It’s no secret that goal setting is incredibly powerful in helping to build student leadership and motivating students to improve. However, teaching and supporting them to write strong student SMART goals is no easy task.
Most upper elementary students can self-identify an area in which they would like to improve. What’s left is to support them to take their idea to the next level by crafting it into a SMART goal.
What is a SMART goal?
A S.M.A.R.T. goal is an acronym that stands for: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. However, there are slight variations in what each letter stands for.
Examples of Student SMART Goals
Providing students with a variety of examples of student SMART goals will support them in setting their own. It also helps them to start thinking about what their goals might be when the time comes to write their own.
Write student SMART Goals
As a class, write a few student SMART goals based on students’ ideas. Take their basic goal example like “I want to get better in math” and flesh it out, ensuring it includes each part of a S.M.A.R.T. goal.
Write a class SMART Goal
Writing a goal together as a class is a great next step to practice writing SMART goals. As a class, brainstorm potential areas of improvement. Some examples are quick transitions, quiet volume during work times, task completion, etc. Then, write one of the ideas in a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound way.
Student SMART Goal Writing
After reviewing many SMART goal examples and writing goals as a class, students are ready to write their own. Provide them with a checklist or write a checklist on the whiteboard for them to refer to so they can “check” their goal when they are finished to ensure it is written as a student SMART goal.
Take It A Step Further
If you’d like to take it even further, meeting with students about their goals helps keep them accountable and motivated. It’s excellent for building a stronger relationship with them, too. I like to meet with my students every few weeks to check their progress and evaluate if they are ready to write a new SMART goal. For added fun, give them a certificate to celebrate that they’ve met their goal. They can take that certificate home to share with their parents, too!
Student SMART Goals Made Easy
Looking for a resource to support your students in learning about and writing their student SMART goals? Check out this complete SMART Goals Kit. It includes SMART goals lesson slides, student printables, class goal templates, bulletin board templates, etc. It has everything you need to support your students in becoming confident SMART goal writers and achievers.
Want more student leadership ideas? Check out these blog posts: A Complete Plan for Co-Writing A Class Mission Statement, A Twist on Student Jobs in the Classroom,
