Goal-Setting for Reading

Two years ago I attended a Daily 5 Workshop. Because I was set to go on maternity leave two months later, I could not fully implement the ideas presented in the workshop. However, I did modify one of the goal-setting ideas into this “Reading Goals” bulletin board in our classroom.

First, we discussed as a class some things that good readers do. Of course, I already had a list made up in my head, but I always try to involve students so that they think that they came up with the ideas! This list included things such as “Reread when I don’t understand,” “Chunk words that are hard to read” and “Slow down when I read.” We talked extensively about each goal and about how it could help a student become a better reader.

The second step was to have students fill out a goal-setting sheet. They chose one goal, based on what they thought they needed to work on and developed steps for how they would work towards and achieve the goal. Each student then had a goal conference with me to ensure that the goal was appropriate for their needs.

I then created posters for each goal and put them on the bulletin board. Students then took a sticky note, wrote their name on it and stuck it to the goal that they would work on for the week.

I really liked this process because it made goal-setting a very visual process. Additionally, we could refer back to the goal-setting bulletin board frequently throughout the week to reflect on whether or not students were actively working towards the goal. Because the sticky notes are easily transferrable, if a student decided that the goal was not the right one for the week, it could be easily changed.