💛 SELGrade 3Lesson 4
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Set Short and Long-Term Goals

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Learning Objectives

  • 1Explain the difference between short-term and long-term goals
  • 2Sequence the five steps for reaching any goal
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Mini Lesson

A goal is something you decide you want to achieve. Goals help you focus your effort, track your progress, and feel proud when you succeed. There are two main types: short-term goals (things you want to do soon) and long-term goals (things that take weeks, months, or even years to reach).

Short-term goals

  • Can be reached in a day, a week, or a few weeks.
  • Examples: finish my practice tonight, learn my times tables by Friday, practice spelling words every day this week.
  • Short-term goals are often steps toward a bigger long-term goal.

Long-term goals

  • Take much longer — months or even years — and need consistent effort.
  • Examples: become a strong reader by the end of the year, learn to play a song on the piano, run a 5K race.
  • Long-term goals feel big, but breaking them into small steps makes them reachable.

The five-step goal plan

  • 1. Identify — decide exactly what you want to achieve.
  • 2. Plan — break the goal into small, clear steps.
  • 3. Take steps — do the work, one step at a time.
  • 4. Review — check your progress and adjust if needed.
  • 5. Celebrate — recognize your effort and success.
Short-term versus long-term goalsTwo columns comparing short-term goals (days to weeks) with long-term goals (months to years), each with two example goals.Two Types of GoalsShort-TermGoalDays to weekse.g. Finish mypractice tonighte.g. Learn timestables by FridayStepping stonesLong-TermGoalMonths to yearse.g. Become astrong readere.g. Learn to playa song on pianoBuilt from steps
Two columns comparing short-term goals (days to weeks) with long-term goals (months to years).
Five-step goal plan shown as a staircaseA staircase rising from left to right with five steps labeled: 1 Identify, 2 Plan, 3 Take steps, 4 Review, 5 Celebrate.The 5-Step Goal Plan1Identify2Plan3Take steps4Review5Celebrate
A rising staircase showing the five goal-setting steps — Identify, Plan, Take steps, Review, Celebrate.
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Self-check: Can you name one short-term goal and one long-term goal of your own?

Vocabulary
Goal
Something you decide you want to achievee.g. My goal is to read every night.
Short-term goal
A goal you can reach in a day, a week, or a few weekse.g. Finishing my project this week is a short-term goal.
Long-term goal
A goal that takes months or years and needs steady efforte.g. Becoming a strong reader is a long-term goal.
Plan
A list of small steps that lead toward a goale.g. My plan has three steps for this week.
Progress
How far you have moved toward reaching a goale.g. I tracked my progress on a chart.
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