Today I’m super excited to walk you through one of my favourite products – my Writing Goals! I’m going to show you how I personally use them with my students. I’ll also show you some real-life examples of other teachers who are finding this a valuable resource in their classrooms too :)

My Writing Goals Posters and Goal Slips are resources that I am sooo passionate. Not only do they give students a great indication of how they’re progressing, but they also give you, as a teacher, DAILY feedback that you are doing what you set out to do. And that is – help your students learn!!

When to introduce Writing Goals

I decided to introduce my individual Writing Goals to my Grade 1 students at the beginning of Term 2. It’s usually a good time to introduce more in-depth goal-setting because students are feeling more settled. They’re also ready to move into some real nitty gritty WRITING!

Pictured below is my Writing Goals display. I usually display only a few at a time so as to not overwhelm students. And I also have limited wall space!! I placed my students’ names next to their corresponding writing goal.

The display is best printed so it’s large. This was students can clearly see it from their seats and know what they need to be focusing on. I used my pencil name tags for this display (find the free template here).

Which goals should I pick?

For now, I have chosen the student’s goals for them, based on their current writing abilities and writing behaviours. Once I see students achieving their goals, I will open it up to them to begin deciding what they would like to work on… with a little guidance from myself, of course!

I do believe it’s good for the children to have some ownership over their own learning, but this will come once they are aware of what ‘good writers do’. Not all children will move as frequently as others. Some might be working on the same goal for a while. Whilst others will move around quite quickly once I see they are consistently achieving their goal.

Once you get in the rhythm of using the Writing Goal posters, it’s a great way for the students to know exactly which goal they’re working towards, and everyone is aware of it at all times. Plus – you won’t get those dreaded blank looks when you ask a student what their writing goal is! Lol!

You’ll find my Writing Goals Poster Pack here. In this pack there are 34 various writing goals that will cater for all writing abilities in a Foundation/Kindergarten class all the way up to Year 3/4. Just choose the ones that apply to your students.

In conjunction with these Writing Goal posters, I use smaller Writing Goal Slips which I staple into my students’ writing books.

There is nothing that makes your students feel stronger as learners than ticking off their Goal Slip once they’ve achieved it, and then receiving their next one!

These Goal Slips are one of my most popular products for that very reason!! Seeing your children advance through their goals throughout the year… it really is the best feeling ever. And it strengthens your self-confidence that you are nailing your teaching!

Where do Writing Goal Slips go?

Your student goal slips can be stapled into individual’s books or can be stuck onto their Learning Goals mat, which can be put straight onto the student’s desk so their goals are always in plain sight!

You can even have a dedicated Goals Book for students to record all their goals. This is such a great way for students to have all their writing goals in one place, plus it’s a nice thing for them to share at Parent-Teacher Interviews, or even take home to show their parents.

Bundle and Save!

My Writing Goals Bundle pack includes all of these resources – the Goals Posters, Goal Slips and Writing Goals booklet. Check it out here! >>

Want to implement goals into other areas? If you’re wanting to do goal-setting in all areas of your classroom, the Goals Mega Bundle is made for you! Find it here >>

Writing Goals inspiration from the MJLL community

Here are some of the ways my Goal-Setting resources have been used in various classrooms of the Miss Jacobs’ Little Learners community…

Happy goal-setting, everyone!