Children need both encouragement and praise.

• Make your encouragement personal.
• Give specific and direct praise. Reword your praising words from fatigue and general (“That’s good”) to a personal and specific (“I like the way you are working on that paragraph”).
• Give encouragement until a task is done well. Then praise the student for a job well done.
• Empty praise is frustrating to the student and does not produce the sustained effort needed to finish a difficult lesson.

Words to Encourage

• Keep Going-you are getting it…because.
• You are trying very hard…because.
• I know that you can do it….because .
• I like the way you are focusing.
• You are my star student today because…
• I know sounding out words is difficult.
• Your persistence has paid off.
• You are putting forth wonderful effort and really learning a lot.
• Keep up the good work.
• I like the way you self-corrected yourself.
• You are my star student today because…
• That is the mark of an excellent student.

Words to Praise

• Well done!
• Great effort-it really paid off.
• 100% Perfect
• Excellent work.
• I am proud of you!
• Good going.
• You are really moving now.

By Jenny Beaumont, Swan Learning Center, www.swanlearningcenter.com