OBJECTIVE: To introduce the concept of goal setting to students and help them practice outlining the steps needed

to accomplish a short-term goal. MATERIALS: Recipe for Success Reproducibles #1 (PDF) and #2 (PDF) ACTIVITY LEAD-IN: Have students define goal (an aim or something you want to accomplish). Discuss the difference between short-term goals and long-term goals. Give examples of each (e.g., a short-term goal could be passing a test this week, while a long-term goal could be getting a good grade in a class). PROCEDURE: 1. Tell students that in order to accomplish any goal, its important to think about the steps needed to achieve that goal. This process could be compared to the steps you would follow to bake a cake. Using the steps in Recipe for Success Reproducible #1 (PDF) as a guideline for yourself, have students brainstorm one possible way to bake a cake. Write their steps on the blackboard. Students are welcome to brainstorm alternate ways to bake a cake (such as using a cake mix, adding extra ingredients, using more than one pan, etc.). The important thing is for them to practice breaking a goal down into steps. 2. Pass out copies of Recipe for Success Reproducible #2 (PDF) to each student. 3. Have kids choose one short-term goal they would like to accomplish in the next week. Possible goals could be remembering to feed my dog everyday, cleaning my room, earning money to buy a new CD, or finishing a book report. 4. Have them write down this goal, and then outline the steps they think it will take to accomplish it. NOTE: Teachers should emphasize that there are lots of ways to achieve something, and that some ways may be more successful than others. The important thing is for students to break their goals down into manageable steps and have a flexible strategy (e.g., students may need to change their tasks or the order in which theyre done). 5. Ask kids to follow My Recipe for Success over the next week. Check in on their progress. If students plans arent working, in what ways can they alter them? Could these changes lead to different outcomes? Ask if some kids have the same goals. If so, are their steps for achieving them the same or different? EXTENSION: Students can write, record, or paint about their goals using the Create Tools on SparkTop.org. Registered members can submit their creations to be featured in the BrainScan Gallery for everyone to see!

Reproducible #1

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Collect all of your ingredients. Preheat the oven. Grease your cake pan. Mix your ingredients together. Pour the batter into the cake pan. Bake the cake in the oven. Take out the cake when it is done. Cool the cake on a rack. Remove it from the cake pan when it is cool.

Name: __________________________

Reproducible #2

Think of a short-term goal you would like to accomplish in a week. Write your goal below: _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ How will you accomplish your goal? Write your steps below: 1. ____________________________________________________________________ 2. ____________________________________________________________________ 3. ____________________________________________________________________ 4. ____________________________________________________________________ 5. ____________________________________________________________________ 6. ____________________________________________________________________ 7. ____________________________________________________________________ 8. ____________________________________________________________________ 9. ____________________________________________________________________ 10. ___________________________________________________________________
Now, follow the steps in your Recipe for Success. Let your teacher know how things are going!

Did you accomplish your goal? If not, what could you have done differently?