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There’s this joke I’ve told my students: There was a man who loved archery. He was always looking for new tips and tricks. One day, he was walking through a forest and saw a house with bullseyes everywhere. Dead center. Every. Single. One.

He knocked on the door and asked the man who lived there, “How do you do it? I’ve never seen aim like that.”
The man smiled and said, “Oh, it’s easy. First I stick the arrow in the wall. Then I draw the circles around it.”

It always gets a laugh.
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But the truth is; we all do this to some extent. Sometimes we look back at the year and say, “This was a good year” or “This was a bad year”… based on what? That’s like drawing the target after the arrow’s already hit.

Whether you’re someone who makes New Year’s resolutions or you prefer to set your goals on your own time, there’s something powerful about those natural reset moments -after winter break, the start of a new term, etc.

So here’s what I used to do with my students at the start of second term:

I’d come in with a big Target shopping bag and plop it on the desk. (One year I even made Target-themed cookies - no, I don’t do that every year. But I had former students tell me that whenever they see a Target store they think of this lesson. :) )

I’d ask students to take out a post-it or paper and write one academic goal. They'd usually write things like:
– I want to get better at homework
– I want to get better grades
– I want to participate more in class
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They could leave it on their desk or bring it up to the board.

Then I’d introduce SMART goals—a tool to help them make their goal more SMART.
SMART stands for:
​Specific
​Measurable
​Attainable
​Relevant
​Time-bound
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Here's my template you can use: Smart Goal Evergrowing Educator.pdf​

I’d use one of my own examples, real, but not too personal. One year I told them, “I want to stop rushing in the mornings.”
We’d talk through what that actually meant and how we could measure it. Then I’d turn it into a SMART goal like:
​I want to wake up by 6:30 a.m. every weekday for the next 4 weeks.

After that, we’d take one of the student’s goals (with their permission) and go through the process together. I’d hand out a SMART goal template, and they’d rewrite their goal using the formula.

Some students would keep their goal private in an envelope. Others shared them with me, and I’d follow up during lunch or small group time.
What I found was that when students had just a little guidance, they reached waaaaaay further.

Of course, at the end of the term I'd have the students revisit their goals and reflect. (Reflection is a HUGE part of the learning journey and growth!) Sometimes they reflected quietly, sometimes through a written assignment and sometimes we even included their reflection on their semester report (with their permission, of course.)

So whether it’s the new year, a new term, or just a Monday that feels like it neeeeds a reset, I encourage you to help your students define their own target.

Not after the arrow’s hit! Before. :)
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I’d love to hear from you: What do you do at the start of the new term?
Hit reply and let me know - I read (and appreciate!) every single email!

Oh, and PS: If you want to create more engaging classes (I mean, SMART goal, if you want to bring in 2 new engagement techniques for the next month of teaching, this guide is for you!!! I give you the deets here, but feel free to hit reply & ask your questions! This guide will help you plan more easily with ready to go techniques for your classroom.

Mushkie
@evergrowingeducator
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PS: Was this email forwarded to you? Now that’s a great friend/boss/co-worker! Sign up for resources + classroom mindset here.​​
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