Goal Setting and Tracking with the Little Ones

Setting and tracking academic goals with six year olds.....

Other than fluency.....

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!

We have all heard that students should set and track their personal academic goals. As a primary teacher I was not a fan and didn't do it. {{SHHH, Don't tell}} 

We all agree that our time is precious. 

Would the time it takes to teach students how to set goals, set the goals, and track the goals REALLY be worth it?

This fall my school attended a John Hattie Visible Learning Professional Development. After this PD, I decided to rethink goal setting and give it a try!

I decided to start out with one area....Reading Levels. We use DRAs to monitor our reading levels, but this could be adapted for any reading assessment or even any subject. 

First off, I did NOT want each student's reading level to be visible to everyone. I KNOW there are many out there who disagree and that is a whole other discussion! I made our tracking area have end check points instead of levels. The end of each grading period is a check point.

We started with our October Reading Levels...

We will check our progress in January, March, and June. Those are the end of each grading period.

Our boats will move as we move!

Here is the hard part...

Setting the goals!

I conferenced with each child individually to have them set their goals. We completed this sheet together.

This is the sheet I used for my on level & below level students. 18 is the end of first grade expectation.  I used one that goes to a level 24 for my above level students.

I showed each student their actual DRA to help them set their goal and choose what to work on...fluency, comprehension, etc. I am not going to sugar coat it, this took a couple of days and a lot of "coaching." I am optimistic that it will be easier each time.

My goal is to conference with each child and revisit their goal sheet at least once before the end of the grading period.

Do your students set goals and track their progress?

Global Glitter Tribe Monthly Link Up

I am linking up with the Global Glitter Tribe this month. This is a new tribe I recently came across.

{{ CONFESSION }}  The name sucked me in. I love GLITTER. I mean come on, what first grade teacher doesn't?!??!?!

Grateful - Colleagues who are also my BFFs

I teach with some of by Best Friends. Even though we are not all in the same grade level any longer, it is nice to see them every single day. We meet and chat every morning & afternoon!  We chat about school stuff as well as home stuff. Not only do we go out for dinner and drinks at least once a week, we try to plan something big and fun once a month. Last month it was Epcot's Food and Wine. This month it is going to the Night of Lights in St. Augustine. Next month, to Disney to see the Osborn Spectacle of Christmas Lights at MGM! I have ALWAYS wanted to see the famous lights. Since it is the last year for them we decided we HAVE to go. 

Local - Random Acts of Kindness Project 

The month of December I send home a Random Acts of Kindness Project with my First Graders! They get a book to complete and little cards to hand out with their "acts" in an effort to encourage others to pass it on in the community! It is always a favorite and I can't wait to see what they do this year. It is also very rewarding to see the cards out in the community.

Organization - Computer Files

I'm a bit OCD. Okay, ridiculously OCD. To help keep my desktop neat, tidy, and organized, I created a background to organize my files. I created it on pages, took a screen shot and made it the background. Here is what it looks like.

Broad Perspectives - Random Acts of Kindness Project
This isn't easy in First Grade. I try to build a classroom community starting on the first day of school. This year I started Bucket Filling in my classroom. It has been wonderful! The Random Acts of Kindness Project is a good way to follow up and give a reminder half-way into the school year!

Artists - Craftivities
I love doing Craftivities with my class. Next week we will be doing Christmas Tree Math. Sorry about the picture. I will post a better one when the kids have completed theirs!

Let's Chat - Team Planning

How does your grade team plan? Do you plan together, divide up subjects, or all do your own thing?

If you want to link up or check out other great blogs, click the picture below!