Spotlight On: Motivating Readers with Goal Setting

Several of our teams chose goal setting as a grade level priority for the 2014-2015 school year. AVID training provided a framework for students to set SMART goals for academic and extracurricular goals. To piggyback the previous post on Independent Reading, I thought I would summarize and review an article in the latest issue of The Reading Teacher that focused on motivating readers through setting and attaining personal reading goals. I was pretty excited because the teacher they work with in the article is from my hometown…I didn't know her, which was shocking due to the fact that I come from a tiny Indiana town. But I digress.

Let’s quickly review the benefits that research has revealed about setting goals:

• ·      Goals enhance motivation
• ·         Goals improve performance
• ·         Goals have an energizing result and have an effect on persistence

Of course, goals must have guidelines to be most effective. While AVID goals are SMART (specific, measurable, action-oriented, reasonable and timely), the reading goals in the article focused on specificity, proximity, and difficulty. Keeping these three attributes in mind is important when beginning to set goals with students, adding in measurable and action-oriented as you and your students become more comfortable with the process.

Kid friendly definitions of goal setting attributes (Cabral-Marquez, 215)

Guiding Students in Setting Goals

Since goal setting has been found to be most effective when some level of autonomy exists, Independent Reading is the perfect place to put reading goals in action as it provides a time for students to have a choice in what they read. Not surprisingly, students must be taught how to set goals. Below you will find an example of a procedure for teaching goal setting to students (Cabral-Marquez, 2015).

1. Ask students if they have a goal they would like to achieve.
2. If necessary, provide some examples of personal goals (i.e. rearrange bookshelves in the classroom, be more physically active, obtain a degree)
3. Explain that some goals are achieved in a short time while others take longer. Rearranging the classroom bookshelves can take a few hours, getting in shape for a race will take a few months, and obtaining a college degree takes a few years.
4. Ask students how long they think their goal will take to attain.
5. Explain that some goals can be more difficult than others. Organizing the bookshelf is easy, running a race is challenging, but obtainable...though taking more steps than a certain 2nd grade teacher in a day is nearly impossible.
6. Ask students to evaluate the difficulty of their goals.
7. Explain that goals can be general or specific. A general goal would be to get in good physical shape, while a more specific goal would be to walk 10,000 steps a day.
8. Ask students to think of one personal reading goal and the characteristics described. Goals should be specific, challenging but achievable, and attainable in a maximum of two weeks.
9. After allowing time for students to think of a personal reading goal, ask some to share.
10. Have students set four personal reading goals that meet the characteristics discussed. 
11. Conclude by having students share their goals and allowing the rest of the class to provide feedback on how the goals meet the criteria for specificity, proximity, and difficulty.

Here are some samples of reading goals for students to set: 

Cabral-Marquez 2015

Helping Students Meet Their Goals

In order to keep students on track to meet their goals, it is essential to have regular meetings to check up on their progress.  Think about starting with an initial conference to ensure the student's goals are specific, timely and attainable. Talk with students about the goal they would like to work on first, and assist them in securing the resources they will need to be successful.

Besides the initial conference, meet with students on a regular (every two weeks or so) basis to review, revise (if necessary), update, and track progress of the goals. These meetings should be brief. The intention is help students maintain focus, ensure the goal is a good fit, and assist with materials. 

I know- TIME! It would be ideal if these conferences were held one on one, but I wouldn't be shy about meeting with small groups. If you announce to everyone you know that you are going to run a marathon, you better do it. Same with reading goals- making them somewhat public has self-reinforcing effects.

How have you been successful with keeping your students motivated to read? Any success stories or strategies?

Source: Cabral-Marquez, C. (2015) "Motivating Readers: Helping Students Set and Attain Personal Reading Goals" The Reading Teacher (68:6). Pages 464-472.