Grades 3–5
Make It a SMART Goal
Match the five letters of a SMART goal to their meanings, find the SMART goals and write your own.
SEL worksheet · Goal setting
Goal or Wish?
Sort ten sentences into goals (a plan you can act on) and wishes, then turn a wish into a goal.
- Grade level
- Grades 2–4
- Time
- About 15 minutes
- Topic
- Goal setting
- Answer key
- Yes, page 2 of the PDF
- Kids practice
- Goal setting, Planning, Tracking progress, Self-reflection
What kids do
Printed on the sheet:
- A wish is something you hope for. A goal is something you plan to do: it says what you will do and when, so you can make it happen.
- Circle Goal or Wish.
- I will read for 20 minutes every night this month.
- I want to be good at reading.
- I hope I win the lottery.
- I will practice my 7 times table for 10 minutes each day this week.
- I will finish my science project by Friday.
- I wish it would snow tomorrow.
Teacher tip
Ask what turns a wish into a goal: a plan and a first step.
How to use it
- Share one of your own goals and the steps you are taking.
- Keep the first goals small enough to reach in a week.
- Use it during morning meeting or right after recess, when the topic is fresh.
Watch for
Goals that are too big or too vague. Help kids make them specific.
Talk about it
- What is the first small step?
- Have you ever been in a moment like this? What happened?
Take it further
Make a class goal, like reading 1,000 minutes, and track it on a big chart.
US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.
More goal setting worksheets
Grades 2–5
My Goal Staircase
Write your goal at the top of the stairs and four small steps to climb there, with a helper and a finish date.
Grades 3–5
If–Then Plans
Write an if-then plan for four things that could get in the way of a goal, then make two of your own.
Grades 2–5
Weekly Goal Tracker
Pick one goal for the week, check off each day you work on it and look back on Friday.
Free for teachers
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