Teach Pre-K Students How to Set Goals to Improve Their Minds

A story about learning new things and setting up new goals to improve opens this SEL lesson. It is titled "Learning and Growing," and it features the pre-kindergartners’ star friends, StarBoy and StarGirl. It comes with the “StarBoy” and “StarGirl” visual aids, immersing the students better in the story's moral.

In the narrative, StarBoy and StarGirl set a goal to improve themselves and their talents. As a reward, they promise to show their improvements through another talent show. They then proceed to practice intellectual positive actions, starting with learning new things.

After storytime, a class discussion about the "For Our Minds" picture in the “Goals” poster follows. The teacher explains to the class how this picture portrays the positive action of improving the mind by learning how to write. The students then go over each intellectual positive action they have learned in Unit 2, allowing them to reflect on how they can improve their minds. Examples of realistic and attainable goals for intellectual self-improvement are provided during the discussion.

To help pre-kindergartners achieve their goals, this lesson engages them in an SEL activity that encourages them to choose an intellectual positive action they want to keep practicing. Then, they do it together in class. The teacher coaches them with the tools they can use to improve themselves, such as self-belief, courage, creative problem-solving, and persistence.

After accomplishing their intellectual goal for the day, students cheer for themselves. They then feel the internal satisfaction of achieving their goals.

Feeling happy about themselves, pre-kindergartners promise to continue setting and achieving their goals for their intellectual self-improvement. To show their commitment, they mark their Positive Behavior Chart at the end of the lesson while the Positive Action song, "Learning to Learn," plays.

Setting goals for intellectual self-improvement can help pre-kindergartners imagine the rewards they want to achieve, motivating them to advance themselves continually. It also develops determination, enabling them to focus more effectively on the actions they must take to improve. With increased focus, they become better self-managers who use their time, energy, and other resources wisely for greater productivity.

To ensure pre-kindergartners' success in intellectual self-improvement, this lesson provides an effective learning experience that helps them increase their mental focus and intrinsic motivation. By teaching this lesson, schools and educators set their early learners up for positive development and academic success.