Goals Get You Your Dreams

Goals Get You Your Dreams

Grade Levels: K-6 (with additional activities for upper-grade students)

Time: 2-3 class periods

Materials:

Handouts

* Ann and Liv's Goals
* Sample Goals
* My Goals

Objectives:

Students will:

* Understand the role goals play in helping you achieve dreams.
* List some of Ann's and Liv's goals.
* Understand the elements of SMART goal-setting.
* Articulate a goal of their own.

Lesson:

Full Group (discussion by teacher with student participation)

  1. Explain that dreams (something we want to have) give birth to goals (the steps we're willing to take to get our dreams). In essence, goals are the stepping stones to our dreams. They are the action steps we take each and every day to get from where we are today to the future we dream of having.
  2. Help students understand that whether we realize it, we already have goals. Each time we dial the phone, we have a goal (to talk to someone on the other end of the line). Ask students to provide other examples of goals they may already have.
  3. Pass out "Ann's and Liv's Goals" (or paraphrase the information and share it verbally). Ask students to quietly read the handout. Then, ask students to help you list Ann's and Liv's goals on the board. Ann's and Liv's Goals:
    • To learn how to ride a two-wheeled bicycle (Liv).
    • To finish college (Ann).
    • To become a teacher (Ann).
    • To ski across Antarctica (Ann and Liv).
    • To be a good partner (Liv).
    • To communicate with students around the world (Liv).
    • To challenge herself physically (Ann).
    • To educate children (Ann).
  4. Explain to students that the ability to set and work toward goals is an important skill that is used throughout life. Explain that this skill is important for several reasons. List the reasons on the board and ask students to add to the list. Goals help us:
    • Achieve more
    • Improve performance.
    • Enhance motivation to achieve.
    • Create pride and satisfaction in our accomplishments.
    • Improve self-confidence.
    • Eliminate self-defeating attitudes.
  5. Help students understand that goal setting is a skill that can be learned, just like other skills we learn. Like Liv, we may have wanted to learn how to ride a bike. At first, it probably seemed hard. But after trying it (and perhaps even falling down) a few times, it became much easier. After more practice, it becomes second nature, something we no longer even have to think about. (With lower-grade students, consider using an example of something they've already mastered such as learning to tell time or how to count to 20.)
  6. Explain that effective goals are SMART. For lower-grade students: Instead of explaining SMART, have them brainstorm possible goals, either for them as individuals or for the class. Have them draw a picture of what it would be like if one specific goal from the list was realized.
  7. Write SMART on the board and discuss. S-- Savvy M-- Measurable A-- Active R--Reachable T-- Timed:
    • S--Savvy. Savvy goals are those that grow out of our dreams. They're goals we can sink your teeth into; goals that get us excited. Not so savvy: Go out in the cold and pull a 250-pound (113-kg) sled across a continent. Savvy: Be the first all-women's team to ski across Antarctica and use our experience to help educate schoolchildren around the world. Not so savvy: Save some money. Savvy: Save $15 to buy the new Harry Potter book.
    • M--Measurable. Measurable goals clearly define what it is we're going to do. For Ann and Liv, their goal was to ski across Antarctica. This means that they did not bring dogs to pull their sleds. Or travel by snowmobile. Measurable goals are goals that can be quantified. To ski 2,400 miles (3,840 kilometers). To complete the trek in 100 days. Ask students for other examples.
    • A--Active. SMART goals are active goals. They say exactly what action we're going to take. Ski across Antarctica. Educate schoolchildren around the world. Run one hour every day. Memorize my spelling words. Eat all my peas.
    • R--Reachable. Goals should challenge or stretch us, but they should also be reachable. Skiing across Antarctica is a reachable goal, skiing around the world is not. Ask students why. Reachable goals also take into account our own abilities. Ann and Liv are explorers who have spent nearly two years training for their trip. It's a reachable goal for them. It's not for someone who hasn't put in the training.
    • T--Timed. SMART goals are timed goals. Timed goals have deadlines--a date or some other unit of time by which the goal will be achieved. By Sunday, before August, on my birthday, etc. Like goals, deadlines should be as specific as possible. On Thursday is more specific than next week. By Thursday at 10:00 a.m. is even more specific.

Individual Exercise

  1. Pass out the handout "Sample Goals." Explain that you can set goals in a variety of categories such as the ones on the list, all of which came from real kids. Have them look over the list in preparation for writing their own goals.
  2. Pass out the handout "My Goals" and ask students to write their own goals. They should try to write one goal for each category. Remind them that their goals should be SMART.

Small Group Exercise

  1. If time permits, you may want to do a sharing circle. Have students break into small groups and share their lists with one another. Have them go around in a circle, each student sharing one goal. Remind students that it is not a competition and that one person's ideas aren't better than another's. Encourage students to add new goals to their own lists if they hear something from one of their classmates that inspires them.

Class Exercise

  1. Have students brainstorm possible class goals--goals that the entire class could work toward and then, as a group. If you'd like, select a goal as a class goal that the entire class can work toward just as Ann and Liv worked their way across Antarctica. One option is "Go the Distance" Ann's and Liv's personal challenge to encourage students to walk, ski, canoe, bike, run, skate or razor scooter 2,400 miles (3,850 kilometers).

Additional Exercises:

  1. Journal: Ask students to write a journal entry describing one of their dreams or something they really want to do.
  2. Conversation Starter: Have students ask family members or other adults about their dreams.
  • Visit www.goalsguy.com for tips and ideas about how to set and achieve goals and to learn more about Kids' Goals Education Week, a special week for children to learn about goal setting and how it impacts their future.
  • Catch the Spirit: A Student's Guide to Community Service, developed by Prudential in cooperation with The U.S. Department of Education. This brochure is filled with ideas on how young people can help make their communities a better place to live. You can download a copy at www.prudential.com/community/spirit/volunteer

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Assessment: