after a frustrating lesson. The answer key makes it easy to check quickly and, more usefully, gives you the exact wording to repeat back to a child later in the week.

What’s Included

• One printable page with five two-choice cards
• Ten short self-talk statements written at a second grade reading level
• Fill-in-the-bubble answers, so no writing is required
• A complete answer key with the helpful thought marked on every card
• Large, easy-to-read type for whole-class or small-group use

Three Reasons This Helps Kids

• It gives children the words. Most students can feel the difference between the two thoughts long before they can say it, and a printed sentence they can point to is far easier to borrow later than advice they only heard once.
• It keeps the task small. Choosing between two short lines asks for judgment without asking for handwriting, so a child who is already frustrated is not asked to write a paragraph about it.
• It makes mistakes ordinary. One card treats a mistake as information rather than a verdict, which is the single idea that keeps a struggling student in the work.

Teacher and Parent Ideas

Read the two thoughts on card one aloud with the whole class and let students vote with thumbs before anyone marks the page. Ask a volunteer to explain what would happen next if a person really believed the unhelpful thought, then what would happen if they believed the helpful one. After the page is finished, have students copy their favorite helpful thought onto a strip of paper and tape it inside a desk or a folder. This 2nd grade social skills worksheet also works well as a parent handout, because the ten statements give a family the same wording the classroom is using. Revisit the page after a hard test or a tough day and ask which card fits today.

Related Resources

• Who I Want To Be Worksheet
• Feelings Worksheet
• Finding Feelings Worksheet
• Oops I Made A Mistake Song