Name: Jonathan Peacock

School: Black Middle School

Corps Year: 2010
Grade/Subject: 6th grade World Culture
Program Director:
BIG GOAL
1. [Overall] Big Goal Description:
What are the qualitative and quantitative components of my Big Goal? What do I know
about the most successful teachers in contexts similar to mine? (later: What does my
diagnostic data tell me?)

After one year, students will understand their geographic and social place in the world and how it
relates to other peoples and cultures around the globe. Students will feel confident in their ability to
communicate effectively about and with people in other cultures. Students will recognize how their
points of view affect their conceptions, understandings, and relationships with the world around them.

Students will be able to relate what they learn about the world to themselves and to their own culture.
Students will apply knowledge of varying backgrounds, religions, cultural values, geographic settings,
and beliefs to compare and contrast themselves with the world.

A. What’s your Rally Cry for your Big Goal?

-What will you display in your classroom to inspire your students and yourself towards the Big
Goal?
Students will be given a goal worksheet, or guided notes sheet, where we will discuss (as a
class) what is expected of them academically and behaviorally. Students will know, after
completing this guided notes worksheet, my expected class mastery percentage (85%),
expectations for retaining content, notebook organization, project presentations, and reading
comprehension assignments. At the end of this guided notes session, students will understand
what is expected of them.

-“All Students in Room 214 Will…”

-“Go for the Goal!”

-A class tracker will be posted in a visible spot on the room to track scores and progress on
student exit tickets and independent practice. Weekly mastery goals will be posted beside the
poster so students are aware of what is expected of them academically.

B. Quantitative Big Goal:

What is the academic measure of your Big Goal that you want all students to achieve this
year?

My class will have an average mastery of 85% on a rigorous end-of-year exam.

100% of students will maintain a thorough, thought-provoking, useful Social Studies notebook.
 C. Qualitative Big Goal:
What long term habits / mindsets must your students build that will be transformational?

Students will complete a comprehensive portfolio/notebook compiling their work from the entire
year and showing their mastery of geographic terms and places; mastery of map skills;
determining their place in the vast world; constructing unique and personal points of view
about the world and its issues, politics, and history. Students will participate in a pen pal
program with an overseas class through which they will learn variations in cultural norms,
customs, environments, and values.

Students will begin to view the world as a large and diverse place that extends far beyond their
personal space. Students will begin to see culture as a derivative of language, arts, religion,
background, etc. Students will understand the importance of tolerance in a diverse world.
Students will leave my class with a mindset that critical thinking and personal investment in
world events is key to being effective citizens of humanity.

Overall, this means:

Good students are good citizens. Good citizens can think critically about the world and want to
do so.

D. Values / Beliefs that directly support your Goal (optional):

What values will define your classroom culture?

Equality, respect, humility, professionalism, hope, growth, maturity, tolerance.

E. Student-Friendly Big Goal:

How will you display and present your Big Goal to your students?

I will lead a class discussion using guided notes about the big goal, why it is important, why it
matters, and how it will be both implemented and assessed.

Students will be reminded of the big goal every day through a presentation of the class
average of the previous day’s exit tickets or exam. Students will be encouraged to continue
growing and maintaining good study habits. Students will be rewarded for meeting weekly
goals with small, course and content-relevant reward or activities.
2. [Academic Achievement]: What content knowledge / skills are ESSENTIAL?
What are the broad themes of my course that include all the prioritized learning goals? What
does this imply for the knowledge and skills my students will need? (later: What have I learned
about where my students currently are according to my diagnostic data that will inform my
expectations)?

See a complete list of learning goals I plan to teach (includes _________________ (my
grade/subject), pre-requisite learning goals, pre-requisite knowledge and skills and enrichment
learning goals) in Appendix A.

• Students will learn how to view, interpret, and organize thoughts about maps, charts,
graphs, and other forms of text—keeping in mind that interpreting and organizational
skills are transferrable to other disciplines.
• Students will learn how, and when, to use information they obtain from primary and
secondary sources.
• Students will learn how, and when to analyze information they obtain from primary and
secondary sources.
• Students will learn how to identify cultural patterns and traits of peoples, civilizations,
countries, and regions. Students will learn why it is important to identify cultural patterns.
• Students will learn the process of compare and contrast with relation to cultures,
peoples, countries, and regions.
• Students will learn how to define cultural patterns, vocabulary, and traits.
• Students will learn how to locate information necessary to complete thorough, critically-
engaged thought processes about culture, society, and history.
• Students will learn the importance of research and how to conduct research
effectively and efficiently.
• Students will learn how to evaluate the relationships of different cultures geographically,
politically, and socially.
• Students will learn what it means to evaluate.
• Students will understand how to properly organize information obtained from primary
and secondary sources in a way that allows the information to be useful.
• Students will learn how to incorporate and synthesize information from multiple
sources, units, lessons, and areas of study.
• Students will learn how to review material necessary to recall important facts.
• Students will learn how and why it is important to cite sources of information in all
disciplines, grade-levels, and areas of study.
• Students will learn how to be creative and innovative in useful ways.
• Students will learn how to make predictions based on information they have received
about past occurrences in history. Students will understand why it is important to be able
to make predictions.
• Students will learn how to use computer software, the internet, databases, and
other electronic mediums to conduct research and gather important and useful
information.
• Students will understand what it means to be information literate.
• Students will be able to connect Social Studies with literacy.
• Students will learn how to transform information they gather and retain into well-
thought, engaging written responses.
 • 3. [Long Term Traits & Mindsets] To improve your clarity about where
you’re headed, describe what it will look like for your students to achieve
the goal. What will this mean they know, believe, and can do?
In your answer, be sure to describe SPECIFICALLY what success would look like for any long term
traits included in your goal.

What long term habits / What are some quick signs that you & I could use to see if
mindsets must your your kids are achieving your vision?
students build that will
be transformational?
Competitive nature and
sense of urgency in the
classroom
Team-oriented
Personal accountability
Respect for yourselves
and each other
Importance of
organization inside and
outside the classroom
• Students are aware of their progress
• Students care about how their progress relates to other
students.
• Students demonstrate that they care about their
progress by studying, seeking additional help, working
in groups, etc.
• Students enjoy academic and behavioral competitions
in the classroom.
•
• Students are able to work in groups.
• Group-work tends to yield better results than
individual work.
• Students view the classroom as a team.
•
•
• Students are able to hold themselves accountable for
assignments in and out of class.
• Students develop study habits that work for them.
•
•
•
• Students are aware and have internalized classroom
rules and procedures.
• Students are respectful of each other.
• Students follow directions when they are given.
• Students act in a professional manner and understand
why it is important to do so.
•
• Students maintain a well-organized, useful portfolio or
notebook containing important class notes, due dates,
assignments, and assessment grades.
• Students are able to effectively articulate what
assignments are due and when for a given week or
other time frame.
•
•
•
Make a mental note: Does your goal give you focus? absolutely somewhat
not yet
What else do you need to know or do to have the clarity you need for the goal to be
the focus your work?
 Handout
4. [Implementation] How will I weave my Big Goal into the various components
of my classroom? 1
Key Investment Actions Concrete Methods
A. Implement • Introduce historical figures who accomplished similar goals or
strategies and mini- goals that align with our class goals.
lessons to build • Explain how each unit, lesson, or concept is related to the big
investment towards goal.
the Big Goal • Never forget to reinforce the big goal.
 Utilize Lesson
Introductions
 Teach lessons on
Malleable Intelligence
 Have a “commitment
wall,” or having a class
theme, goal wall, future jobs
wall
B. Leverage your • Place a tracking chart somewhere in the classroom where it is
Student Tracking visible to students at all times.
information • Offer a method of individual student tracking (likely in the form of a
notebook with a “progress” chapter).
 Class vs. class, and • Send tracking reports home each week for parents to sign.
individual student tracking
 Give students their own
tracker and make time to
update and celebrate
 Send progress/tracking
reports home
C. Reach out and • Send letters home to parents at the start of the year
communicate with explaining the big goal, the class structure, and tracking.
students’ families • Periodically follow up with phone calls and progress reports.
 introductory phone calls
 initial or weekly letters
 progress reports,
 parent questionnaires
D. Get to know your • Give students surveys
Students • Talk with students at lunch and before/after school.
 student surveys • Go to sporting events and school activities.
 team building activities
 student letters
 get to know your students

5. [Implementation] How will you introduce the Big Goal to your students?
How will you incorporate the qualitative, quantitative as well as explaining parts of your
investment system to your students in the first week of school?

My Vision
Daily: I will know that I am succeeding because I will see participation and ownership in my
classroom, and I will have 100% of my students submitting high-quality work on time, all the
time. Students will immediately begin working each day through the Do Now, consistently raise
their hands when questions are asked, and complete class work and projects to the best of their
ability.

My students will know they are succeeding because they will be receiving positive reinforcement
for their actions, both verbal and written. I will explicitly tell them what makes me proud of them.
When students are working hard on class work, beginning class with the Do Now each day, and
showing effort to participate in class, I will make sure to connect their effort with progress
towards the goal.

Weekly: I will know that I am being successful because I will see 85% averages on weekly
quizzes. I will know my kids are owning the big goal when I hear it referenced in their daily
conversations with me. I will also know students are connecting with the big goal when they are
able to effectively articulate how what they’ve learned and what they’re accomplishing in class is
connected with the big goal for the year.

My students will know that they are being successful because they will see their own quiz scores
improve, and they will see an accumulation of positive marks on their behavior trackers posted
in the classroom. Students will ALWAYS know how they are progressing toward the big goal by
looking at the tracker chart posted in the classroom.

Unit: I will know that I’m successful on the unit level when I have my students master their
objectives, complete their reflective guides thoughtfully, and always focus on improvement and
the concept of malleable intelligence.

My students will know they are successful on the unit level when they see that they are meeting
the goals they have set for themselves. They will complete reflective guides that give them ideas
about the areas in which they succeeded and the areas where they still need to improve.
Students will also know their quantitative progress through unit tests.

Year-long: I will know that I have succeeded in my year-long goals if I see actively engaged
students who keep themselves organized and consistently submit quality work. They will have
mastered a large portion of our prioritized learning goals and will be able to explain how these
mastered concepts relate to the big goal for the class and to each student’s own life. I know
students are successful if they feel a personal investment in the skills and concepts they have
retained in my class.

My students will know that they have succeeded because they will have accomplished their
quantitative goal of 85% mastery average for the entire year. Students will understand that
success means continuing to grow, and therefore they will see their scores gradually increase
throughout the year.

Specific Investment Strategies

Daily
• Positive marks on the homework tracker for completing homework assignments each
night.
• Assign student to be homework checker (student in charge of checking for homework
completion, collecting homework, and turning the stack in to the teacher)
• Have a student make a connection between the daily objective and the Big Goal every day
during the Do Now
• Close out each day with a reflection about how what students learned that day will bring
them closer to the goal and the impact of their effort in class that day
• Have an Exit Ticket Rock Star list where you write the top 3 scores on your Exit Ticket on
the board in a special place.
 • Have a “This Week’s Super Rock Star” spot in the classroom for the student who
performed the highest, had the best behavior, completed all homework assignments, etc.

Weekly
• Reflect on homework completion from the week and reset the new goal according to
completion rates.
• Update “Shout Out” board for students who I observed working really hard towards
reaching the Big Goal in class.
• Allow students to make “shout outs” to classmates they observe performing well or
achieving high standards, who are particularly helpful, do good deeds, or overcome
adversities in or out of class.
• Update students daily on their progress toward the weekly target. Students will be told
what their exit ticket score average goal is for the week, homework completion
percentage for the week, etc. Students will be rewarded for meeting or exceeding weekly
targets. Weekly targets will be assessed on Fridays and rewards will be administered on
Mondays.

Unit
• Track all scores on the day I return assessments and be sure students are aware of their
progress.
• Update public tracking wall for objective mastery
• Students complete tracking sheet in their binders on how close or far they are from
mastering the objectives covered in the previous unit
• Have students complete effort rubric at the end of each unit and set new goal for mastery
on the next unit
Review class mastery averages on PowerPoint after each unit
• At the end of each unit, move the big tracking arrow at the front of the classroom one step
closer to “7th grade.”
6. [Pathways to Opportunity] How will achieving the Big Goal impact your
students?
How will this goal lead to “pathways of opportunity” for your students? After school begins and you get to
know your students, add further explanation about how your Big Goal matches or enables your students’
short and long term aspirations.
• What must my students be able to do to be on par with students in wealthier communities?
• Are there any tests that open door for students in our school / district / state? What scores do kids need to qualify for
entry into the best programs or schools?
• Are there any other local opportunities I could aim to help my students earn?

Make a mental note: Do you find the goal terrifically motivating? absolutely
somewhat not yet
Will your students and their influencers find the goal terrifically motivating?
absolutely somewhat not yet
What else will it take for you to be convicted that the goal is the absolute right goal
that will motivate your class for the year?