Goal Trees Galore!

The 8th graders are practicing turning their goals for high school into S.M.A.R.T goals that they can then make an action plan out of to show to their guidance counselors. S.M.A.R.T. goals stand for Specific, Measurable, Attainable or Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. After a discussion of this acronym and why each of these words is important, students complete 3 goal trees. One goal tree is an academic goal , the second is a social goal, and the third is a goal dedicated to their personal growth. In the 2nd class, we also practiced goal setting by playing the game pass the can, where students pass a large can from person to person in different ways, making goals based on the abilities of the group. I am doing this goal tree curriculum with around 40 8th grade students, so that is around 120 goals that we are setting into motion! Additionally, even if the students don’t actively pursue these goals, as least they are learning how to break them down into smaller chunks and make it more manageable to try to do.