By: Lisa Johnson

Earlier this month, I  posted a blog on tools for adults to “support goal-setting and desired outcomes by providing avenues to produce visible, publicized goals that allow for accountability and a support system to share your progress.”

While goal-setting is obviously a integral part of an adult’s life, teaching and modeling proper and appropriate goal-setting skills is also a formative and valuable part of successful character-building for children and students of all ages.

Here are a few ways students can set and achieve their goals (e.g. academic, personal, behavioral, or extracurricular) in 2012:

• Create a Goal Behavior Chart with Goal for It citing specific behaviors that need improvement. (Also check out Printable Charts for Kids: free but must login with Facebook or create an account.)

Behavior Goal Chart created with Goal for it (free account requires a login)

• Create a Reading List with Shelfari or Reading Rewards and even publish your own book reviews using Scholastic or Edmodo. (OR even consider using an app like K-12 Timed Reading Practice Lite to improve your reading speed or fluency)

Tools like Scholastic provide a forum for your sharing your reading goals & progress

• Create a Vision Board or Goal Road Map: take a picture of something that represents one or all of the goals that you would like to achieve (e.g. get an A in Math, Read 12 Chapter Books, Make the Volleyball or Cheerleading team, or Build a Community Garden) and then outline the steps needed to reach that goal. (Also Check out Goal-Reasons Graphic Organizer.)

My Personal Goal Road Map created with Popplet Lite App (also a web app)

• Motivate with To Me By Me: Write reminders to yourself of things you would like to achieve or send yourself  little motivations (great for older children – or parents could compose the notes to send to their little ones).

Motivational Letter Created with To Me By Me app

• Track your Progress using PicCal Lite: record a goal or mini-goal pictorially as you achieve them. Take a picture of a clean room at the end of the week, a picture of an A on a Math assignment, or a snapshot of each book or chapter that you read each day/week/month.

Track Your Progress Pictorially with PicCal Lite App

By: Lisa Johnson

Earlier this week I received two mini-lesson ideas (the Best and Worst for 2011 and 2012 New Year’s Resolutions) for the end of the year from Edmodo. Rapidly approaching 2012, I thought it would be a good idea to focus on tools that can support goal-setting and desired outcomes by providing avenues to produce visible, publicized goals that allow for accountability and a support system to share your progress.

Evernote (a.k.a. My New Best Friend): The program can run on your computer and mobile devices and syncs your notes. Due to the fact that I use this tool for both personal and professional todo lists, it is daily part of my routine to view my existing notes and add additional ones. I have chosen to use this tool as a place to house my personal and professional goals for 2012. Consider inserting images to represent your goals, organizing goals in a checklist format so they can be checked off as you complete them, and adding a sound file (which can be recorded within Evernote) as further explanation for each goal. (Pinterest and Scoop.it are also great tools to house images, sites, and resources that support or symbolize your goals.)

My 2012 Goals via Evernote)

PhoGo: Write down your goal, take a picture, and share with friends on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+. Also check out the Daily BHAG (Big Hairy And Audacious Goals) for more PhoGo-like examples. Helps you keep accountability and have a support system to hold you accountable. Consider changing your profile to pic to your PhoGo!

My 2012 PhoGo (filtered with BeFunky app)

43 Things: List your goals, set up a reminder for your list, share your list with friends and family (note the FB plugin), and get the support from people with similar goals.

My 2012 Goals via 43Things

FutureMe.org: Send an email to your future self. Include all of your goals and motivations for those goals, set a delivery date, upload an image, and send to your future self. (Also check out the app To Me By Me which allows you to send letters to your future self as well).

My 2012 Goals via FutureMe

Inspired to set your own goals for 2012, check out these resources:

• “The Top 10 Ways I Goal Set“: more ideas to keep your goals fresh, handy, and fun
• “Keep Your Goals in Front of You”: more ideas for keeping your goals visible
• “15 Fantastic Apps to Track & Manage Your Goals”
• “Best Apps for Setting Goals & Keeping Resolutions“
• “11 Free Goal-Setting Software and Tools you can use“

Stay tuned for Part 2 of “Give the Gift of Goal-Setting” which will highlight tools and activities to support goal-setting with children.