Behavioral Tips from Randy Sprick

Task 1: Long-Range Classroom Goals

Without a destination in mind, you may arrive at a place you don't want to be.

This somewhat silly statement is one reason why it is so important to determine, before school begins, what you hope to accomplish with your students by the end of the school year. We recommend coming up with four to seven major goals that summarize why being in your classroom will be a worthwhile experience for your students.

Long-range goals are useful in many ways:

• Keeping your long-range goals in mind will help you plan daily lessons throughout the year that will help students achieve those goals.
• Long-range goals help you decide what you want to emphasize with students.
• Sharing your goals with your students and their families at the beginning of the year lets them know where you hope to guide students.
• Long-range goals help you "keep your eyes on the prize" by reinforcing periodic self-evaluation (i.e., are your daily lessons aiding your efforts to help students reach the long-range goals you've set?).

To develop long-range goals, consider the following:

• What do you want students to know and be able to do at the end of the year that they may not know or be able to do now? What knowledge, processes, attitudes, behaviors, or traits do you hope to instill in your students? What do you want students to remember about their year with you?
• Find out the building, district, and/or state goals for your students in the grade level or subject you teach. Your goals should reflect these.
• Talk to other teachers at your grade level about the goals they have for their students. Ask teachers at the next grade level what they feel students coming to them will need to be successful.

— Excerpt from CHAMPS: A Proactive and Positive Approach to Classroom Management