Getting Started Lesson: Full Group (discussion by teacher with student participation) 1.   Explain to students that planning is important. Just as you can't take a cross-country trip without a roadmap or construct a building without a blueprint, you can't achieve your goals without a plan. 2.   Imagine if Ann and Liv were going to go on their trip without a plan. Ask students what kinds of things might happen if Ann and Liv didn't have a plan? Possible answers: - Get lost - Run out of food - Freeze to death - Have no water - Loss of communication 3.   Explain to students that having a plan helps determine how you're going to spend your time. Explain that you have a plan for each class period that dictates how you spend that time. The plan is focused on your goal: what it is you want the students to learn. 4.   Explain to students that they already know how to plan: thinking about what they're going to wear to school before they go to bed at night, going to the bathroom before they leave the house, etc. 5.   Introduce students to the concept of the Goal Ladder. Explain to students that completing a Goal Ladder is nothing more than planning. a. The process begins by breaking down a dream or goal into several smaller bite-size pieces (short-term goals).		Grade Levels: K-6 (with alternative activities for lower-grade students) Time: 2-3 class periods Materials: Handouts --Goal Ladder Objectives: Students will: * Understand the importance of planning. * Break down a long-term goal into several short-term goals. * Develop a Goal Ladder (action plan) for one of their own goals. Liv planning expedition details on her laptop computer.
b. Once you have a list of these pieces, you put them in order, beginning with the thing you need to do first.     c. Then, you assign a deadline to each step.     d. Write them on your Goal Ladder.
Individual Exercise
1.   Pass out the handout "Short-term and Long-term Goals." Ask students to pick a long-term goal and break it into smaller short-term goals.   a. Option for younger students: Work as a class to complete a Goal Ladder for a class goal.
Additional Exercise:
1.   Upper-grade students: Have students select a "goal buddy" and commit to working together to help one another achieve their goals.
Resources:
* At www.franklincovey.com, you'll find an entire section devoted to educators. The site also includes tips for effective planning, as well as helpful tools.
Teachers will assess:
*   Student's ability to develop a plan. *   Student's understanding of how a long-term goal can be broken into several more manageable short-term goals. *   Student's ability to set appropriate deadlines.