Habits of Mind
I am so excited about this that it might sound like I'm selling the book, but I'm really not. I came across a book as part of the reading for my Master's class that answers your question exactly. I am so excited that I immediately put it to use in my 4th grade classroom. Habits of Mind is a series of 4 reader-friendly books (not too big either) that discuss what the habits of mind are (for example: questioning, perseverence, managing impulsivity, etc.), how to incorporate them into your teaching, and how to assess them. These habits are the cornerstones of teaching kids (and adults for that matter) to become self-monitoring, self-managing, and self-modifying learners. I promise that the applications to the classroom are amazing. I am already planning how I will better incorporate them into my room next year and how I want to start out the year making them an explicit part of our learning environment.
