goal setting assignment middle school

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A Framework for Student Goal-Setting

When middle and high school students set short- and long-term goals, they can see a path to the success they hope for.

“If we did all the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.” —Thomas Edison

I learned that quote from Wendy Beth Rosen’s Self-Smart . Taking it seriously, Wendy suggests some areas where students’—and adults’—self-assessments can lead to greater accomplishments and personal satisfaction. Many distractions and challenges in our lives threaten to throw us off our path, or keep us from knowing what our path is. Setting explicit goals for success and tracking our progress toward them is a way to increase our chances of finding the success we hope for.

I’d like to share a method of goal-tracking that can be used by students and educators in ongoing ways, as well as at specific points when they’re experiencing uncertainty or setbacks. These also have value for promoting positive mental health in school.

Setting and Tracking Goals

Middle and high school are particularly important times for students to become consciously aware of and intentional about key choices: what they’re putting into their bodies; how the way they are spending their time helps them reach their larger purposes; who they’re spending their time with; and what they’re doing to contribute to their families, schools, and communities.

At the beginning of the school year and at each marking period, students in middle and high school should record in a journal their goals in these eight areas:

• Social life
• Sports and exercise
• Healthy eating
• Family and community
• Hobbies and interests
• Screen time
• Long-term plans

In working with middle school students, for example, I have seen them set goals ranging from “eating better food at lunch” to “being a great guitar player” to “being an NBA star.” In all cases, we want to help students be clear about their goals (in the first case, “to be a healthy person”) and to set realistic short-term goals on the way to their long-term goal (for the guitar and basketball players, finding time for regular practice with feedback). For these students, and all students, goals provide anchors, especially valuable in high winds and rough seas.

All of the eight areas of life above matter, and academic success is related to all of them. Having a way to separate them, document progress, and create priorities is important. Students need help to be successful even when they have positive aspirations. A sure way to not succeed is trying to make progress in too many areas at once, so help students find one, two, or three areas to prioritize for a marking period. Revisit these priorities with them and see if follow-up goals need to be set in these areas or if new areas should be prioritized. Keeping to no more than three at a time is vital, because even if we might need to change in eight areas, we can’t track that many. Slow and steady wins the race.

Tracking also helps ensure that a given area is not neglected. When we see that things might have been neglected, we can make some adjustments.

The main point of setting goals is to help students take realistic steps to achieve them. Many educators find that using the SMART format —goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely—is practical and reasonable, and keeps students on track.

When Can This Happen?

This kind of journaling is ideally suited to advisory or extended home room periods. Advisory periods are supposed to focus on the whole child, and the eight areas provide broad coverage. Journaling also fosters communication between advisory teachers and those who focus on these areas in schools, including subject area teachers, “specials” teachers (including health and physical education teachers), and staff running extracurricular activities. In addition, the advisory period can be used for pair and group problem-solving to help overcome obstacles students face as they pursue their goals.

One way to help students achieve their goals is to pair them up to help one another with goal-setting and monitoring. Students see each other in various school contexts and can be helpful outside of formal class time.

Having communal, whole-class conversations about goal-setting creates a new mindset in students and fosters cooperation and mutual improvement because students’ goals are not solely their responsibility. We all get better when each of us gets better. So there is an expectation that goals set will be shared—perhaps with classmates and certainly with other teachers. (This expectation of sharing should ensure that personal goals related to family issues stay out of these conversations, as they require more professional and confidential follow-up.)

A helpful way to introduce the journaling is to ask students to reflect on the opening quote from Edison, taking a position as to whether they agree, disagree, or are not sure about it, and why. Have students share their rationales in small groups and then share out with the larger class. Ensuring that students understand they have more potential than most of them realize is a critical preliminary step to making goal journaling an authentic activity for them.

The Same Goals Are Useful for Adults

This activity is also relevant for adults. Educators have a lot on their plates, and having a way to make sure that one’s learning, family, health habits, interests, and long-term plans are front of mind (even if not always front of action) keeps us grounded.

Devoting regular time in professional learning communities and faculty meetings to discussing goal-achieving strategies can provide a power morale boost in schools. In particular, discussing long-term plans can stimulate broad faculty collaboration to shape the school. And sharing with students that you’re doing the same thing you ask them to do makes it more likely that they’ll value the activity.

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SMART Goal Setting in Middle School, High School and Beyond

• February 1, 2022

Why Set Goals?

When we set goals, we make a commitment to what we hope to accomplish. Whether our ultimate goal is to complete a history project on time, to improve our grades in Spanish, or to build a business that changes the world, goal-setting establishes our intention , and it is the first serious step towards asserting our agency.

When students learn to set goals as adolescents, they develop the confidence and capacity to plan for the increasingly complex challenges that they will encounter as they make their way through their academic career and then on to the professional world beyond. Goal-setting, when learned at an early age, develops flexibility and resilience . Students will not always achieve their goals, and sometimes their plans will fall apart. When students confront this reality in low-stakes situations, they have the opportunity to practice bouncing back from setbacks and adapting their plans. This learned resilience will serve them well as their plans become increasingly ambitious and consequential.

What is the SMART Framework?

The SMART framework was first developed in 1981 by George T. Doran as a tool for managers to use in setting goals and objectives. Its continued popularity stems from its simplicity and its effectiveness. The acronym S.M.A.R.T. establishes the criteria that makes for a good goal:

S – SPECIFIC. A good goal states precisely what a student hopes to accomplish. It addresses questions of who, what, when, and where. When a goal is specific, a student is able to determine precisely when they have achieved it.

M – MEASURABLE. This is especially important for students, who benefit from progress check-ins. Measurable goals empower students to monitor (and celebrate!) their progress, determine whether they are likely to actually achieve their goal, and adjust their strategy accordingly.

A – ATTAINABLE. It is important that students experience success as they are first learning to set goals so that the process feels manageable and worthwhile. To ensure that a goal is attainable, a student should be able to specify how they will achieve the goal.

R – RELEVANT. When a student is setting goals, it is important to consider whether the goal is actually worth achieving for this particular student. Does the goal seek to address the challenges that the student is facing? Is the goal aligned with the student’s ambitions? If the answer is no, then this goal may become a distraction rather than an opportunity .

T – TIME-BOUND. When students establish a timeframe for a goal, they create a sense of urgency that, when well-managed, makes it more likely that a student will actually achieve their goal. A timeframe for completion can often be shifted if the situation requires, but a goal without a timeline is just a dream.

Where do I start?

One of the biggest challenges students can face when setting goals is that they set goals that are broad and ambitious: “I want to do better in school, I will be a better basketball player this season, I am going to do really well on the SAT.” These are laudable aspirations, and we can set SMART goals that help us achieve them, but we need to start smaller.

Let’s start with the common ambition: “I want to do better in school.”

First, let’s be SPECIFIC. Which classes do you want to improve in the most? What would improvement look like? With these questions, we can shift from “I want to do better in school” to “I want to get better grades in English and Math”. Progress.

Next, let’s make sure our goal is MEASURABLE. What does ‘better’ mean? When we think about measurable goals, we’re really talking about numbers or other quantifiable targets. Now “I want to get better grades in English and Math” becomes “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math”. We’re getting closer.

The ATTAINABLE part of goal setting is really a matter of being able to articulate how we will achieve our goals, usually by adding a ‘by’ statement. This is often the most sophisticated step in setting SMART goals. Here, “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math” becomes “I want to get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions”. Now we have more than a goal; we have a plan !

Determining whether our goals are RELEVANT is really a matter of referring back to our bigger picture goals. We might ask ourselves, how does “getting at least a B+ in English and a B in Math by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions” support our larger aspirations – how does this relate to becoming the person we want to grow to be? This can range from wanting to be successful in school, wanting to become a writer, or wanting to go to college to wanting to be more confident, happier, and less stressed. If you can’t connect your goal to the bigger picture , maybe it’s not the right goal.

Lastly, we need to ensure that our goals are TIME-BOUND. This often comes easily for school-related goals that may be tied to test dates or semester schedules. With this in mind, our final draft of our goal states that “I will get at least a B+ in English and a B in Math this semester by completing all of my homework on time, studying for all of my tests, and going to the teacher’s extra help sessions”.

There was one important additional shift that took place in our final step: “I want to” became “I will”. When we set goals, our final draft should be clear and assertive, a statement of intention rather than mere aspiration.

I have a SMART Goal. What now?

It’s time to get to work! If you have followed the framework, you should have a clear sense of what you need to do to achieve your goal. However, it is important to build in checkpoints along the way. If your goal is time-bound by the end of the semester, decide ahead of time when to check in on your progress and schedule these check-ins in advance. At each check-in, ask yourself if you are on-track to achieve your goal. If the answer is ‘yes’, terrific – keep going! If the answer is ‘no’, ask yourself a few follow-up questions:

• Am I on track to come close, or is this goal no longer achievable?
• Does this goal measure the right thing?
• Am I off track because my strategy isn’t working, or am I off track because I am not sticking to my strategy?
• Did I choose an appropriate time frame?
• Is this the right goal for me?

It is important to remember that you will not achieve every goal you set – if you do, you might be setting goals that are too easy. The real benefit of SMART goal setting is that it helps us to be thoughtful about what we want to achieve, to reflect on our progress, and to consider how our short-term goals intersect with our long-term ambitions . Celebrate the process of setting goals in the first place, and remember that it is the journey towards a goal that provides the growth and learning that makes your hard work worthwhile.

SMART Tips for Middle School Students

Middle school is the perfect time to start practicing goal-setting. The stakes are low, which provides fertile ground for experimentation. Here are a few tips for setting SMART goals in middle school:

• Think short-term. Don’t start with goals that have weeks or months-long time horizons. Try setting goals around specific projects or assignments. This allows for quick feedback that is especially helpful for younger students who are still developing the ability to think ahead.
• Use SMART goals for organization. What goals might a student have relating to using their assignment notebook, keeping their binders in order, or preparing for the school day?
• Start with easy goals. A student is more likely to use SMART goals in the long-term if they see the benefits early on. Start with some easy wins.

SMART Tips for High School Students

High school students are starting to wrestle with complexity, and they are also developing the ability to think further in the future. Here are some suggestions for setting SMART goals in high school:

• S tart thinking about semester grades and long-term projects. Consider setting SMART goals before the year begins to practice long-term planning. This is a great way to start thinking about what specific steps a student needs to take in order to be successful.
• Establish a rhythm with SMART goals. Revisit your goals with each progress report, and set new goals with each report card. Once goal-setting becomes a habit, it’s a tool you can use for life.
• Relevance becomes increasingly important. As students begin to think about where they want to go to college and/or what career they wish to pursue, the question of relevance can spur important conversations and help a student to think about their longer-term aspirations.
• It is time to be more ambitious. If a student is easily achieving all of their goals, consider setting some ‘reach’ goals that aim to help a student push beyond their comfort zone.
• Think beyond the classroom! How do SMART goals apply to extracurricular activities or summer plans?

SMART Tips for College Students

The assignments that college students encounter are more sophisticated and require more autonomy than those they faced in high school. Here are a few tips for setting SMART goals in college:

• Use SMART goals to organize big projects or assignments. Rather than thinking really big picture about a whole semester, use the SMART framework to break complex tasks into manageable chunks.
• Set career-oriented SMART goals. Is there a fellowship you want to apply for, a publication you want to be published in, or an internship you’re hoping to land? Use the SMART framework to think strategically about bringing your aspirations to life.
• Use SMART goals for collaboration. Group projects can be frustrating, especially when group members have different expectations or aren’t on the same page. Use SMART goals at the beginning of a group project to ensure that you’re aligned in your vision and working towards a common goal.

In Conclusion

The SMART goals framework is an extremely effective tool for both students and adults. However, each person is unique, and so are their goals. After you’ve completed your first few goals using the SMART system, consider what parts of the process work well for you and what you would want to do differently in the future. A good system for setting goals will evolve and grow with you and your ambitions.

Thank you for reading this week’s blog post about SMART goal-setting. To learn more about goal-setting, watch our latest YouTube video here and connect with us on social media @opendoored.

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Goal Setting For Middle Schoolers: The Ultimate Guide

Goal setting is crucial for middle school students as it helps them to develop self-awareness , build focus and motivation, encourage responsibility, and foster resilience.

Building focus and motivation is crucial when setting goals for middle school students.

Building Focus And Motivation

When it comes to goal setting for middle school students, building focus and motivation is essential. Setting goals can be exciting at first, but maintaining the discipline and drive needed to achieve them can be challenging.

One effective strategy is to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Another way of building focus and motivation is by creating a bucket list or vision board that outlines your specific goals. By visualizing what you want to accomplish, you’ll have a clear picture of what success looks like for you.

Finally, don’t forget the power of positive self-talk ! It’s easy to get discouraged when faced with challenges or setbacks along the way.

Encouraging Responsibility

Encouraging responsibility is an integral part of effective goal setting for middle school students. Setting goals helps them understand that their choices and actions have consequences.

By taking ownership of their goals, they learn to be responsible for their successes and failures.

One way to encourage responsibility is by holding students accountable for their progress towards their goals. Encourage them to track and monitor their achievements regularly, ask them how they plan on overcoming any obstacles or setbacks that may arise along the way, and remind them of the importance of consistent effort .

Fostering Resilience

We all face challenges in our lives, and middle school students are no exception. Fostering resilience is an important aspect of effective goal setting for middle schoolers because it enables them to bounce back from setbacks and continue pursuing their goals despite obstacles.

One way to foster resilience is by encouraging students to reframe their thinking when faced with a challenge. Instead of focusing on the negative aspects of the situation, help them see what they can learn from it or how it can make them stronger in the long run.

Another strategy is emphasizing small wins along the way, celebrating progress towards goals rather than just final results.

Effective Goal Setting Strategies For Middle School Students

To help middle school students set effective goals, we have curated a list of seven strategies including using SMART goal setting, creating an action plan, visualizing goals, celebrating progress and reflecting on achievements.

Use SMART Goal Setting

When it comes to setting effective goals, using the SMART goal-setting technique is a tried-and-true strategy for success. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound .

By following this blueprint, you can set concrete objectives that will give your middle school student clear direction and tangible outcomes to strive for.

For example, instead of setting a general goal like “get better grades,” encourage them to create a specific objective such as “raise my math grade from a C+ to a B by the end of the semester.” This gives them something more concrete to focus on and track progress towards over time.

Additionally, make sure each goal is measurable so they can monitor their journey along the way and celebrate milestones when they reach them.

Create An Action Plan

When you have set your goals, the next step is to create an action plan. This plan is a detailed outline of what exactly you will do to achieve your goal.

Creating an action plan helps break down complex tasks into smaller steps that are easy to follow and more achievable.

To create an effective action plan, start by breaking down your goal into specific steps or milestones . Then, assign deadlines for each step and determine the resources (such as materials or people) needed to accomplish them.

For instance, if your goal is improving grades, look at the specific subjects where improvement is required.

Remember that creating a solid action plan sets the foundation for achieving success in all aspects of life; it’s crucial in shaping our behavior patterns towards our set priorities.

Visualize Goals

When you have set your goals, visualizing them can be an incredibly powerful tool to help you achieve them. Visualization involves imagining yourself in a particular situation, going through the steps necessary to achieve your goal.

Visualization helps you commit to your goals by creating strong mental associations with what it takes to reach them. It also increases your motivation and self-confidence since you’ve already imagined yourself succeeding.

Celebrating small victories can help you stay motivated and build momentum towards achieving your bigger goals.

Celebrate Progress

As you work towards achieving your goals, it is important to celebrate the progress you make along the way. Celebrating small victories can help you stay motivated and build momentum towards achieving your bigger goals.

One way to celebrate progress is by setting milestones or checkpoints for yourself as you work towards your goal.

Another way to celebrate progress is by recognizing the effort and hard work that went into reaching each milestone. Take time to reflect on what helped you achieve success and acknowledge all of the small steps that led up to it.

Remember that celebrating progress doesn’t have to be extravagant or costly; sometimes simple rewards like taking a break or spending time doing things you love can go a long way in keeping you motivated and focused on achieving your goals.

To sum up – Always remember: Progress over perfection!

Reflect On Achievements

As you work towards achieving your goals, it’s important to take a moment and reflect on your achievements. Celebrating progress , no matter how small, can keep you motivated and give you the confidence to continue pushing forward.

Reflecting on achievements also allows for self-evaluation . It gives you the opportunity to assess what worked well and what didn’t, enabling you to make necessary adjustments moving forward.

This is an essential step in the goal-setting process because it helps fine-tune your strategies and ensures that each achievement builds upon the last one.

Encourage Accountability

One important aspect of effective goal setting is accountability. Holding yourself accountable means taking responsibility for your actions and making sure that you follow through on the commitments you make to yourself.

To encourage accountability, it can be helpful to find a friend, teacher, or mentor who can serve as an accountability partner . This person can check in with you regularly, provide encouragement and motivation, and hold you accountable when necessary.

Another strategy is to track your progress towards your goals using a journal or app. This can help you see how far you’ve come and identify areas where you need to improve.

Provide Feedback And Support

When you set a goal, it’s important to have someone in your corner cheering you on and providing feedback along the way. This could be a friend, family member, or even a mentor.

One effective way to receive feedback is through regular check-ins with your supporter. Set up specific times for them to ask about your progress, celebrate achievements, and brainstorm solutions for any obstacles that arise.

You might also consider sharing updates on social media or joining an online community of like-minded individuals who can offer advice and motivation.

Goal Setting Activities For Middle School Students

Goal setting activities can be a great way to help middle school students develop their skills and increase their motivation. There are many different options available, such as mind mapping, vision boards, goal setting worksheets, action planning, journaling, and reflection and evaluation.

These activities will not only help you achieve your goals but also help you develop important life skills such as time management and study habits. We’ve listed the best techniques in our blog post – “effective Goal Setting For Middle School students: 7 strategies 6 activities and 42 tips for success”.

Mind Mapping

When it comes to effective goal setting for middle school students, mind mapping is a great strategy to consider. It involves creating visual diagrams that connect various thoughts and ideas around a central theme or goal.

To create a mind map, start by writing your main goal in the center of the page or whiteboard. Then, branch out into different subcategories related to the goal using words or images connected by lines.

Mind mapping can also be used for broader life goals beyond academic achievement. For instance, you could create a mind map based on personal aspirations like career goals, hobbies you want to pursue or places you would like to travel.

Creating a vision board can help you visualize your goals and stay motivated.

Vision Boards

One of the most effective ways to visualize your goals and stay motivated is by creating a vision board . This activity involves gathering images, quotes, and other visual elements that represent your aspirations and displaying them in one place.

When creating a vision board, think about what you want to achieve in different areas of your life- academics, extracurricular activities , hobbies, family relationships etc. You can include pictures of successful people who inspire you or write down motivational quotes that keep you going when things get tough.

SMART Goal Setting Worksheet

Have you ever struggled with setting goals and determining the steps needed to achieve them? One effective strategy for middle school students is using a SMART goal-setting worksheet .

By utilizing this worksheet, students can better visualize the smaller steps needed to reach their larger goal and track progress along the way.

Overall, implementing strategies like the SMART goal-setting worksheet can help middle school students develop crucial skills in self-awareness, focus and motivation, responsibility, and resilience while also achieving academic success.

Action Planning

When it comes to achieving your goals, having a solid action plan is key. This means breaking down your goal into smaller steps and identifying specific actions you can take to move closer towards it.

For example, if your goal is to get an A on a math test, some action steps might include reviewing notes each night, practicing sample problems daily, and seeking help from the teacher or tutor when needed.

Action planning not only helps you stay organized and focused but also provides a roadmap for success . When you have clear action steps in place, you know exactly what you need to do each day to make progress towards your goal.

Plus, checking off completed tasks along the way can be incredibly motivating and satisfying.

One powerful tool for effective goal setting in middle school is journaling. Writing down your thoughts and reflections can help you clarify your aspirations, track your progress, and hold yourself accountable to achieving your goals.

To get started with journaling, find a notebook or use a digital platform that works for you.

Try different prompts to stimulate your thinking, such as “What am I grateful for today?” or “What action can I take this week to move closer to my goal?”. You can also use journaling as an opportunity to overcome challenges by writing about obstacles and brainstorming solutions.

Reflection And Evaluation

When it comes to goal setting, reflecting on your progress and evaluating your achievements is crucial. This step allows you to identify what worked well, what didn’t, and how you can improve moving forward.

To evaluate your progress towards achieving your goals, consider asking yourself questions like: What did I do well? Where did I struggle? What resources or support did I need but didn’t have? Did my priorities change throughout this process?

Remember that reflection and evaluation are ongoing processes. You should check in with yourself regularly (weekly, monthly, etc.) to see how you’re doing and make any necessary adjustments.

Tips For Successful Goal Setting

Prioritize your goals and focus on the most important ones first.

Establish a routine that incorporates time for goal setting and working towards achieving them.

Use positive self-talk to motivate yourself and keep a growth mindset.

Seek support from trusted adults such as parents, teachers, or counselors who can offer guidance and encouragement.

Celebrate small achievements along the way to keep you motivated and stay on track.

Prioritize Goals

When setting goals, it’s important to prioritize them in order of importance. This helps you focus your efforts on the most pressing tasks and ensures that you’re working towards achieving things that truly matter to you.

Make a list of all the things you’d like to achieve and then rank them according to how important they are to you. Once you’ve identified your top priorities, create a plan for achieving each one.

Break down each goal into smaller, more manageable steps so that you can track your progress along the way.

For example, if getting good grades is your top priority at school this semester make sure to allocate enough time for studying while making sure not to neglect other aspects of life such as maintaining healthy relationships with family and friends or engaging in extracurricular activities that help develop other skills outside academics.

Establish A Routine

Establishing a routine is a crucial part of effective goal setting for middle school students. By creating daily habits and sticking to them, you can increase your overall productivity and motivation.

When we have routines, tasks become easier and come more naturally.

The best way to establish a routine is by breaking it down into actionable steps that are easy to follow regularly. Consider what time you wake up in the morning, when you eat breakfast or lunch, and when you go to bed at night.

Create small goals around these activities so that they become less overwhelming over time. For example, if your goal is to read more often, start with reading 10 pages each morning before getting ready for work or school.

Believe in yourself and your abilities.

Use Positive Self-Talk

When it comes to achieving your goals, the way you talk to yourself matters. Using positive self-talk can help you build confidence , stay motivated, and overcome setbacks.

For example, instead of saying “I’ll never be able to do this,” try saying “I may struggle now, but I will keep trying and improve.” Believe in yourself and your abilities.

Additionally, surrounding yourself with supportive people who believe in your potential is crucial for maintaining a positive mindset. Stay away from those who bring negativity or discourage you from pursuing your goals.

Seek Support From Trusted Adults

You don’t have to go through your journey alone. Seeking support from trusted adults can help you stay motivated, persevere through challenges, and achieve your goals.

For example, when I was struggling in middle school with time management and study habits, my dad helped me develop a daily routine that included specific times for homework and studying.

He also held me accountable by checking on my progress regularly.

Remember that asking for help is a sign of strength , not weakness. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone you trust for advice or encouragement when you need it most.

Celebrate Achievements

When you set a goal for yourself, it is important to take the time to celebrate your achievements along the way. Celebrating milestones and progress can keep you motivated and give you the confidence boost you need to keep going.

There are many ways to celebrate your achievements, such as rewarding yourself with something small , like a favorite snack or activity, sharing your successes with friends or family, or taking a moment to reflect on how far you’ve come.

By acknowledging and celebrating your accomplishments, big or small, you’ll stay encouraged and energized as you work towards achieving your goals.

Stay Motivated

Staying motivated is key to achieving your goals. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed or discouraged, but successful people know how to stay focused and driven. To stay motivated, it’s important to remind yourself why you set the goal in the first place.

What will achieving this goal mean for you? How will it impact your life? Visualize success and keep a positive attitude . Try breaking down larger goals into smaller steps that are more manageable, so you can track progress along the way.

Another effective strategy is to seek support from trusted adults or peers who can offer encouragement and accountability throughout your journey towards success.

Remember: setbacks happen! But don’t let them discourage you from pursuing your dreams – instead, see them as opportunities for growth and learning.

Overcome Obstacles And Setbacks

When it comes to achieving goals, obstacles and setbacks can often get in the way. However, it’s important to remember that these challenges are a natural part of the process and can serve as valuable learning experiences.

One effective strategy is to break down larger goals into smaller, more manageable tasks. This not only makes the goal seem less daunting but also allows you to celebrate small victories along the way.

Another helpful technique is to practice resilience by reframing negative thoughts and focusing on solutions instead of dwelling on problems.

Remember that successful people have faced their fair share of obstacles and setbacks on their journey towards success.

Be Flexible And Adapt

One of the most crucial aspects of successful goal setting is being flexible and adaptable . It’s important to realize that unexpected challenges and setbacks are a normal part of any journey, including achieving goals.

To become more flexible, it can be helpful to regularly review your goals and action plan. Consider if there are any adjustments or changes that need to be made based on your progress so far or external factors beyond your control.

Remember, adapting doesn’t mean giving up on your goals altogether – it just means finding new ways to approach them while still staying true to what you want to achieve.

Effective goal setting is all about taking small steps towards bigger dreams.

1. Why is goal setting important for middle school students?

Goal setting helps middle school students develop self-awareness, motivation and a sense of direction to help them achieve their academic, personal and professional aspirations. It also teaches them valuable skills such as time management, prioritization and perseverance.

2. What are some effective strategies for middle school students to set goals?

Some effective strategies include creating SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound; breaking down larger goals into smaller manageable steps; tracking progress regularly and adjusting goals if necessary.

3. How can parents support their child’s goal-setting efforts?

Parents can support their child’s goal-setting efforts by encouraging open communication about their interests and passions, helping them create accountability with regular check-ins on progress towards their goals or offering guidance when needed without imposing too much pressure.

4. What activities can teachers do in the classroom to help promote effective goal setting among middle schoolers?

Activities such as vision boards where students create visual representations of what they want to achieve or group brainstorming sessions where they discuss possible obstacles they may encounter while working towards a particular goal can be helpful classroom activities for promoting effective goal setting among middle schoolers.

Goal setting is a crucial skill that can set middle school students up for success in all aspects of life. By practicing effective goal setting strategies , participating in engaging activities , and following helpful tips, students can develop self-awareness, motivation, responsibility and resilience.

Remember to prioritize goals, establish routines, use positive self-talk, celebrate achievements and stay motivated even when faced with challenges along the way.

I wish you the best! Fabian.

Hey there! I'm Fabian, your go-to guy for all things self-improvement! I'm wildly passionate about helping people unleash their true potential and unlock their greatest selves. An avid reader, constant learner, and lover of all challenges, I'm on a relentless quest to level up in every aspect of life. Join me on this incredible journey, and together, we'll create the extraordinary lives we deserve!

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Middle School Goal Setting Lesson

Do you like to have students working on goal-setting lessons?

Have you planned out what are you teaching your first day or week back after the winter break? 

I love having students reflect on the previous year and set goals for the new year. It is a great way to get students back into learning mode without starting right away on a challenging new lesson. To help students work on their reflections and goals, I created a free new year’s goal-setting lesson for middle school students. 

Goal Setting Lesson Overview

• In the lesson, students get some New Year’s resolution ideas from Simon’s Cat. Then they take these ideas and brainstorm using a graphic organizer how to make the ideas work for them. 
• After they will watch a video about new year’s resolutions and learn ways that help people improve their chances of sticking with their resolutions.
• Then students work in groups with their peers to reflect on their academic challenges and success of the previous year. 
• They use the information discussed in the brainstorming discussion to create a list of things that worked well for them and things they can improve on for the new year.
• At the end of the lesson, students will write out a new year’s wish that can be displayed in class or on a bulletin board.
• If time permits, have students create a digital or print vision board for the new year.

This goal-setting lesson comes in both PDF and digital formats.

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Additional goal setting resources.

• How to Organize Student Led Conferences
• Student-Led Conferences
• How To Use Bump It Up Boards

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This FREE persuasive writing unit is

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13 SMART Goals Examples for Middle Schoolers

Imagine a world where middle school students are empowered to take charge of their own success by establishing well-defined targets.

These SMART goals not only encourage academic excellence but also foster personal development and self-confidence.

Whether it’s excelling in a subject or taking on leadership roles in extracurricular activities, these examples will demonstrate how goal setting propels middle schoolers toward realizing their full potential.

So let’s delve into SMART goal setting for middle schoolers and discover how these principles can pave the way for a fulfilling and successful future.

Table of Contents

What is a SMART Goal?

The SMART goal-setting method is an invaluable tool for middle schoolers striving to succeed. SMART, is an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based.

Crafting specific goals is crucial for middle schoolers looking to make a difference. Ambiguous aspirations may lead to challenges in achieving them.

For instance, instead of a broad goal like “helping people,” consider a more precise objective.

Ask yourself, how will you contribute? Are there specific volunteering services or programs you plan to engage with? Specificity serves as a clear roadmap toward achieving meaningful results.

Measuring progress is crucial to track your success. Take the example of improving your grade; transform it into a quantifiable goal such as “get at least a B+ in science class within 6 months.” Having a measurable target allows for monitoring and provides a clear benchmark.

Realism is vital when setting goals. Middle schoolers must recognize the importance of allocating sufficient time and resources. Understand that goal setting requires planning and commitment.

Reflect on the relevance of your goals. Why are you aiming to succeed in school? Consider broader implications, like a more successful career.

Aligning your goals with a broader purpose is a powerful motivator, encouraging persistence in the face of challenges.

Establishing a specific timeline adds accountability to your journey. Middle schoolers working toward meaningful goals need a sense of urgency to maintain momentum.

For instance, setting a deadline for achieving milestones ensures consistent progress. Without time-bound criteria, there’s a risk of losing focus and missing opportunities for goal completion.

1. Cultivate Your Creativity

“I’ll expand my artistic skills by crafting a unique art project each month, incorporating various mediums and styles. I aim to express myself creatively and build a versatile portfolio by the end of the school year.”

Specific: The SMART goal articulates the concrete action of creating diverse art projects each month.

Measurable: Progress can be gauged by reviewing the variety and complexity of the art portfolio.

Attainable: Cultivating creativity through art projects is a practical and achievable pursuit.

Relevant: The goal relates to the middle schooler’s aspiration to express themselves creatively.

Time-based: Achieve a multifaceted art portfolio after the school year.

2. Foster Environmental Awareness

“I’ll actively engage in a monthly environmental club, participating in activities like tree planting and recycling campaigns. I plan to heighten awareness and inspire eco-friendly practices among my peers throughout the academic year.”

Specific: The SMART goal outlines active participation in environmental activities such as tree planting and recycling campaigns.

Measurable: Ensure you successfully execute various eco-friendly initiatives each month.

Attainable: Actively participating in environmental activities is a feasible and reachable commitment.

Relevant: The statement contributes to increasing environmental awareness among peers.

Time-based: Goal completion is expected within the academic year.

3. Nurture Empathy By Volunteering

“For this semester, I want to dedicate one weekend monthly to volunteer at a local community organization, actively contributing to causes that support those in need.”

Specific: The SMART goal involves dedicating weekends to actively contribute to community causes.

Measurable: Empathy and understanding could be assessed through the impact of consistent volunteer work.

Attainable: Committing weekends to volunteering is a practical and achievable approach.

Relevant: Nurturing empathy and understanding through community service is a sign of personal growth for students.

Time-based: You have an entire semester to accomplish success.

4. Elevate Presentation Skills

“I’ll host a monthly podcast, researching and presenting topics of interest to enhance my articulation and public speaking confidence. I hope to refine my presentation skills throughout the 8 months.”

Specific: The SMART goal entails hosting a monthly podcast to enhance presentation skills.

Measurable: Improvement can be evaluated by the quality and effectiveness of each podcast episode.

Attainable: Hosting a monthly podcast is a realistic method to refine presentation skills.

Relevant: Middle schoolers should have the desire to improve articulation and public speaking confidence.

Time-based: You have an 8-month window to reach the statement.

5. Build Financial Literacy

“I will commit to learning and implementing basic financial principles by dedicating 20 minutes weekly to financial education. I’ll make informed financial decisions and create a budget by semester’s end.”

Specific: The SMART goal involves dedicating time to learning and implementing fundamental financial principles.

Measurable: You could track the acquisition of financial knowledge and the creation of a budget.

Attainable: Committing 20 minutes weekly to financial education is a feasible approach.

Relevant: This pertains to building financial literacy and making informed decisions.

Time-based: You should anticipate goal achievement after a semester.

6. Enhance Digital Citizenship

“For the following 6 months, I want to engage in a monthly digital citizenship club, crafting and sharing insightful social media posts on responsible online behavior.”

Specific: Actively participating in a digital citizenship club and creating insightful social media posts are tangible actions.

Measurable: Determine the successful execution of monthly initiatives and increase awareness.

Attainable: Actively engaging in digital citizenship initiatives is definitely a possible commitment.

Relevant: The goal aligns with responsible behavior in the internet world.

Time-based: Six months are required to meet the SMART goal.

7. Deepen Cultural Understanding

“I’ll curate a monthly cultural exchange club, exploring and presenting customs and cuisines from different countries. I will nurture cultural appreciation and understanding among peers over the school year.”

Specific: You’ll curate a cultural exchange club and present customs and cuisines.

Measurable: Count how often you attend the club and new customs/cuisines learned.

Attainable: Middle schoolers can absolutely participate in a cultural exchange club.

Relevant: Deepening cultural appreciation and understanding is important for students.

Time-based: Pursue the goal statement for the whole school year.

8. Foster a Growth Mindset

“The plan is to develop a resilient mindset and embrace challenges throughout the 10 months. I’ll tackle a new challenge outside my comfort zone each month, actively seeking opportunities to learn and grow.”

Specific: Seeking challenges outside the comfort zone is the desired action.

Measurable: Assess the successful completion of monthly challenges regularly.

Attainable: Embracing new challenges is a practical approach to fostering a growth mindset.

Relevant: Middle schoolers should strive to develop a resilient mindset and embrace challenges.

Time-based: You have 10 months to achieve excellence.

9. Improve Self-Reflection

“My goal is to enhance self-awareness and understanding by consistently reflecting on my journey for 8 months. I’ll maintain a weekly journal, delving into personal thoughts, emotions, and experiences.”

Specific: Maintaining a weekly journal for self-reflection involves recording personal experiences.

Measurable: Measure the consistency and depth of self-reflection recorded in the journal.

Attainable: Keeping a journal is a practical strategy for improving self-reflection.

Relevant: Reflection could help middle school students grow personally.

Time-based: Goal attainment is expected over the 8 months ahead.

10. Promote Healthy Habits

“I will cultivate and promote healthy habits by the end of the school year. I’ll establish and maintain a personalized daily wellness routine, integrating activities like mindfulness, stretching, or meditation.”

Specific: Establishing and maintaining a daily wellness routine involves incorporating healthy activities.

Measurable: Check progress by the consistent incorporation of healthy habits into the daily routine.

Attainable: Establishing a daily wellness routine is a practical approach to promoting healthy habits.

Relevant: This goal relates to cultivating wellness and healthy habits.

Time-based: You’ll have reached success after the academic year.

11. Enhance Social Skills

“I’ll participate in a monthly social skills workshop, engaging in activities that encourage positive interaction and communication. I will refine social skills and build meaningful connections for 9 months.”

Specific: The student will actively participate in social skills workshops and engage in collaborative activities.

Measurable: Assess how often you attend the workshops every month.

Attainable: Anyone can attend the workshops with free time. Younger students may be accompanied by their parents.

Relevant: Improving social abilities is an essential life skill, especially for students.

Time-based: Enhance social skills throughout the 9 months.

12. Boost Your Curiosity

“I’ll embark on a monthly exploration project in science or technology, conducting experiments or researching topics of personal interest. I aim to kindle curiosity and expand my knowledge base for two years.”

Specific: You will embark on monthly exploration projects into topics you’re interested in.

Measurable: Make sure you count the number of topics researched.

Attainable: Undertaking exploration projects is a feasible way of nurturing curiosity.

Relevant: Students should boost their curiosity and expand their knowledge.

Time-based: Two years are needed to reach goal completion.

13. Develop Academic Performance

“For the 12 months ahead, I’ll implement a personalized study plan, dedicating focused time each week to review class materials and seek additional support when needed.”

Specific: Implementing a personalized study plan will help improve your grades.

Measurable: Progress can be gauged by an improved understanding of class materials and subsequent grades.

Attainable: Implementing a study plan is a doable method for strengthening performance at school.

Relevant: The SMART goal pertains to improving grades and academic understanding.

Time-based: Completion of this goal is anticipated in 12 months.

Final Thoughts

Developing SMART goals is an excellent tool for middle schoolers to develop important life skills and achieve academic success.

By laser-focusing on SMART, students will be able to cultivate a sense of purpose and direction in their education.

Encouraging young individuals to embrace these principles will foster personal growth and also instill a strong foundation for future accomplishments.

Goal-Setting Activities for Middle School

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Even as an adult, goal setting can be challenging. Now try to imagine how hard it is for pre- and early teens with all their raging hormones. Make learning goal setting and seeing the big picture fun by breaking it down into fun activities and games that will keep them engaged.

Goal Treasure Map Activity

Goal treasure maps can be a fun way to get your artistically minded student engaged. It is also a good visual representation of the process from start to finish.

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• Large paper or poster board
• Art supplies (markers, crayons, glitter, paint, etc.)

To get started, ask your middle schooler a big goal that they plan to achieve by 90. This could be a career goal, family goal, or even a travel or hobby goal.

• Using the paper, allow them to brainstorm ways to achieve their goal. They should also think of roadblocks or problems that might come with meeting their goal and list them as well.
• Once they've listed their path and roadblocks, give them the poster board.
• On the top, they should write, draw, or create a collage of their overall goal.
• Using the art supplies, they should create a treasure map to their goal, making sure to put in the roadblocks that might happen along the way and how to overcome them.
• When completed, kids will have a treasure map vision board that they can follow to achieve a big goal.

Basket Toss Goal Game

This is a fun game that you can easily do at home with materials already in your house.

To get started, you'll need:

• Laundry basket
• Beanbags, plastic balls or something to toss
• Tape or some other measuring tool
• Set the basket on the ground in a large area. Outside works perfectly but you can do this in a large room as well.
• Ask your child how far they think they can go from the basket and still throw the beanbag in the basket. This is going to be their overarching goal. You want them to set this so it's hard to achieve.
• Using the tape or other measuring tool, they should set up smaller, easier goals that will help them achieve their large goal. For example, they think they can throw it 30 feet into the basket. Place the markers at 5 feet increments.
• Let them start throwing the bean bag at the first marker. Once they make it into the basket twice in a row, they should move to the next goal.
• Keep playing until they reach their overarching goal of 30 feet.
• Make this a game by setting a time limit.

I Bet I Can ____ in 5 Minutes

You won't need any materials for this activity, unless you want to use some or the kids want to use some. Pose the phrase, "I bet I can [activity] in 5 minutes" to the middle schoolers and come up with a plan to accomplish that phrase.

Come Up With the Bet

Your student(s) will need to think of something they can do in 5 minutes. This isn't something they can already do but something they are going to work for. For example, they can run a quarter mile in 5 minutes so they say, "I bet I can run a half mile in 5 minutes." If they can do 20 jumping jacks in a minute, they should try for 125 in 5 minutes, etc.

Make sure this is something fun that they like to do. They will be more engaged if they are excited about the goal. For example, kids that love baseball might challenge themselves with hitting a certain amount of balls in 5 minutes or kids that like writing might challenge themselves to finishing a poem in 5 minutes.

Brainstorm Ways to Achieve Goal

Now that they know what they are going to do, they need to brainstorm how they can achieve their goal. In the running example, to go from a quarter mile to a half mile they need to take twice as many steps. How many steps is that in 1 minute, 2 minutes, etc.

Create a Plan

Based on their brainstorming, have them create a plan for achieving their goal. This should be broken down into smaller goals. For example, "I will run _____ steps in 1 minute" by a certain date, "I will run _____ steps in 2 minutes," and so on, until they reach the end of their plan.

Put Their Plan Into Action

Now that they have their plan, they can put it into action until they reach their goal in 5 minutes. Make this really fun for middle schoolers by having them bet against someone else, making it into a game. This way they are trying to compete against someone else, adding a new level of competition.

Obstacle Course Challenge With Goals

This goal setting game is a race. You are going to need at least two middle schoolers and hopefully more for them to play the game. To play, you need to gather:

• Nerf guns with darts
• Large balls
• Laundry baskets
• Pens/pencils

Before you can play, you're going to need to set up your obstacle course. There should be a station for targets (Nerf guns and large balls), jumping rope, shooting baskets and kicking a ball around cones. Once the stations are set up:

• Set a specific number of activities that students must complete. For example, hit the ball three times with the Nerf gun, jump rope six times, make three baskets from 20 feet and kick the ball around three cones.
• Tell your students the activities.
• Have them run through the obstacle one time.
• Time each one.
• Now, each student should set a goal for how much faster they can do it. They should think big, like 20 or 30 seconds faster.
• Give them a time to brainstorm how they can get faster. They need to think about each individual task and ways they could get quicker.
• Hand paper and pens, allowing them to create a plan of action.
• Give them time to try out their plan and revise until they are confident about meeting their goal.
• Allow them to race. The one to meet or exceed their goal the most wins.

If you have access, creating an obstacle course with inflatables can be loads of fun for young teens.

Why Is Goal Setting Important?

Not only can it be challenging to get a pre-teen to think about their future, but it can be a challenge to get them to think about how to complete their next assignment. Turning goal setting into an activity or game will provide the fundamentals for thinking about the future, but also show them how big goals can be broken down into small steps. It also helps them to visualize the process for goal achieving and planning.

Small Steps to Big Change

Goal setting is an important skill for kids to learn but especially young teens. Not only will middle school activities help them see how to achieve their future goals, it makes goal setting fun.

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Setting SMART goals for middle school success

« Back   |   May 21, 2024 - ASU Prep Digital

As a parent, you want the best for your middle school child’s education. With online learning becoming more prevalent, it is important to ensure that your middle schooler is equipped with everything on their online school supply list, while also setting up effective strategies to excel in their studies. One such strategy is setting SMART goals. Read on to learn more about this concept and how it can benefit your child’s academic performance.

Understanding the concept of SMART goals

As your middle schooler navigates through their academic journey, setting goals is vital for their growth and success. Goals provide direction and purpose, guiding students toward their dreams while fostering a sense of accomplishment and motivation. Introducing them to the SMART method can take their goal-setting skills to the next level.

SMART is an acronym that stands for: S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R elevant, and T ime-Bound:

• Specific goals outline exactly what will be achieved.
• Measurable goals ensure progress is tracked quantifiably.
• Achievable goals are realistic and can be accomplished.
• Relevant goals align with values and aspirations.
• Time-Bound goals have a clear deadline, instilling a sense of priority and focus.

For middle schoolers, SMART goals offer a structured approach to managing their workload, enhancing productivity, and nurturing a growth mindset. Encouraging your child to embrace SMART goal setting equips them with invaluable skills for academic success and personal development.

Creating SMART goals for online learning

Navigating online learning can pose unique challenges for middle school students, from managing distractions to staying motivated in a virtual classroom setting. Integrating SMART goals into their online learning routine can offer much-needed structure and motivation.

Encourage your child to set Specific goals tailored to their online coursework, such as completing a certain number of assignments or mastering a particular concept they may be struggling with.

Measurable goals could involve tracking their progress through online platforms or keeping a study log. Ensure their goals are Achievable by considering their workload and available resources, while also emphasizing the Relevance of their goals to their academic success and future dreams.

Finally, Time-Bound goals can help them manage their time effectively amidst the flexible nature of online learning.

By helping your middle schooler create SMART goals specific to their online learning environment, you empower them to not only get better grades, but to overcome challenges, stay focused, and thrive academically in the digital classroom.

Importance of SMART goals in education

SMART goals play a crucial role in cultivating a positive and productive educational journey for middle schoolers by providing clear direction and empowering students to take ownership of their learning.

These effective goals offer a roadmap that outlines specific objectives, guiding students toward their academic success with clarity and purpose. SMART goals encourage self-reflection, as students continuously assess their progress and adjust their strategies while following the SMART method. By setting measurable benchmarks, students hold themselves accountable for their academic achievements, fostering a sense of responsibility and ownership.

Looking for some self-motivation tips for students? Here’s one: Having well-defined goals ignites motivation, fueling students’ drive to overcome obstacles and strive for excellence, which is especially critical for middle schoolers as they are preparing to be high school students and college students sooner than you think!

SMART goals promote student agency, empowering middle schoolers to actively engage in their education, pursue their passions, and unlock their full potential.

SMART goals: Boosting academic performance

Research consistently shows a strong correlation between goal-setting and improved academic achievement among middle schoolers, with the added benefit of helping them learn how to deal with school stress.

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology , students who set specific, challenging goals achieved higher academic performance than those who did not engage in goal-setting practices.

Encouraging your middle school student to set SMART goals tailored to their academic pursuits can significantly enhance their learning experience. Start by emphasizing the importance of setting realistic and attainable goals, ensuring they are within your child’s capabilities.

Encourage them to prioritize their goals based on their importance and relevance to their academic journey. Developing a clear plan of action and breaking down large or long-term goals into manageable short-term goals with tasks can help them stay organized and focused.

It can also be beneficial to remind your child to seek support and accountability from teachers, peers, or family members to help them stay on track. Regular reflection and reassessment of their goals allow for adjustments and improvements along the way, fostering continuous growth and development in their academic journey.

Practical examples of middle school SMART goals

Setting SMART goals can be incredibly beneficial for middle schoolers across various subjects and scenarios, catering to their individual needs and success. Below are a few examples of SMART goals for common scenarios as well as some helpful SMART goal templates.

For a student who needs to catch up in a particular subject, setting SMART goals could involve:

• Committing to completing a certain number of assignments each week
• Scheduling regular study sessions
• Seeking extra help from teachers or tutors as needed

By establishing Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound goals, students can gradually close the gap in their understanding, regain confidence in their abilities, and improve their GPA.

For a middle school student aiming to accelerate and move ahead, setting goals focused on advancing through curriculum material at a faster pace would be ideal. Their SMART goals might include:

• Completing additional readings or assignments ahead of schedule
• Participating in enrichment programs
• Seeking opportunities for independent study.

By setting ambitious yet attainable goals, students can challenge themselves academically while staying motivated and engaged in their learning journey.

For student athletes or performers who want to get good grades but require flexibility due to training or rehearsal commitments, SMART goals can help them balance their academic and extracurricular responsibilities effectively. They might set goals such as:

• Allocating specific blocks of time for studying and practice
• Setting targets for completing assignments around their training schedule

By prioritizing their goals and staying organized, these students can excel both in their academic pursuits and their passion outside the classroom.

SMART goals aren’t just for academic purposes, they can also benefit a middle school student aiming to achieve personal goals or non-academic goals such as speaking up more in class or leading a group project. Thes students might set objectives such as:

• Contributing to class discussions a certain number of times per week
• Volunteering to take on leadership roles in group assignments
• Practicing public speaking skills through presentations or debates

By setting clear and actionable goals, these students can develop essential soft skills and grow personally and academically.

Examples of how to set SMART goals for middle school students

As an example of how to set a SMART goal, let’s consider a middle school student who wants to improve their performance in math. Here’s an example of how they could set a SMART goal:

S pecific: My goal is to improve my grade in math by mastering multiplication tables.

M easurable: I will be able to accurately recite multiplication tables up to 12×12 without hesitation.

A chievable: I will dedicate 20 minutes each day to practice multiplication tables using flashcards or online resources.

R elevant: Mastering multiplication tables is crucial for me to raise my grade from a B to an A.

T ime-Bound: I will achieve mastery of multiplication tables within one month, by the end of the month.

By setting this SMART goal, the student has a clear target (mastering multiplication tables), a way to measure progress (accuracy in reciting tables), an action plan for achieving it (daily practice), an understanding of why it’s important (improving math performance), and a time frame for completion (end of the month). This goal provides the student with focus, motivation, and a concrete plan of action to enhance their math skills.

Let’s review one more example of a SMART goal, this time for a middle school student focusing on improving their English grade by reading:

S pecific: My goal is to improve my reading comprehension skills by reading two books of at least 200 pages each.

M easurable: I will track my progress by keeping a reading log.

A chievable: I will dedicate 30 minutes to reading every day, either before bedtime or during free time.

R elevant: Improving my reading comprehension skills will not only benefit me academically but help me develop a love of reading.

T ime-Bound: I will complete reading two books within the next two months, by the end of April.

By setting this SMART goal, the student has a clear objective (improving reading comprehension), a way to measure progress (tracking books read), a feasible plan (daily reading sessions), an understanding of why it’s important (academic and personal growth), and an amount of time for completion (end of April). This goal provides the student with structure, a sense of urgency, accountability, and a tangible way to enhance their reading skills.

As you can see, setting SMART goals is essential for middle school student success. SMART goals provide a roadmap for achievement, foster accountability, and cultivate a growth mindset. 

By encouraging your child to create their own SMART goals, you empower them to take ownership of their learning journey and develop life-long skills such as time management, perseverance, and self-discipline. 

Regular check-ins on these goals allows your child to track their progress, make adjustments as needed, and stay motivated toward reaching their dreams. As parents/guardians, your guidance and support in this process are invaluable. By working together with your child to establish and refine their SMART goals, you lay the foundation for a positive and fulfilling academic experience that sets them up for success both in middle school and beyond.

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Setting SMART Goals for Middle School Success FAQs

How can setting smart goals benefit middle school students.

Setting SMART goals can help middle school students develop important skills such as time management, organization, and self-motivation. By setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals, students are able to focus their efforts and track their progress toward academic success. This can also lead to increased self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment as they reach their goals.

Can SMART goals be applied to any type of goal or task?

Yes, SMART goals can be applied to any type of goal or task. The key is to make sure that the goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This allows for a clear understanding of what needs to be done and how progress will be measured.

What are some examples of measurable goals for middle school students?

Some examples of measurable goals for middle school students could include:

• Improve math grades by at least one letter grade by the end of the semester.
• Improve reading fluency by reading a 200-page book per month.
• Complete all assigned homework on time for a full week without any missing assignments.
• Participate in classroom discussions at least three times per week for the entire school year.
• Score at least an 85% or higher on all science quizzes and tests this quarter.

How can parents/guardians and teachers support middle school students in setting SMART goals?

One way parents/guardians can support their child is by having open and frequent communication about their goals. This allows for accountability and provides an opportunity to check-in on progress regularly. Encouraging students to write down their goals and keep track of their progress is also helpful. Teachers can support students by incorporating goal-setting into the curriculum. This could include discussing the importance of setting achievable goals, providing examples of SMART goals, and allowing time for students to work on their goals.

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Feb 26. 2019

Middle school is a transition time. Your student will leave behind the fun learning games of the elementary years and prepare for greater responsibilities in high school. You will watch your child mature physically, socially, and academically.

How can you set middle school goals that will help make these years the best years yet?

When compared to what homeschooling looks like during the early learning years and elementary years, it’s important to recognize that the middle school years introduce a significant shift in the overall academic workload of each school year as well as in the focus of how you spend your time each school day. Obviously, this will impact how you set middle school goals.

Let’s take a closer look.

Tips to Keep in Mind While Setting Middle School Goals

The key to setting middle school goals is to understand the reason you’re setting them in the first place. First, you are setting goals that help you make sure to meet the academic needs of your student. Second, you’re setting goals that will help guide you as you lay out benchmarks and create lesson plans .

Here are some things to keep in mind as you set goals, create benchmarks, and make lesson plans.

Identify gaps and plan a way to close them. The middle school years offer a fantastic opportunity for closing academic gaps before high school. As you set middle school goals, pay attention to the subjects your student has difficulty in, and put special focus on those subjects to strengthen them before high school.

This might include reinforcing some subjects over the summer, getting a tutor, or finding an alternative approach to teaching challenging material. Don’t be afraid to take one step back in order to take two steps forward.

Develop independent work habits. By this time, your student should be able to complete assignments after a brief explanation from you. Training your student in the discipline of coming to ask for help when needed is an important aspect of independence training. Also, help them learn how to temporarily divert to another task or assignment if you are unavailable to offer immediate help.

Begin assigning grades. Opinions about grading vary. However, high school transcripts require grades for GPA calculation, so your student needs to get used to receiving and maintaining grades before they reach high school and begin an official transcript.

Provide more freedom. Allow your student to choose some interesting classes. Check your state requirements, choose classes that meet them, and then have your student offer input for remaining course slots. You can even allow some personal preference into the core classes.

If the requirements do not state what kind of history or science to study and no prerequisites are required, let your child gravitate toward a preferred history focus or choose between general science or physical or other available scientific branches. (Just make sure to not neglect a foundation for required biology and chemistry courses.)

Allow your student to have their own opinions. When discussing a matter of opinion such as art, music, or a piece of literature, validate your student’s thoughts and opinions. Don’t say, “Well, actually, the author meant….” unless the author himself has said that. Anyone other than the author cannot dictate how the reader should interpret the piece.

Allow your student to dislike a subject. Your student does not have to like every subject. Don’t be afraid to share what you liked and disliked about school at that age and how you overcame those preferences.

If you can, give ways that learning disliked subjects has helped you. Ask your student about career interests; then point out how skills learned in this subject will transfer to that subject.

Get your student’s input on scheduling subjects. If they want to do math in the afternoon instead of the morning, try it out. You can always change later . Help them recognize personal natural rhythms.

Use a weekly checklist. If they get the checklist done and all work corrected early, reward the student with a Friday off.

Teach planner usage and time management skills. Next to core academics, establishing planner skills should take high priority when setting middle school goals. Their reading and writing skills are solid, they are growing in independence, and they can start learning to keep track of their own daily rhythm.

Teaching them how to combine all of these skills with planner usage will help them lay a very strong foundation for good time management skills in high school and adulthood.

Shifting Expectations While Setting Middle School Goals

As you set middle school goals and plan lessons, it’s also important to learn how to shift your expectations as your student progresses from the Getting Excited stage (2nd-4th) to the Beginning to Understand stage (5th-8th) . Your student should now be moving from a fact-gathering approach to a pulling-it-all together approach. This means that you will need to ask for different forms of output to see if your student is learning.

Here are some suggestions for questions to ask and projects to incorporate throughout your school year:

• Can you group….?
• Draw a diagram of….
• Do you know of another instance where…?
• How is … similar to …?
• Create a lapbook for….
• Place these locations on a map….
• Outline….
• Predict what would have happened if…
• Write a research report.
• Summarize why…
• What was the problem with…?
• Why did…occur?

In these years, when serious subjects replace fun and games, take joy in the ways that your student puts all the pieces together into a puzzle. If you have laid a good foundation and given a love of learning, your middle schooler will do wonders.

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Rebecca, The Well Planned Gal

With five kids in their teen and early adult years, Rebecca shares the many ups and downs of parenting, homeschooling, and keeping it all together. As the Well Planned Gal she mentors women towards the goal of discovering the uniqueness Christ has created in them and their family and how to best organize and plan for the journey they will travel.

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45 Goal Setting Activities, Exercises & Games (+ PDF)

Creating and setting goals is great, but actually achieving them can be much harder. This is where utilizing some tried and tested goal setting exercises can help you, not only in setting a goal that is achievable but the individual steps and process needed to help you get there.

That’s what we’re taking a look at in this article: how goal setting exercises work, why they’re important, and a whole heap of resources to help you get started.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

This Article Contains:

How goal setting exercises work, what are goal setting tools, 6 useful goal setting tools (pdf), 3 goal setting exercises (pdf), planning with goal setting sheets, 16 useful sheets for setting goals (incl. pdf & word printables), 5 goal setting questions to ask, 3 goal setting workshop activities for adults, 4 helpful goal setting models, do visualization and meditation help goal setting, 3 training games & exercises for goal setting workshops, 3 goal setting exercises for couples, what is group goal setting, creating a goal setting workshop outline, what is a group goal setting questionnaire.

• 4 Group Goal Setting Exercises and Activities (Incl. PDF and worksheets)

A Take-Home Message

The author Annie Dillard once said in her book The Writing Life , ‘How we spend our days is how we spend our life’ and I think this is a great quote to contemplate in the theme of goal setting . How we spend our life – the things we want to do – is made up of all the smaller days in-between, and the same is true of achieving a goal. It’s the small steps in the middle that create success.

Goals are our aspirations. When we set a goal, we create an aim for a set of behaviors (Latham and Locke, 2002). Whether that’s achieving a level of proficiency or skill in an athletic endeavor, a weight-loss goal or paying off financial debt: Creating a goal helps us to know what we’re aiming for in life.

Change rarely happens magically overnight. It happens because we make a daily commitment to adapting our behaviors, mindset, and habits to work towards creating the change we want. Small, daily and consistent changes can lead to big results over time. This is how effective goal setting exercises work.

While goal setting can be short or long term, formal or informal, to really achieve results psychologists have found that goal setting exercises are most effective when the final aim is specific and measurable (Locke and Latham, 1991, Latham, Winter and Locke, 1994, Latham and Locke, 2002).

Locke (1964) came up with the very first Goal Setting Theory , where he focused on goal setting within the workplace. He found that employees were motivated more by clearly set goals and actionable feedback to help them achieve those goals.

While it probably makes a lot of sense today to be told to ‘secure four new clients by the end of the month’ rather than ‘increase the customer base’, this was revolutionary when Locke proposed his first paper. He provided the foundation for modern goal-setting techniques that many use today.

Locke also found that motivation is key to achieving our goals, and we feel more motivated when we’re not 100% certain we can achieve the goal we’ve set for ourselves. Taking on challenges is highly motivational as it allows us to develop our skills, flex our problem-solving muscles, and gain a deeper sense of personal achievement.

Based on Locke’s research, it seems for goal setting exercises to work they need two key things:

• To be small, achievable and measurable over time
• Set specific and clear outcomes

More recently Miner (2005) examined goal setting within organizational behavior and positive leadership strategies. He suggested the following three core principles for how goal-setting works. Goals:

• Motivate individuals to put in the required effort to set tasks
• Motivate individuals to keep persisting in the required behaviors or activities over time
• Motivate individuals to stay focused on the goals and tasks they are trying to achieve, rather than becoming distracted by irrelevant behaviors

While both Locke and Miner have focused on goal setting exercises in a work context, these core principles can be applied to personal goal setting too.

It’s one thing to know about goal setting, and how it can help you, but another entirely to know how to actually set goals and stick with them. Goal setting tools are a great way to help you set goals, keep track of, and stay focused on what you’re trying to achieve.

These tools and can be informal, for example:

• A handwritten diary or journal tracking your goals and smaller daily achievements
• Using your mobile phone to set daily reminders or countdown apps for when you want to achieve certain things by
• Motivational notes and posters set around your home or work desk as friendly reminders
• Telling friends and family what you’re working towards so they can offer support
• Visualization activities including meditation, positive affirmations, and mindfulness

Or they can be formalized, such as:

• Regular meetings/reviews with your line manager at work to keep you accountable (if your goals are work related)
• Joining groups or meet-ups with individuals trying to achieve the same goals (such as weight loss, or athletic groups/fitness classes)
• Working with a peer coach or mentor to help motivate you to stay on track
• Utilizing goal setting software tools and apps to help keep you on track ( Milestone Planner  and GoalScape to name a few)

Which tool is right for you will depend on what you’re specific goals are, how long you want to take to achieve them, and whether it is an individual or group goal.

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Below I’ve collated a few useful goal setting tools I’ve found while researching this article. I’ve broken them down into two sections: non-digital goal setting tools and digital goal setting tools. Depending on your preference and goals, you might find one more beneficial than others, or prefer to use a mixture of both mediums.

Non-Digital Goal Setting Tools

1. keep a goal setting journal.

This one is particularly good for personal development goals. Even ten minutes a day to review and write about your goals will help to keep you focused, motivated, and feeling more positive about the journey you’re on (Robinson, 2017).

Keeping a journal allows you to keep a record of your progress, any setbacks you come up against and how to overcome them. It’s a strong visual and physical representation of how far you’ve come already towards achieving your goals.

2. Try Backward Goal Setting

Backward Goal Setting is a nifty tool to try when you’re feeling a bit stuck. It’s all about switching up your perspective and approach, so if you have a goal you failed to achieve before, this could be a great tool to try to switch up how you tackle it.

With Backward Goal Setting, you start with your ultimate end goal (quite similar to traditional goal setting). But instead of thinking about what the first step might be, then the second, third and so on, you start at the end goal and work backward.

Essentially you reverse the process. As mentioned, this can help you think about your goal in more broader terms, and help you identify key milestones that traditional goal setting wouldn’t. Used alongside traditional goal setting tools, it can help you create a strong final plan for achieving success.

3. Get some social support

As a tool for success, nothing beats a good few people you can rely on to keep you motivated and encouraged towards achieving your goals (Adams Miller, 2015). Research has found that the people we surround ourselves with – even distant acquaintances – can have a dramatic impact on our behaviors (Christakis & Fowler, 2009).

By telling those you trust and value about your goals, they’ll respond with actions and behavior that will actively aid you towards success, and be great cheerleaders when your own motivation seems to be waning.

Digital Goal Setting Tools

You probably spend a fair amount of time in the day using your mobile phone, so have you considered how you can use it to help you with key areas in life such as achieving your goals?

Luckily, many app developers have thought about just this thing and there is a multitude of apps and functions on most phones to help you work towards successfully achieving your goals. Below I’ve listed three popular apps that focus on setting and achieving goals:

1. Way of Life

Way of Life is a daily habit tracker app that allows you to create multiple daily goals you’re hoping to achieve and check them off as you achieve them. It’s got a very user-friendly interface and the ability to set yourself reminders.

As a goal-setting tool, it’s great for simple things such as drinking more water, setting time aside to read more or avoiding sugary drinks but for more in-depth or layered goals, this is probably not the best tool to reach for.

2. Coach me Goal Tracking

This app offers more in-depth functionality. Not only can you create goals and milestones, but it also gives you access to a whole community of like-minded people all reaching for goal success.

It allows you to interact and motivate each other and also has professional coaches you can hire via the app for one-to-one support if you need it.

Another great function is the ability to add up to six family members or friends – great for team or group goal work!

3. Momentum

Similar to Way of Life, Momentum helps you create set your goals and create smaller, daily habits to help you work towards achieving them. You can curate your home screen and set reminders to help you stay on track. It’s extremely user-friendly and has previously been rated as one of the ‘Best New Apps’ in the app store. Unfortunately, it’s only designed for iPhone and Macs at the moment.

You might also find this handy Goal Setting Toolkit PDF helpful. Created by Mindtools it’s a comprehensive write up of what makes successful goal setting, and a great resource of different tools you can try.

The tools that are right for you will depend on your specific goals and preferences for tackling them. For me, a handwritten goal journal works really well as I like having something tangible that I can sit down with every day away from digital distractions.

King (2001) asked students to write about a traumatic experience, their best future self, both topics or a non-emotional control topic for twenty minutes a day, across four days.

The student’s mood was measured before and after writing and followed up three weeks after the initial test. King found that writing about life goals – or best possible future self – was associated with a significant increase in feelings of wellbeing compared to writing about trauma.

What this tells us is that writing about positive, self-regulatory topics – such as what we want our future to look like – can be hugely beneficial for our wellbeing. It can also be hugely beneficial in helping us achieve our goals.

Below I’ve outlined three easy to do goal setting writing exercises to help you get started:

1. The ‘Average Perfect Day’ Exercise

You can do this exercise in a journal, blank notebook or on your computer, and as the title suggests it’s pretty straight forward – you write about what your average perfect day looks like.

Focus on what your perfect day looks like without any added extras or surprises (so no winning lottery tickets or surprise romantic getaways). The idea here is to create a detailed list of what an average day looks like, step by step. This could include:

• The perfect time for waking up and what that looks like – do you read for 20 minutes before getting up? Cuddle with your partner? Do a sun salutation or mindfulness to start the day?
• What do you do once you’re out of bed? Do you make coffee and breakfast first, or shower first? Do you pick out your outfit for the day or did you do that the night before? Is there music, the radio, morning TV in the background? Are the curtains or window blinds open fully or do you prefer them closed while you get ready?
• What happens next? Do you go to work – what does that look like? Whom do you engage with? What does your desk look like?
• Are you at home with the kids? What do you get up to? What activities or adventures do you do together?
• What does a nutritious lunch look like and include?

And so on. Create a day you will never get bored of, that you could happily repeat five or seven days a week. Create an ‘Average Perfect Day’ for your work day and your downtime days. With or without your partner or kids.

Really think about the individual behaviors that go into that day. What you’ll begin to see clearly are little habits you can start actioning straight away to get you closer to your idea of a perfectly average day.

2. The ‘One Year from Now’ Exercise

Similar to King’s exercise of asking students to think about and write down what their best possible future self might look like, you can adapt this to think about what your best possible life might look like one year from now.

You can do this exercise alone, with a partner, family or a close friend. It can be really rewarding to share your ideas with someone you trust, who will also challenge you to consider things outside of your comfort zone. Some of the key areas to think about when completing this exercise include:

• Your Work – What job will you be doing? Where will you be working? How will you be working towards what you want this to look like?
• Your Home – Are you hoping to save up to buy a place? Are there some home improvements in your current place you’ve been putting off? Does the garden need some TLC?
• Your Finances – Do you have some debts you want to pay off, once and for all? Are you saving for something in particular? Do you want to get on top of your retirement plans?
• Your Relationships – Are you happy in love? Wanting to get married? How much value do your close friendships bring? Do you need to work more on connecting with people?
• Yourself – How do you want to feel about yourself one year from now? Mentally, physically, socially, personally? What does that look and feel like?

Once you’ve created what one year from now looks like for you, start thinking about the steps required to achieve those things. Be reasonable and don’t try and commit to achieving everything at once. Pick one or two achievable and measurable goals for each area and build a goal-setting plan for each. Include a rough timeline of when you’d like to achieve that by so you can keep yourself accountable.

Again, you can write this down on good old fashioned paper, in a journal, or use a computer – whatever works best for you. Make sure it’s written up somewhere you can refer back to it and add to if needed.

3. The ‘Treasure Mapping’ Exercise

The Treasure Mapping exercise begins with some basic visualization techniques and takes it one step further.

Visualization is a wonderful tool to help you build a picture of what you want certain aspects of your life to look like. When it comes to goal setting, visualization can become tricky as it takes time to concentrate and re-visualize what you’re working towards when you need a quick boost of inspiration and motivation. Visualization is a strong tool and the Treasure Mapping exercise can help to take it to a new level!

With Treasure Mapping, you create a physical representation of your visualization. You can do this with a drawing, painting, collage, or digital art. It serves as a manifestation of your goals and intensifies the work you put into visualizing them in your mind. A few tips on getting started:

• First, clarify the goal you want to work towards. Visualize what this looks and feels like. Is it a personal achievement or more tangible, like running a marathon or paying off your debt?
• Now, write it all down in detail, using visualization as you go to build a clear picture.
• Think about the outcome of achieving your goal: What will you have? What will you be? How do you celebrate? What do your friends and family say?
• Once you have written this all down, it’s time to get creative! Grab your art supplies, a stack of magazines or whatever else you want to use to create your treasure map. At the top of your map create the visual representation of what achieving your goal looks like – this is the treasure you’re working towards.
• Now start thinking about all the steps required from where you are at now, to achieving that ultimate goal. Begin the above process again for each step you can identify and work backward from your ultimate goal, creating a visual manifestation on your map as you go.
• Align your images – drawings or collage – in a way that you can see how they connect. This will help imprint in your mind how you are going to achieve them.

Once finished, place your treasure map in a place where you can see it easily for a regular hit of motivation and inspiration. If you created in using some digital art software, print it or keep it as your background screensaver so you see it daily.

These exercises are just a starting point. Some might work better than others for you, so it’s worth trying a few and getting a feel for what you respond to the most.

This PDF from Act Mindfully titled ‘ The Reality Slap ’ is another great goal-setting resource, despite the title! It contains five short and easy to follow exercises to help you on the way to set some realistic goals.

Why the secret to success is setting the right goals – John Doerr

As we know, achieving our goals successfully is best done when they are specific, clear and measurable (Locke, 1968). We’ve taken a look at some of the tools and exercises that can help you when setting goals, but there’s another resource you can tap into when planning your goals and that’s Goal Setting Sheets.

These are pre-built templates or worksheets readily available on the internet that can help you get over the hurdle of knowing where to start. Instead, you’ll have a simple and easy to use guide for setting your goal and creating your plan of action.

I’ve scoured the internet for a variety of different goal setting sheets and below are some of the easiest, and most user-friendly ones I’ve found. I’ve broken these down into four categories: individuals, couples, families and children, and work/study groups.

Best for Individuals:

• Goal Setting for Self-Esteem
• Setting SMART+R Goals
• Weight Loss Worksheet
• Building New Habits

Best for Couples:

• Of the Hearth – Goal Setting Workbook for Couples
• Live Well Play Together – Goal Setting Worksheet for Couples
• The One Thing – kicks Goal Setting Retreat Planner for Couples
• Nextgen – Career Goal Setting with your Spouse

Best for Families and Children:

• Develop Good Habits – Family Goals Execution Plan
• Develop Good Habits – Children’s Goal Setting Shee t
• Spark Parenting – How to Set Family Goals Plus Worksheet
• Worksheet Place – From Dreams to Goals Simple Worksheet for Children

Best for Work and Study Groups:

• Smartsheet – Project Goals and Objectives
• Smartsheet – Business Goals Worksheet
• Worksheet Place – Better Work Habits Goal Setting Sheet
• Thriving Adolescent – Group Goal Setting Worksheet

Sometimes it can be difficult to pinpoint what you want your goals to look like, and what it is precisely you want to achieve in life. Often, we become so focused on what we’re already doing and it’s easier to stay stuck in the habits we already have, even if deep down we don’t feel they’re what we really want to be doing.

Handy (1996) and Covey (1989) both suggest that at the core of what we all really want is to make a difference and contribute to our wider communities in positive and constructive ways. Handy suggested three steps for achieving a meaningful life:

• You are secure – the fundamental basics of life need to be achieved before you can think about your purpose
• You know who you are – this means you have established a strong sense of identity for yourself, you know the path you want to be on and what this looks like for you
• You can make a difference – once the above two steps are in place, you’ll know the right ways you can contribute and make a difference in the world

You can use goal-setting questions at any of these three steps and drill down to the individual goals you need to set to achieve, to help you move closer to finding more meaning in life. Five great questions to start with could include:

• What are my values?
• What drives me?
• What do I ultimately want to achieve?
• Why do I want to achieve that?
• What would my best friend and/or partner say my goals are?

Take some time and meditate on the above the questions, the first answers that come to mind don’t have to be the final answers but can be great starting points to explore further. The best questions to ask are open-ended – think what, why, when, who and how – as these encourage you to think deeply about the answer.

You’ll probably find once you get started that more questions emerge and that’s great! Keep writing them down and exploring where they take you. Remember you can revisit your answers at any time, and it’s important to review and rethink on them every so often.

Keeping a goal journal or utilizing different templates can help keep you on track to achieving your goals, but it doesn’t have to be a singular effort. A goal-setting workshop with friends, colleagues or peers is a great way to bring people together to explore and share their ideas creatively.

Goal setting activities can inspire and motivate you, and you might even uncover a goal or two you hadn’t considered before. Below are five fun and creative goal setting workshop activities you can try:

1. The Winning Lottery Ticket Activity

This activity is great for giving the mind free reign to think about what you would do if you had no financial constraints. It can be really telling to see what you come up with – most of which can be quite achievable if you start putting in the effort and setting some goals!

The premise is easy: You’ve just won the lottery! The winning amount is $30 million. What is your first reaction? What do you do next? What are some of your key priorities to use the money wisely? What about savings? Whom do you help out?

You can write this down, visualize it, or discuss it openly if you’re doing the exercise with a partner, family or group. Once you’ve done this, restart the exercise, only this time you’ve won half the original amount – $15 million.

Think about what changes you’d make to your original plans (if any). Keep restarting the exercise, each time halving the winning amount. You’ll notice that you start to drill down to your core values and these can inform the goals you need to focus on.

2. The Retirement Party Activity

This activity flips the lottery ticket activity on its head a little bit. Instead of visualizing what you would do, you think about what you would regret not doing.

Visualize the following scenario: Fast forward a few years or so to your own retirement party. You’ve worked hard, held down a steady job and now it’s time to enjoy some free time. You’ve invited all of your close friends, colleagues, and family. You give a speech about all the things you’ve enjoyed in life and then someone asks: What do you regret not doing?

Look back over your life and think about the things you wished you had done but didn’t. Perhaps work got busy so some personal travel goals got pushed to the side. Or maybe you never ended up going back to school to study that degree in creative writing you wanted to. Based on how your life is heading right now, you’ll probably have a good idea of what these regrets might look like.

Now take each regret and rewrite as a positive. You’ve just created a list of goals to work towards.

3. The Six Months Left Activity

While the title of this activity might sound a little morbid, it’s still worth trying! When you think about it, knowing you only have six months left to live can be a freeing feeling: there’s no reason not to go after the things you really want in life and try to make them happen as much as you can. The very worst thing that could happen to you has already happened so what do you have to lose?

What will you do with this newfound courage? Questions to think about could include:

• Where do you want to spend your time? Are there any cities on your bucket list you want to visit?
• Whom do you want to spend this time with? Are there any old connections you want to reach out to?
• How do you spend this time? Relaxing with loved ones or cramming in as much as possible?

The key to this activity is to not spend too long and hard thinking about it. Write down as much and as quickly as possible the first things and ideas that come to mind. Review and reflect on these to help you develop some tangible goals.

All of these activities focus on helping you to get at the core of what your potential goals could be. It’s worth trying a few different activities and seeing what results you get, and especially worth revisiting them over time to see how your ideas change.

Researchers, psychologists, and business leaders have all tackled the topic of goal setting. Over the last few decades, a number of models have been developed to help individuals and teams create successful goals. Below I’ve outlined four of the most popular ones and how they work.

SMART Goal Setting Model

The SMART model is one of the most well-known and used models when it comes to goal setting. It first appeared in 1981 in an article in the Management review (Doran, 1981) and built nicely on the work previously carried out by Locke in the 1960s. It has proven highly successful in its use for both individual and group goal-setting.

Here’s what SMART stands for:

• Specific – Each goal must be specific and as clearly defined as possible. You can have multiple goals, but each one must be clear.
• Measurable – Each goal must also have clearly defined metrics for how it can be measured – either for progress or the end goal.
• Achievable – It can be easy to get carried away when setting goals, but a goal that is ultimately not achievable will deplete your motivation. Keep goals small and achievable. You can always build on and add to them later.
• Relevant – This is where putting some time in to plan your goals can pay off. There’s no point in pursuing a goal that doesn’t add to your core values or ultimate desires for your life. Make sure each goal is relevant to you.
• Time-Bound – This links nicely with the achievable step. Make sure you set yourself realistic deadlines for each goal and it’s required steps to keep you focused and motivated.

The SMART model has been widely accepted as the go-to model and I think that’s because it can be applied to simple and complex goals, work goals, personal goals, individual and group goals. It’s a highly adaptable model with a very clear structure that can be used with other planning and business tools to achieve large goals.

GROW Goal Setting Model

There are a few different claims to the authorship of the GROW model, but most agree that it was created by Business Coaches Graham Alexander, Alan Fine and Sir John Whitmore in the 1980s (Nguyen, 2018). Although developed together, the three went their separate ways soon after and each has continued to develop the model in their own ways (Fine, 2018) but the core of the model still remains the same.

GROW stands for:

• Goal – What do you want to do? What is your ultimate aim?
• Reality – Where are you now? What are some of the barriers preventing you from achieving your goal?
• Options – What could you do? What are the resources available to you? What changes can you make to your own behavior to overcome barriers?
• Will – What will you do? How can you start making changes or tapping into available resources to achieve your goal?

Working through the GROW model allows individuals to build their own self-awareness of:

• Current aspirations
• Current belief and values systems
• Current resources available to them
• The actions and effort required to achieve set goals

CLEAR Goal Setting Model

Kreek (2018) felt that the traditional SMART model for goal setting was too limiting and didn’t meet the needs of modern business environments, so Kreek created a new model. Kreek uses the acronym CLEAR for setting goals. This model has a focus on supporting teams at work to achieve business and organizational goals.

Here’s what CLEAR stands for:

• Collaborative – The desired goal needs to include a team or social element that drives everyone to contribute to success.
• Limited – There must be a set timeframe in which to achieve the goal, and the scope of the goal needs to be achievable within this timeframe.
• Emotional – Goals need to be connected to your core values, as an individual, and as a group. When emotion is attached to a goal, energy and passion become key in achieving it.
• Appreciable – While the end goal can be large, the steps in between need to be small. This way they are highly achievable and appreciation can be shared for their accomplishment.
• Refinable – Things change, sometimes unexpectedly. Your goal needs to have a strong objective but it also needs to be adaptable and fluid to meet new challenges, changes, and information as they arise.

This model takes into account how modern teams often want to focus on their core values (the Emotional step) and how to do this collaboratively, so it could be a great one to use at work or within study/research groups.

SPIRO Goal Setting Model

Pfeiffer and Jones (1972) created the SPIRO model but it was quickly superseded by the SMART model in the early 1980s. It’s still a very comprehensive model, but not one that is used as much today. The model was first published in ‘ The 1972 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators ’ and was aimed at coaching or training facilitators helping individuals to set and achieve goals.

SPIRO stands for:

• Specificity – As with the other models, the first step is to get specific about your goal. Make sure it is clearly defined and understandable.
• Performance – From an individual and a coach/facilitator perspective, what are the measures of performance that indicate the individual is progressing towards their goal?
• Involvement – Again, both the individual and coach/facilitator can agree on what their specific involvement in achieving the goal might be. This could also include looking at what other resources might be needed.
• Realism – As well as ensuring the goal is realistic and manageable within the set timeframe, this is also about ensuring the goal is aligned with personal values and current lifestyle. For example, setting a goal of going to the gym every night when you have childcare issues, study commitments, and other life plans isn’t realistic. Committing to attending three nights a week might be.
• Observability – From an individual perspective, this step includes asking yourself ‘ what does achieving the goal look like externally and feel internally? ’. From a coach/facilitator perspective, this is checking what the achievement of the goal might look like externally to others.

It’s clear the SPIRO model would work well in different group facilitator or coaching paradigms, but it could also be nicely adapted for couples wanting to support and encourage each other with their goals.

Both visualization and meditation have been proven to have a wonderful impact on our overall mood and sense of happiness and fulfillment (Meevissen, Peters, & Alberts, 2011, Peters, Flink, Boersma, & Linton, 2010).

Research has also begun to show that visualization can help to promote and improve goal-setting behaviors (Taylor et al, 1998). Some of the exercises explored earlier in the article, including ‘ The Average Perfect Day ’ and ‘ One Year from Now ’, all use visualization as a core component to aid goal setting.

These exercises help to improve goal-setting behavior by maintaining expectations of success, creating structured plans, and engaging our emotions in achieving our goals.

Emotions play a crucial role in goal setting. Research has shown that when we connect our goals to our values and attach them to emotional outcomes, we’re more motivated to succeed and feel positive about it in the process (Austenfeld, Paolo, & Stanton 2006).

Using mental imagery of what we want our future to look and feel like is also powerful in supporting goal setting. Oyserman, Bybee, and Terry (2006) found that asking participants to use mental imagery to envision their best possible future self-enhanced their motivation to identify the goals needed to create their vision in real life.

Meditation is a core component of visualization so it makes sense that it would also help aid goal setting. Meditation allows us to calm our thoughts and mind, and take stock of our current being and presence. It can be a useful tool when visualizing what you want your goals to look like, but equally beneficial when you might begin to feel overwhelmed.

Our goals can sometimes get the better of us, and if we’re not achieving them exactly as we think we should, the fear of failure can creep in. Meditation is a great way to prevent these negative thoughts creeping in and depleting our motivation. It can allow us to move forward with clarity (Chen, 2015).

Holding a goal-setting workshop can be really valuable. Whether your team manager, teaching a class or working with a group of peers towards a shared goal, a goal-setting workshop can help make sure you tackle the matter productively.

Below are three games and exercises that have been purposefully created for a goal-setting workshop:

1. The ‘Mine Field Goal Obstacles’ game

This is a fun game to use for goal setting with students , or if you want to get more active within your goal setting workshop. It has a focus on communication and trust within a group setting in achieving the desired goal. It requires a bit of preparation but can be a rewarding activity.

You will need:

• Objects and space to create an obstacle course (be as creative and challenging as you like)
• A blindfold
• Pen and paper

How to play:

Step One : You’ll need to create an obstacle course. You can do this outside with basic gym equipment, or inside with office equipment (desks, chairs). The idea is to create a maze or course with obstacles through which participants will need to navigate.

Step Two : Divide your group into pairs or small groups. Within the group, they must decide on how quickly they want to complete the obstacle course. These times can be written up visually and you can create a little competition by challenging the teams to beat each other.

Step Three : One participant from each team is blindfolded. With the verbal queues from their other teammates, they need to try and navigate the obstacle within the time goal they have set.

Step Four : Allow each participant an attempt at beating their time goal, until you have an overall winner.

Purpose of the game:

While fun, this game allows participants to reflect on the different aspects that go into achieving a goal. By creating a timeframe, the group should put in the required effort to achieve this, and use the resources (each other) to do this successfully. Once you’ve finished playing the game, each participant can then reflect on one goal they have and identify the obstacles that may get in the way and the resources around them to help support them.

2. The ‘One, Some, Many’ goal sharing team game

This is a particularly good activity for a goal-setting workshop, as it allows participants time to focus on their own goals and come together to discuss group goals. It can help teams reflect on where there are overlaps in the goals they want to achieve, and how to work collaboratively on them.

• Selection of pens/markers
• A3 paper and a flip chart board or whiteboard you can write on
• Post-it notes

Step One : Focus on the ‘ONE’ part of the activity title. Each participant has a selection of post-it notes and the opportunity to write out their individual goals. Aim for 1-3 goals per person. These can be small goals or long term, but keep them concise when writing them down.

Step Two : Focus on the ‘SOME’ part of the activity title. Participants get into pairs or small groups of three and share the individual goals they have written down. If there are some that are the same, they can combine these to make one shared goal. Ask each group to identify other overlaps and similarities.

Step Three : Now focus on the ‘MANY’ part of the activity title. Using a large piece of paper or whiteboard, ask each team to come and place their post-it notes on the board. This activity should take the longest as participants will need to identify other similarities and overlaps and combine goals. The group can discuss as a whole which goals are the most common and identify how to work on these collaboratively.

This can be a strong team exercise as it demonstrates very clearly and visually how much everyone can be on the same page. There will be goals that aren’t shared and these can be discussed proactively, but the purpose of the game is to identify common group goals and devise a way of achieving them together.

3. Vision Boards Collage Exercise

This exercise can be a lot of fun, while also encouraging group engagement. Vision boards are a great way to create a physical representation of goals and ideas.

• Selection of art materials including pens and pencils
• Selection of old magazines, books or newspapers that can be cut up
• Scissors and glue for all participants
• Paper, cardboard or other material for sticking on

Step One : Begin by asking each participant to practice a simple visualization exercise. Ask them to focus on one goal they would like to achieve and build a visual idea in their mind of what achieving that goal will look and feel like for them. Focus on the mental images that come to mind, and any feelings they anticipate on success.

Step Two : With these images in mind, participants can then look through the old magazines, books or newspapers to collect images, words and visual representations of what their visualization could look like. They can collect as many images as they like.

Step Three : The fun part! Participants can now start creating their boards. A vision board is a very personal thing so encourage participants to create something that represents them and their goal – there is no wrong or right way to do this. The final images they chose should all make them feel and remember their visualization of their goal.

There needs to be a strong emotional connection to the board to help remind and motivate them what they’re trying to achieve. In the end, each participant can share their board with the group if they would like to.

Purpose of the exercise:

This exercise is a fun way to build a physical representation of the desired goal. By starting with a visualization activity, participants can create something they feel connected to, that will help to motivate them when they need it.

Creating shared goals as a couple can be a great way to feel more connected, and secure in your relationship knowing you’re both striving equally towards the same things.

Having clear conversations about what it is you both want to achieve in life and how you can do that together is at the heart of goal setting as a couple, and there are some great exercises alongside the ones already mentioned you can use.

1. The FIRE Drill Exercise

The FIRE Drill exercise is a great one for couples as it allows each partner to reflect on what they want as an individual, their role in the relationship, and what they need from their partner. It allows couples to come together and discuss this without judgment. It is built on one core concept:

You can’t build a healthy relationship if you only focus on fixing what you think is wrong.

Essentially, you have to give the good and the bad in the relationship equal attention and devotion, as individuals and as a couple coming together. FIRE stands for:

• Focus : What do you want to achieve?
• Integrity : How are you showing up in the relationship? Are you who you want to be?
• Reflection : What causes you distress in the relationship? What makes you feel content?
• Encouragement : How do you need to be supported?

Each person works through the exercise as an individual first, thinking about their goals and ideas. Then work through the exercise again thinking first about what you need from your partner, and then what you can give/bring to the relationship. As a couple, share your answers with openness and curiosity. This can help you build better communication and clarity over your individual goals and shared goals.

2. Short Term vs Long Term Goals Exercise

For this exercise, it’s good to know what your long-term goals are. Once you’ve got one or two clearly defined and measurable long-term goals that serve you as a couple, it’s time to break those down into short term goals.

Step One : Work together as a couple to create a list of every small step (or short-term goal) needed to achieve the bigger long term goal. Again, be clear and define each step.

Step Two : Next, review each of the steps you have identified. Start to think about how long each of those steps might take and create a timeline for achieving them.

Step Three : Once you’ve done that, it’s time to think about who will be responsible for ensuring they are achieved. You can assign one partner, or make it a joint responsibility. The idea here is to ensure there is clear and agreed upon accountability for achieving the short-term goals.

Write this up or create a vision board you can keep somewhere visible in the house. As each small step is achieved, tick it off or cross it off the list. You’ll quickly see that you’re both working towards your long-term goals, together.

3. The ‘Less is More’ Exercise

This exercise can help you create more defined goals as individuals within the relationship and as a couple. The idea is to think more about your needs or desires and use these to help you decide on some goals.

Step One : As individuals, write up five things that you want less of within the relationship. These could be anything. For example, you might want less debt, less time working in the evenings, fewer takeaways: anything at all that you think might help to improve your life as an individual.

Step Two : Next, again as individuals, write up five things that you want more of within the relationship. You can keep these a mix of fun or serious things like more sex, more holidays, more time relaxing, more time with friends. Keep a focus on things that you think would help bring you closer as a couple but also add value as individuals.

Step Three : Compare your lists with each other. Really reflect and think about what you have both written down, how you think they could be achieved and how you can support each other to do that. Where are there overlaps? Are there any big surprises? What are the areas you have in common and how can you work on these together?

Step Four : Pick one or two that you want to work on as a priority and set a SMART goal for how you will achieve it.

Remember to keep a defined time frame in mind and review the SMART process you create to keep you on track.

Group goal setting is where a group or team of people come together to agree on a set goal that will benefit them as a group or the wider community that they exist and interacts within. Some examples of groups who might set goals include sports teams, research teams, study groups, work colleagues on a set project or objective, a school class working on a fundraising goal or a community group.

Setting a group goal first requires listening to individual interests and priorities, within the group or from the wider community the group is seeking to serve, and then establishing set and shared actions to help the group achieve the desired end goal.

Creating group goals can be very empowering and motivating. Achieving big changes or results is easier with a strong group of individuals working towards a shared aim, especially when there is shared vision and investment in doing so, just think about sports team who go on to win competitions (Schmoll, 2013).

As you can probably imagine, when it comes to running a goal-setting workshop, it’s very easy to go off track! Once everyone starts thinking more deeply about their goals, it can be difficult to keep everyone on the same page as you go through the workshop.

This is where a workshop outline can come in handy. An outline helps to set a clear structure for the session, alongside any potential learning outcomes or ‘take-aways’ you want participants to have. You can also add time limits for each section, exercise or activity and set a clear plan at the start for everyone to adhere to.

When creating a goal-setting workshop outline, there are a few things to consider:

• How long will the overall workshop be?
• How many activities can you reasonably fit into that timeframe, ensuring they are completed effectively and with value?
• How many participants will be attending your workshop? What are the minimum and maximum numbers required for any activities you want to include?
• What resources do you need for each activity?
• Will you be using one overall goal-setting model or introducing a few different ones? How will your activities need to be adapted to this?
• What are the key learning outcomes/ takeaways participants should leave with? Keep this to a maximum of 3-5 and make sure they are well defined and measurable.

When creating your outline, it’s also important to consider where the workshop will be taking place and the physical space you’ll have to work with. Will you need a board for writing notes on or a computer to show digital presentation slides, videos or images? Do you want to record the workshop?

It’s important to put as much thought into the workshop as possible so you have a strong plan to start with. It’s fine to allow for some flexibility and adaptability, but start strong.

A goal setting questionnaire can be one of two things:

• A questionnaire used to help define and tailor goals within a group setting by asking open questions that are then shared to identify synergies and gaps across the group.
• A questionnaire used by facilitators or researchers to build an idea of participants’ understanding of what goal setting is and what it entails.

Goal setting questionnaires can be particularly useful and meaningful in psychological research so that researchers can know where their participants sit in understanding goal setting and inform further research (Lee, Bobko, Earley & Locke, 1991).

17 Tools To Increase Motivation and Goal Achievement

These 17 Motivation & Goal Achievement Exercises [PDF] contain all you need to help others set meaningful goals, increase self-drive, and experience greater accomplishment and life satisfaction.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

2 Group Goal Setting Exercises and Activities (Incl. PDF and worksheets)

Many of the exercises and activities already described can be adapted and used for group goal-setting workshops or events. Depending on the group dynamics, demographics and desired aims, some exercises will be better suited than some.

Below I’ve collated some additional resources related to group goal-setting exercises and broken them down to be used for work or professional group goal-setting, and school or community group goal-setting.

Goal Setting Exercises for Student or Community Groups:

• This resource from Thriving Adolescent titled ‘ Group Goal Setting Worksheet ’ has been developed for use in student groups, but could also be great for community or workgroups with smaller goals in mind. It’s very easy to use and clear.
• This workbook from Mentoring Pittsburgh titled ‘ Goal Setting and Decision Making ’ contains a selection of exercises that can be completed individually or as a group, and has been specifically developed for students and young people.

The purpose of group goal setting is to bring everyone into alignment, in agreement and clear on what their role might be in moving towards achieving a successful group goal. Group goal setting activities should act as a conduit to achieving this, so it’s a good idea to try out a few different exercises and find the one that works for the group as a whole.

Goal setting has many benefits across both our personal and professional lives. Research has shown time and again taking ownership of our goals is incredibly empowering and rewarding.

If there’s one thing I want you to take away from this article, it’s that the resources you have available to you – to help you create strong and achievable goals – are limitless! There are so many great exercises, activities and methods to help you set goals in every area of life. If you try one and it doesn’t quite work for you, make sure you pick another one and keep going until it feels right.

Have you had success in achieving a specific goal? Please feel free to leave me a comment, especially if you used a method not mentioned, I’d love to hear about it!

For additional material on goal setting, read our selection of recommended goal-setting books .

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free .

• Adams Miller, C (2015). Workbook for Goal-setting and Evidence-based Strategies for Success. Retrieved from: https://wholebeinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/MC-Goal-setting-Workbook-Complete.pdf
• Austenfeld, J. L., Paolo, A. M., & Stanton, A. L. (2006). Effects of writing about emotions versus goals on psychological and physical health among third-year medical students. Journal of Personality 74 (1).
• Chen, C. (2015). How Meditation Helps With Goal Setting. Retrieved from: http://viemeditation.com/my-mind/meditation-helps-goal-setting/
• Christakis, N. & Fowler, J. (2009). Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do. Bay Back Books.
• Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People . Simon & Schuster; New York.
• Dillard, A. (1989). The Writing Life . Harper Perennial; New York.
• Doran, G. T. (1981). There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives. Management Review, 70 , 35-36.
• Fine, A. (2018). What is the GROW Model. InsideOut Development. Retrieved from: https://www.insideoutdev.com/about-us/what-is-the-grow-model/
• Handy, C. B. (1996). Understanding Organisations. Retrieved from: https://www.worldcat.org/title/understanding-organizations-charles-b-handy/oclc/17588225
• King, L. A. (2001). The Health Benefits of Writing about Life Goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27 (7).
• Kreek, A. (2018). CLEAR Goals Are Better Than SMART Goals. Retrieved from: https://www.kreekspeak.com/clear-goal-setting/
• Latham, G. P., Winters, D., & Locke, E. (1994). Cognitive and motivational effects of participation: A mediator study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15 .
• Lee, C., Bobko, P., Earley, P., & Locke, E. A. (1991). An empirical analysis of a goal setting questionnaire. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229736210_An_empirical_analysis_of_a_goal_setting_questionnaire
• Locke, L. A. (1968). Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0030507368900044
• Locke, E.A. & Latham, G.P. (1991). A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance. The Academy of Management Review, 16 . 10.2307/258875.
• Locke, L. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57 (9).
• Meevissen, Y. M. C., Peters, M. L., & Alberts, H. J. E. M. (2011). Become more optimistic by imagining a best possible self: Effects of a two week intervention. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42 .
• Miner, J. B. (2005). Organizational Behaviour 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership . Oxon: Routledge.
• Nguyen, S. (2018). The G.R.O.W. Model in Business Coaching – Simple, Concise, and Powerful. Retrieved from: https://workplacepsychology.net/2018/03/20/the-grow-model-in-business-coaching-simple-concise-and-powerful/
• Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., & Terry, K. (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes: How and when possible selves impel action. Journal of personality and social psychology, 91 (1).
• Peters, M. L., Flink, I. K., Boersma, K., & Linton, S. J. (2010). Manipulating optimism: Can imagining a best possible self be used to increase positive future expectancies? Journal of Positive Psychology, 5 (3).
• Pfeiffer, J. W. & Jones, J. E. (1972). The 1972 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators . San Diego: Pfeiffer and Company.
• Robinson, K. M. (2017). How writing in a journal helps manage depression. WebMD. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/depression/features/writing-your-way-out-of-depression
• Schmoll, F. (2013). Keys to Effective Goal Setting. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/coaching-and-parenting-young-athletes/201311/keys-effective-goal-setting
• Taylor, S. E., Pham, L. B., Rivkin, I. D., & Armor, D. A. (1998). Harnessing the imagination: Mental simulation, self-regulation, and coping. American Psychologist, 53 (4).

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What our readers think.

A Non-Digital setting tool is to keep a goal setting journal. This is a good way to keep up with all your goals in life. With writing them down and looking at them every now and then it helps them stay in our memory and keep up to track with all of them. Also with writing them down it helps you see which ones you have succeeded with in the pass, which ones you are striving to have success in and the ones that will start coming up soon. Once you have succeeded them it is good to look at and to add and look at the goals you might need to start working on. A Digital setting tool is Coach me Goal Tracking (an app). This app helps you create goals for yourself, for in the future and for the present. it also helps you find some people that have the same goals that the would like to achieve and get in contact with them.

I think social support is super important! Creating a good system around you will not only impact your mood but also make your work ethic much better. People can change your whole day by just one action so surround yourself with positivity. Goal setting is one of my favorite ways to keep myself accountable. I love writing down what I need or want to do, it gives me something to look back on and check off. Both of these are great ways to improve yourself.

Get some social support- i like thsi one because i realize that it does matter who u surround ur self with. I like to surround myself with determined people that do there work. It influences me to do better and motivates me.

Keep a Goal Setting Journal- i do this in my notes app. I like to look at it when i feel unmotivated. It helps me feel more happy and motivated to do my work. And it keeps me on task

This is a really good respone because it is important to surround yourself with people who you know will benefit you and help you in the long run. Also a goal setting journal is important to motivate and keep you on track. Great study methods.

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3 Goal Achievement Exercises Pack

Goal Setting for Your Future–8th grade lessons

I had the opportunity to spend 3 days in the 8th grade classrooms.  Teachers had asked if I could talk to them about perseverance and getting ready for high school and their future.   After debating for several days about what to teach, I finally decided on setting goals, academic success skills, and how long is a lifetime. Day 1: SMART Goals I went over SMART Goals.  I used most of the same lesson plan (SMART Goals) I did with my 5th graders right before break, but tweaked it for 8th grade.

• What did we do in this activity?
• Did anything surprise you when we did this activity?
• What do you understand better about yourself having played 4 corners?
• What did you learn?
• How can you use what you learned moving forward?

Have a great idea for a classroom lesson?  Let me know.   Leave a comment below or share it with a group below!

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• Read more about: Career Planning , Featured , Lesson Plans

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