Student Goals

One thing my students and I do each week is set goals for ourselves. We look back on the previous week and think about what we might do better. We look at the upcoming week and think about what we might want to accomplish. Depending on the need, this might be done individually or as a class. We might decide that as a class we want to try to be kinder to our peers or introduce ourselves to a child we don't know. Many times goals come from things we are learning, books we are reading, and experiences we have shared with each other. It is a great way to grow as a class. We usually start out working on goals together as a class until students develop an understanding of what a goal is and why it is important. In order for it to be a useful tool, they need to understand and value it. It's also a great way to get students, even very young ones, to hold themselves accountable. I always make sure that students get to set at least one personal goal. Most of the time, they choose all three goals for themselves. It is usually a class idea if we set a class goal. Student goals come from the student themselves, suggestions during mini-conferences, peers..anywhere. My first graders set goals that are important to them and this encourages them to work toward them. The important part is not just setting the goals each week, but following up with them. On Monday morning we set our goals. Each morning as they are getting settled, students are asked to look at their goals and think about what they've done to work toward their goals and what they might do today to work toward their goals. During our Morning Meeting a few students have the opportunity to share the progress toward their goals. ON Friday, we look at our goals, celebrate and erase the ones we've accomplished, and determine which ones we want to leave and continue working on next week.

Laminate or stick in a page protector for use with dry erase markers!