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Lesson #G1: Goal Selection & Your Destination Poster Time: 50 minutes

OverviewThis lesson is the first in a series that teach goal management strategies. Mirroring the work of Dr. Richard Lerner at Tufts Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, we use the acronym GPS to represent the three fundamental elements of goal management. G is for Goal selection; P is for Pursuit of strategies and S is for Shifting gears “when the going gets tough”. Reaching challenging goals can be difficult for everyone, but these research-based strategies help with goal achievement. This lesson builds off of the Introduction to Thriving & GPS Growth Grids lesson (#T1), and teaches youth about specific, research-based Goal Selection techniques. These help youth “see” where they’re going and develop motivational plans to reach their chosen destinations.

Youth need to understand the shape of a good goal: Meaningful, Realistic & Stretching. If a goal is designed well, it improves the chances of achieving it. Youth will think, ‘Wow, I did it!’ Encourage youth to think of a goal balanced between the tension of being realistic and demanding. Use the analogy of a rubber band stretched just right between those two tensions. If youth choose a goal that is too stretched or too difficult, they won’t get there because the rubber band breaks. If, on the other hand, the rubber band is too big and doesn’t stretch at all, then it’s useless. We want the tension to be just right so that the goal does its job, just like a rubber band holding papers together.

In the Destination Postcard Poster activity, youth “motivate the emotional Elephant” and “direct the logical Rider on top”– an analogy & strategies from the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard. They envision life someday and connect with good feelings when their goals are achieved. They are encouraged to generate those good feelings to control the emotional elephant when temptations threaten to get in the way of goals. Youth learn how to break goals into bite-size pieces.

On the Destination Poster, youth identify 3-4 steps they’ll take in the next few months, and consider strengths and obstacles in working towards their goals. They are taught additional goal management strategies in the Home Activity, using the youth-friendly paper: Pursuing Multiple Goals. This article teachers youth about dual goal advantage—called Horizontal Coherence by scientists—a concept that means aligning a goal with another goal so they mutually support each other. (Optional reading is Rolling Along Your Road, which explores how personal strengths and other resources can propel progress towards goals.)

Last Updated: 5/5/2023 G1: Goal Selection & Your Destination Poster 1

GoalYouth will develop and list good goals as defined by research on goal management.

ObjectivesBy participating in this lesson, young people will:

1. List the qualities of good goals.2. Identify benefits of “chunking” long-term goals into smaller steps that are coherent with other goals. 3. List a long-term goal and some steps to achieving it.

Anchor Vocabulary Coherence— united, forming a whole. Having a constant relationship. (Use of word is optional in this lesson.) Pursuit—the act of following.

Materials & Media Sound system or CD Player Music: I Like To Move It by will.I.am (stage name); William James Adams (given name) Video Clip: The Dream Realized OR CBS Early Show Clip: Autistic Teen’s Hoops Dreams Come True One Blank Poster for each young person: For Destination Postcard Poster Activity Colored pencils or markers for student Poster activity 8-15 Multi-Colored Pipe cleaners/youth; rope(s) and bed sheet(s) or binders upended on desks: For Blind Sculpture Activity Teacher resource & optional youth handout: Rolling Along Your Road article Goal Selection, Pursuit of Strategies & Shifting Gears Growth Grids (Adult version for facilitator only. Youth versions will be

introduced to youth in future GPS lessons.)

Handouts What is GPS? Home Activity Handouts: Good Goals Are… Pursuing Multiple Goals Destination Postcard Worksheet Optional: Rolling Along Your Road


Lesson Outline Lesson Description

ENROLL(2 min)

Door GreetingQ-Clap

Enrollment Questionsabout dreams/goals.

Build relationships with students as they walk in the door.

Q-Clap: PLAY I Like to Move It! Get all students up and clapping. Build clapping to a crescendo and cut the music.

Ask Enrollment Questions: How many of you have dreams and goals that you want to

achieve? How many of you want to learn some more proven practices for

getting to your goals? Excellent, this session is about how to choose excellent goals so

that you’ll be more likely to meet them.EXPERIENCE (3 min)

Video: The Dream Realized (Martin Luther King & President Obama) OR CBS Early Show Clip: Autistic Teen’s Hoop Dreams

Generate emotions about ambitious dreams.

Show video. Post-video, help youth to notice the importance of placing emotion into dreams and visualizing a brighter future.Say: Did you feel the emotion there in that dream? Did you see some

strategies of the dreamer that worked? What? Notice that when you have a goal or a dream, and you visualize

that dream —put emotion in it—and pursue effective strategies, you can achieve big things.

Take a moment to think about some passionate goals that you have. It could be things you want to achieve or some challenge you have that you’d like to improve on. Hold on to those ideas for a moment.

LEARN & LABEL(5 min)

Introduce GPS FrameworkIntroduce the GPS Framework.Say: Do you remember when we talked about the importance of goal

management strategies earlier this year? We learned that there is a science to achieving goals.

We also learned how goal management skills are similar to using a GPS navigation system. Can someone tell me how? (Answer: a GPS is a satellite tracking system that helps you get to your destination. We now have a GPS system that helps you get to


YOUR destination, that being your goals.) How many of you want to learn more about what’s proven to work

in getting to your goals? We are going to have a class for each goal management skill: G, P and S. Today’s is all about G.

Hand out: What is GPS?

Introduce “G” for Goal Selection

Introduce “P” for Pursuit of Strategies

Introduce “S” for Shifting Gears

Pass out the handout: What is GPS?Say:Let’s review what G, P & S stand for. Remind youth that the first letter, “G”, stands for Goal Selection.

Ask youth to write in “Goal Selection” next to the letter “G”.Conclude by saying: The first step in getting to your goals is to choose the right ones.

Today’s session is all about the “G”, how to choose the right goals. What kind of goals do you think Dr. Martin Luther King set before the March on Washington?

Re-introduce the second letter: “P”.Say: The second letter, “P”, stands for Pursuit of Strategies.Ask: Do you know what “Pursuit” means? Write in “Pursuit of Strategies” next to the letter “P”.Say: People who achieve goals use some common strategies to get

there. In the next session we’ll discover what those are.

Re-introduce “S”.Say: The last letter in GPS Framework is “S”, which stands for Shifting

Gears. ASK youth to write in “Shifting Gears” next to the letter “S”. This one is all about learning how to shift gears, to change things

up when the going gets tough. For example, if you absolutely love basketball but don’t make it to the NBA, how can you turn your love for it into a career?


Any questions about GPS? Ok, now let’s go back and learn strategies for the “G”: Goal

Selection.LEARN & LABEL(5 min)

Good Goals

Handout: Good Goals Are…

Good Goals Are…Say: To achieve your goals you should start with choosing the right

ones. The research shows that good goals have certain qualities. Who

wants to know what they are?Pass out the handout: Good Goals Are…Say: The acronym MRS should help you remember what they are. Good goals should be M eaningful . They should be meaningful to

you, not necessarily something other people want for you. They should be something you are passionate about. What do you think Barack Obama, or “Barry” as they used to call him, was passionate about when he was a kid?

Ask students to fill in Meaningful.Say: Your goals should be Realistic. For example, if you want to be a

pro soccer player and you’re already twenty-two, and you’ve never really played soccer competitively, that might not be a realistic goal.

Ask students to fill in Realistic.Say: Your goal should also be S tretching . Like a rubber band holding

papers, your goal should be ‘not too hard’ but ‘not too easy’. You need just the right amount of tension to make it work.

Ask students to fill in Stretching.Say: Now for a bonus goal achievement strategy. Can I have three

volunteers come up to the front of the class? I would like you to line up and pretend like you are riding in a bicycle race behind each other.

Explain the strategy cyclists (and birds) use to help them achieve a hard goal, called “drafting”. (Use Rolling Along Your Road article as


an information resource.)Say: Drafting is when a tunnel of air is created behind the first rider,

which gives a lift to the riders behind him. Since it’s easier on the riders behind the leader, when they trade off riding first, the whole group gets to their destination faster.

You can also do this to achieve your goals. You can use your own strengths and those of others to help you reach your destination.

Ask students to fill in Drafting.

DEMONSTRATE(7 min)

Destination Poster Activity to develop good goals (Realistic, Stretching, Meaningful)

(1 min) Close Eyes

Destination Postcard Worksheet(3 min) Complete Pg. 1

Destination Poster(3 min)

Destination Poster Activity. Use this activity to help youth understand what a good goal looks like. Emphasize the 3 critical elements (Realistic, Meaningful, Stretching).Say: I’d like you to visualize a goal you’d like to achieve this year.

Think about the goals you were visualizing earlier and chose one that it is realistic, emotionally meaningful, and stretching for you.

Close your eyes and take 1 minute to visualize this goal. See it in your mind. What does it feel like to work for and achieve this goal? Why do you really want to achieve it?

Pass out the worksheet: Destination Postcard. Say: Now complete questions #1 & #2 of the Destination Postcard

Worksheet.Allow 3 minutes for youth to complete page 1 of the worksheet.

Pass out the blank Posters and markers. Say: Now you’re going to make your own Destination Postcard on a

Poster. It will look just like the postcard image on the Worksheet. We’ll use this poster throughout the class to help you reach your realistic, meaningful and stretching goal.

Please draw a stamp in the top right hand corner so it looks like a giant postcard. Draw a line from top to bottom, about 2/3 of the way across the poster (copying the postcard image on your worksheet). Then draw two overlapping circles on the left side, as you see on your handout, and write “goal” in the right circle, and


“2nd goal” in the left circle. Now we’ll take 1 minute for you to write that Realistic,

Meaningful & Stretching goal on your Destination Poster. USE A PENCIL for the goal information so you can make adjustments along the way, if you need.

Now, draw a picture of what achieving this goal will look and feel like on your poster.

We have time for a couple of people to share. Who would be willing to share a poster with us?

Great, now we’re going to practice another essential piece of goal management.


EXPERIENCE(15 min)

Blind Sculpture Activity. Experience the kind of thinking required to break down goals into steps.

Instructions(1 min)

Team A builds sculpture(4 min.)

Team B builds sculpture

(4 min.)

Process Experience(8 min.)

Blind Sculpture ActivityTie a rope across the room. (You can tie it to two chairs or other stable objects.) Then drape sheets over the rope to create a wall, so that youth on one side can’t see youth on the other side. Alternatively, you could use some other visual barrier, such as binders set upright on desks.Instructions: Youth sit in pairs with each partner sitting opposite each other,

with the sheet (or barrier) between the partners. Give each person identical colors and number of pipe cleaners (8-

15 per young person). On one side of the wall, each youth on Team A takes 4 minutes to

build a creative 3D object with the pipe cleaners (e.g., a house, car, etc.).

On the other side of the wall, the youth on Team B get into pairs to discuss: “What is one of the hardest goals you’ve ever achieved, and how did you achieve it?”

After building the structure, each youth on Team A tells a Team B partner how to build the sculpture without showing what he/she built.

Team B partners have 4 minutes to follow the Team A partner’s instructions on how to build the structure, only by listening to the partner’s directions.

Remove the sheet (or binder) and let the partners compare sculptures.

Say: Team A, your job will be to build a three-dimensional sculpture

out of pipe cleaners in 5 minutes. Team B, get into pairs and answer this question: What is the

hardest goal you’ve achieved and how did you achieve it?Allow 4 minutes to pass and give a one-minute warning.

Say: Now Team A, your job will be to tell your Team B partner how to

build the exact same sculpture (same colors, shape, etc) in 4 minutes! Team B, you may not look at what they’ve built. You


can only follow their instructions for guidance.Allow 4 minutes to pass and give a one-minute warning. Then remove the sheet (or binder) so that youth can see each other’s sculptures.Process of Blind Sculpture Activity: (Using the Experiential Learning Cycle)

What happened?: What did it feel like to give and receive directions? What was challenging about it? What strategies worked?

So What?: Why did these strategies work? Why are these strategies important?

Now What?: What strategy did you see here that could be used to achieve big goals?

Facilitator knows this story and tells it in his/her own way: Have you ever heard of NY Giants Coach Bill Parcels? He has

experience working toward big goals. He led his team to two Super Bowl championships with his belief that even small successes can be extremely powerful in helping people believe in themselves. He’d tell the Giants: “Today, we executed well. But here’s what I want to do tomorrow: I want to see flawless special teams work. If you accomplish that, we will be ready for the game on Sunday.”

“His strategy in training camps wasn’t to focus on the ultimate goal—getting to the Super Bowl. He established a clear set of goals within immediate reach… When players achieved them, they started to get it into their heads that they could succeed. They broke the habit of losing and got into the habit of winning.”

- Excerpted from the Harvard Business Review, On Turnarounds, 2001 and Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath, 2010.

Applying: How can you use what you learned today to give yourself guidance in managing future goals? Tell me about a real goal you have. How could you break it down into small chunks?

Departing Message: In order to achieve big goals, you’ve got to break


them down step-by-step.DEMONSTRATE(5 min.)

Add action steps to the Destination Poster by filling out the Worksheet, pg. 2, first.

Adding to the Destination PosterSay: Please pull out your Destination Poster Worksheet and turn to the

second page. On the worksheet, you’ll write down some action steps that will

lead you to your goals. You’ll also write down some challenges you might face, and the

strengths and resources you might use to work towards your goal.Allow 4 minutes for youth to complete worksheet. Now copy these same action steps, challenges, strengths &

resources on your Destination Poster.REVIEW(3 min.)

Snap Review in rhythm Ask students to snap their fingers together in rhythm and ask them the following questions in rhythm: Ok everyone, we’re going to do a snap review. Please keep

snapping and answer these questions in the rhythm. Raise your other hand to answer a question.

What was today’s session about? (Yes, the science of achieving goals.)

What three letters should we remember to achieve our goals? (GPS)

What does the “G” stand for in GPS? (Goal Selection) What does the “P” stand for? (Pursuit of Strategies) How about the “S”? (Shifting Gears) Name three characteristics of good goals. (meaningful, stretching,

realistic) What is one strategy that helps you achieve long-term goals?

(break down step-by-step)CELEBRATE(5 min.)

Assign Home Activity(Pursuing Multiple Goals)

Victory Line: Statement of goal and how it feels to achieve it.

Before we celebrate, I’d like you to know about one more secret to achieving your goals.

To find out that secret you’ll have to do the Home Activity for tonight: Read this short article called Pursuing Multiple Goals and do question #6 on the Destination Postcard Worksheet. Later you’ll add it to your poster.

Three of you will share at the beginning of the next session. HANDOUT: Pursuing Multiple Goals


Say: Let’s imagine that the day has arrived when you have all reached

that goal that you have been working on. We will be lining up in a victory line and each person will take a turn running through the line—1) announcing his/her goal and 2) stating how it feels to have achieved it.

Take 30 seconds to decide what you are going to say at that moment in the future. You can simply say ‘I did it!’ if your goal is very confidential.

EXPLAIN your goal for this year and what it feels like to have achieved it.

TURN ON Eye of the Tiger from the movie Rocky ASK students to line up in two lines: Go! RUN DOWN THE LINE first and ask students to all clap and do

high-fives.Let’s get the emotional elephant going!

HomeworkRead Pursuing Multiple Goals handout and do question #6 on the Destination Postcard Worksheet. Optional additional reading homework: Rolling Along Your Road youth article.1


1Developed by Thrive Foundation for Youth. Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommerial-Share Alike 3.0. U.S. License. 2010. This document can be shared and adapted by users for educational, non-commercial purposes.

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