Goals - Intermediate High

Positive Psychology Learning Outcomes: Students will start exploring and reflecting on meaningful life goals and experience positive feelings through talking about their dreams. Language Learning Outcomes: Students will make inferences, predict what info will follow, listen for specific information, narrate in the past tense, and use organizational patterns while speaking.

Lesson Information

Positive Psychology Learning Outcomes

Students will...

  1. start exploring and reflecting on meaningful life goals.
  2. experience positive feelings through talking about their dreams.

Language Learning Outcomes

Students will...

  1. make inferences.
  2. predict what info will follow.
  3. listen for specific information.
  4. narrate in the past tense.
  5. use organizational patterns while speaking.

Materials Needed

Overview

Introduce this week's topic by pulling from their prompt responses and show objectives for the day.

Activate Background Knowledge

Review (2min): Last Monday’s special topic.

Warm up (6min): Put the word "accomplishment" on the board and discuss its meaning with the class. Then in pairs, have students respond to this prompt:  What gives you a sense of accomplishment?

  • 30 sec for prep and 1 minute to each student to share. Share with class.

Activity 1: Listening/Speaking

Explain that a sense of accomplishment in life is usually connected to achieving goals and dreams.

  • What are some goals and dreams you have at the moment?
  • Why do you have those goals and dreams?
  • Do you believe that you can achieve your goals and dreams? Why/why not?

"Are your biggest dreams possible to achieve?"

https://edtechbooks.org/-Qff

Pre-Listening 

Discuss the title of the video and ask for their opinion on it. Then, ask them what they think the video will be about, and ask them to think about their biggest dreams.

First listening 

Making inferences:

  • Pause at 0:22 – how do you think the kids are going to answer that question? Why?
  • Pause at 1:29 – why do you think the interviewer was asking the kids those questions? What do you think will happen next?
  • Play the rest of the video.

Second listening

What is the main idea of this video? - Take notes, compare notes, and then correct as a class.

Third listening

What examples are given to support the main idea? What is needed to reach our goals? - Take notes, compare notes, and then discuss as a class (focus specifically on that last question and connect the conversation with the next activity).

Activity 2: Speaking/Writing

  • Language focus: Transition words - When talking about dreams and goals, we often use transition words of cause & effect and of sequence to explain what we have done and why we have done it.

Work in pairs. Think and write notes to prepare your answer (2min); share (3min) and switch for each question:

  • Share of a time you felt like you achieved one of your dreams/goals. What was the goal/dream? What did you do to achieve it? How did it make you feel to achieve it?

Have students think about their biggest dream and goal again.

  • What are some smaller steps they need to focus on before achieving that big goal? (e.g., Bigger goal: be admitted at BYU. Smaller goal: pass the reading section of the TOEFL) . Give them 1 or 2 minutes to identify a smaller, more immediate goal.
  • What is keeping them from achieving it? Give them 1 or 2 minutes to identify a specific obstacle that is keeping them from their goal (e.g., Goal: pass the reading section of the TOEFL. Obstacle: I read too slowly).
  • What plan can you make to overcome that obstacle? Give them 1 or 2 minutes to make one specific and measurable plan they apply right now to overcome their obstacle.
  • In pairs: Share the dream that you are working on at the moment; also share a smaller step to achieve your bigger dream, share your obstacle, and share your plan to overcome it. Have students use the notes they have just created by answering the questions. Invite them to structure their answer using transition words of cause/effect and sequencing.
  • If there's time, share as a class.

Homework

Share your current biggest dream with 3 people, and ask them: 

  • What are my biggest strengths? 
  • How can my strengths help me reach my dream? 

Record their answers, and submit a recording on Canvas summarizing their responses.

Follow-Up

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: 

Have students share with a partner what the 3 people they chose told them (one person per each day).

  • Show them this quote and talk about the importance of having a plan

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  • Show them this picture and have students

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Access it online or download it at https://edtechbooks.org/PositivePsychologyintheClassroom/goals_intermediate_high.