Confidence-Boosting Strategies for the Elementary Grades

My teaching colleagues and I have noticed that students are much more afraid of making mistakes today than in the past. Part of the problem is that we’re not spending enough time on schoolwork that is challenging, encourages productive struggle, and builds confidence. Student survey data accompanying the Nation’s Report Card (also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress) shows that student confidence in reading and math is also down. Fewer students believe they can explain something they read or solve a math problem.

And confidence matters: Research shows that self-confidence has an impact on student achievement, which is why I spend extra time addressing confidence in my fourth-grade classroom.

Setting up the work

I often give my students assignments that encourage productive struggle. I remind students that the work is designed to be difficult, and it’s OK if they don’t get the right answers at first. I tell them I want to stretch their brains and that I want them to struggle—that’s part of the learning process.

This takes a bit of cheerleading. For example, when doing an activity called number talks, I put a problem on the whiteboard and then let the kids think, struggle, and try to solve it. This proves to be difficult for the students because it requires them to solve the problem mentally using what they know about number sense. It takes time, practice, and struggle. I encourage them along the way. Then, we talk about how students arrived at their answers and any obstacles they encountered. They know it’s OK to make a mistake, because we’ve built a culture that celebrates mistakes, especially when we can learn from them.

Recently, when we were doing this, one of my students had a terrified look on her face. I went over and explained, “If you don’t get to the answer at first, it’s OK. You will eventually. You just have to try.” She sighed a little and then did try—really hard. She didn’t get the problem right at first, but she eventually did, and, importantly, that look of terror turned into a smile.

Pre-teach the hard stuff

As with math, students also tend to be anxious or lack confidence when reading complex texts. We read challenging and complex texts as a class throughout the year, but we don’t just dive in. To build student confidence and comprehension, I pre-teach challenging vocabulary words, grammar, and syntax, and build their background knowledge about the topic covered in the book.

For example, we’ve been reading a text titled Code Talkers. It’s about how Navajos created an unbreakable code during World War II. I pulled words like allies, legacy, and seized ahead of time. Before reading the book, we also talked about how a group of Navajo joined the Marines and used their native language to transmit coded messages during the war.

I love an approach called reciprocal teaching in which students read a text independently and then write down the words they didn’t know and any questions that come to mind. Then, they meet in groups to work on understanding the words they didn’t know and talk about the books. This builds confidence and comprehension. Often, students take on roles when working in small groups—reading, summarizing, and predicting what might be next, for example. Even my shyest kids feel comfortable reading with just a few peers, and choosing their roles builds agency.

Conceptual understanding is a confidence booster

To build students’ confidence in math, we have to get away from teaching math through rote memorization and tricks and work explicitly to develop their conceptual understanding of topics we cover. Helping them “see” the math we’re doing through concrete objects or hand-drawn models can be helpful.

For example, when adding and subtracting large numbers, I might remind my fourth graders that they did this in third grade using base-10 blocks. I might even have them do a refresher with those. Then, I build on that by teaching them the standard algorithm without the blocks. The students don’t need the blocks for too long, but they help visually and serve as a confidence booster.

Similarly, when teaching them to find equivalent fractions, I might start with color-coded fraction strips and hand-drawn number lines and then turn to numbers and written expressions. Throughout this progression, kids develop a deeper understanding of fractions. This builds confidence around a topic that often causes kids to stumble.

Make it fun

Another way I help students become more confident is by engaging them in learning that’s fun. If we do work that is playful and relates to kids’ lived experiences, we take away some of the stress that surrounds school.

During a recent lesson on estimating, for example, I had the kids work with partners and plan a road trip they wanted to take that included four stops. We looked at distances between stops and for the whole trip, making up and solving word problems along the way. My students were having so much fun planning their dream vacations that any confidence issues fell to the wayside.

I also love staging a math detectives game. The kids work in groups, sometimes across classrooms, trying to solve challenging problems. Each time they solve a problem, they get a clue telling them where to go in the school to find the next problem and another clue. Each group vies to be the first team to finish, and I give out prizes and treats at the end.

Share formative data, like quizzes, and any student work you can provide to show that your kids are making progress and moving in the right direction. It’s hard to argue with growth data.

We’re all trying to do the right thing for students—help them achieve at high levels and develop the skills and knowledge they need to live out fulfilling, choice-filled lives. Confidence is a key part of that equation.