Goal Setting

This is the best idea I have come up with to help stay on target.  We set 5 monthly goals.  Some goals are the same for everyone, but others are differentiated.  This month we all have "I can read 4 new sight words" and "I seek first to understand, and then to be understood."  The differentiated goals vary from "I can add within 5" to " I can write a sentence on my own."  For the most part I have written the goals for the students, but I had hoped by now to start turning that responsibility over to the students more.
  

Each student has a recording sheet with a place for their name and some areas they can color before we get started.  Even though the goals are personalized and I could easily put the student's name on each before printing, I think having them interact with the goals helps them take ownership.  I try to include goals that are next steps for each student and having this hanging up helps me stay focused on their individual needs.

The best part is that I have a little matching goal sheet of my own.  I have ten students in my class, so I have ten places to color.  If a student meets all of their goals, I get to color their number on my goal sheet.  In November I was only able to color in 3 numbers, but last month I colored in 7.  I'm not absolutely sure if I'm getting better at targeting those skills or if I'm getting better at writing achievable goals.  But, the students are getting very excited about meeting all of their goals and helping me reach mine.