lesson is designed for Early Intermediate ELLs and above, but can easily be modified for Beginners with even more simplified sentence frames.
Instructional Objectives
Students will:
1. Practice English reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.
2. Write a list of personal learning goals.
3. Develop a system of self-assessing their progress toward those goals.
Duration
Forty minutes, plus 15 minutes each week or every other week for self-assessment of progress.
Common Core English Language Arts Standards
Writing
• Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
Speaking and Listening
• Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
• Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
Language
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Materials
• Access to the Internet and a computer projector to show a video from the Best Video Clips on Goal Setting (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/07/11/the-best-video-clips-on-goal-setting-help-me-find-more/).
• Student copies of the Goal Setting and Planning Sheet (Exhibit 2.1).
• Student copies of the Goals Feedback Form (Exhibit 2.2) when self-assessments are done weekly or biweekly.
• Individual notebooks or folders for each student.
Procedure
First Day
1. The teacher writes the word “goal” on the board and asks students to write down anything they know about the word or any similar or related words. Students share what they wrote with a partner, and the teacher invites some to share with the entire class. Once the definition is clear, the teacher tells students that scientists have found that people tend to be more successful – they accomplish more of what they want – by setting goals and regularly checking to see how they are doing in achieving them.
2. The teacher then shares an example from her life in which she set a goal and accomplished it, and how she felt that setting a goal helped her (for example, when she felt discouraged, remembering her goal kept her going).
3. Next, the teacher shows a video of the 2012 Volkswagen commercial titled “Dog Strikes Back” or another video of her choice at the Best Video Clips on Goal Setting (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2013/07/11/the-best-video-clips-on-goal-setting-help-me-find-more/).
4. The teacher then lists these questions on the overhead and asks students to work in pairs and write down the answers in complete sentences (the questions can be modified for different video clips):
• What was the dog's goal?
• What actions did the dog take to accomplish his goal?
• How did the dog check to see if he was making progress in accomplishing his goal?
• What obstacles (problems) do you think the dog had when trying to accomplish his goal?
• Did he accomplish the goal?
• Students share their answers with a partner and then the teacher reviews them with the entire class and collects the responses.
5. Then, the teacher explains that she's given an example of goal setting in her life, they've seen a commercial about goal setting, and that now it's time for students to set their own goals. She then distributes a copy of the Goal Setting and Planning Sheet (Exhibit 2.1). The teacher completes a model for the “Attitude” section for herself, and then students work on that section. She may need to explain the meanings of some words, and can ask more fluent English students to assist others. The whole class should go through the form together section by section.
6. Students can then share their completed forms in groups of three or four, and be told that they can make changes to their forms if they hear ideas they like from their classmates.
7. Students should have regular class notebooks or folders where they can tape or glue their Goal Sheets. The teacher will need to review the completed forms in order to follow up with each student in individual conversations. If the teacher does not have regular access to student folders/notebooks, she can collect the forms to photocopy. She can return them the next day and ask students to then glue them in their notebooks.
Weekly or Biweekly
1. Feedback, including self-feedback, is a critical component of successful goal-setting.96 Therefore, each week or every 2 weeks, perhaps on Mondays, students can review their goals and complete the Goals Feedback Form (Exhibit 2.2). Students can be given the option to share with classmates before turning in their forms to the teacher. This kind of regular self-monitoring and evaluating is also considered a hallmark of metacognition,97 the next skill we'll be discussing.
Assessment
• Collect and review video answers and completed goal forms.
• If the teacher feels a more involved assessment is necessary, you can develop a simple rubric appropriate for your class situation. Free online resources to both find premade rubrics and create your own can be found at the Best Rubric Sites and a Beginning Discussion about Their Use (http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/09/18/the-best-rubric-sites-and-a-beginning-discussion-about-their-use/).
Possible Extensions and Modifications
• Students can make posters about their goals, which can be hung up around the classroom or on windows for others to see.
• The teacher can take a photo of student written goals or a poster and have students do an audio recording. See the next Tech Tools box for more information.
• Recent research suggests that intrinsic motivation can be increased further if students take another
