Summary: In section 1, students reflect on their own goal setting and comment on a music video featuring two teens working towards goals. In section 2, students focus on long term goals, thinking about their own 5 and 10 year goals and watching videos on goal setting. In section 3, students briefly look at the idea of agency and how goal setting helps build agency. In section 4, students learn about SMARTER goals, which are SMART goals with evaluation and rewards. Finally, in section 5, the extension section, students either create a SMARTER goal for their own life or a written/visual vision board for their future.

Teaching notes: Students often get very stuck on the five or ten years goals and then on how to break them down. You can often use first jobs, colleges, or career and technical programs as hooks to get them thinking about what they want to do. If they get too stuck on careers, you can also redirect them to life questions like whether they want to own a home, have kids, and so on.

Approximate length: 50-70 minutes (depends on how well students know how to take screenshots, organize emails, organize Drive, and create bookmarks/shortcuts)

About the curriculum: School success relies on key skills that students are rarely taught. The goal of this curriculum is to level the playing field and to directly teach the executive functioning, self-regulation, and life skills that all students need to succeed in school. Through 20 lessons across four units, this year long curriculum will help students build a foundation for success in school and life– and leave them with an individualized success workbook at the end of the program.