Oh the Places You'll Goal!

One of my favorite topics to teach students is about long-term goals. I love hearing what students want to be when they grow up. It is such a sweet picture of their personality and interests. Occasionally I will even hear students who want to grow up to be a Peace Teacher!

This year, I began my lesson with the book Someday by Eileen Spinelli, which is a sweet and lovely book about a girl who alternately daydreams about her future and lives in the present, doing things that are similar to her dreams. The students have loved this book in every class where I have read it. The imagery is just lovely as the author describes the character's daydreams.

I also used the video version of the Dr. Seuss book Oh the Places You'll Go!

With each of these visuals, the students could see or hear something focused on the future -- a good future worth dreaming about and working toward.

After reading the story and watching the video, I have students tell me what they want to be when they grow up. Students aren't forced to express themselves, but most choose to share. We then talk about how they are already on their way to their future dreams, just like the boy in the Seuss story. We have to practice perseverance to reach our dreams and we have to make wise choices. One choice, of course, is to do our best in school. Another choice, one which is heavily emphasized in my program, is to protect our brain and body from harm caused by substance abuse. Achieving our dreams becomes nearly impossible if we are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

I ended with a coloring page from: http://www.seussville.com/parents/printables/drawing-the-places-you-ll-go