CI Classroom Targets

So many teachers stress about writing the targets or standards on the board.

They want to be detailed and thorough for their supervisor.

But in doing so, they leave out the student which is the whole point.

So keep it SIMPLE to make this daily task a non-event.

When writing classroom targets, keep it SIMPLE!

When we write our targets or standards, we try to include way too much and to be way too specific.

Keep it SIMPLE.

Remember, you're writing these for children.

If you're too specific, you'll have to write those detailed targets on the board each and every day and that's way too much work with very little upside.

You want them to be kid-friendly while still being descriptive.

Remember why you're writing these on the board.

They are for your students, not for your supervisor.

They should be easy to read and understand with a quick glance.

They should be written so any student can understand them and put them in their own words.

They should also tell students what they should be able to DO at the end of the lesson.

You also want them generic enough to cover variety of content.

The problem with making them too specific is they can't be reused.

They will only apply to a very specific lesson or part of a lesson and you'll have to remember these and write them down as they apply.

Even if you make a list, the list will become too long to be useful.

And generally, if they're too specific, they are less kid-friendly and may be difficult for students to understand.

Base them off ACTFL standards.

If you're in the US, most of us have to use a variation of the ACTFL standards, so why not use those to help you write your clear and simple targets?

Using these standards or your local standards will make the job of coming up with the targets for your classroom simple and easy.

But remember, generally, the way the standards are written for teachers, they are NOT kid-friendly and they will require some tweaking to make them so.

Here are My Targets

• I can engage in conversations.
• I can understand & discuss the story.
• I can understand & discuss the reading.
• I can understand & discuss the picture.
• I can understand & discuss the novel.
• I can understand & discuss the video.
• I can write.
• I can speak.
• I can understand & discuss culture.

As you can see they are generic enough to apply to a multitude of lessons, though still specific enough to outline what students should be able to DO at the end of the lesson.

They are clear and simple to understand for all students and they are written in positive, "I can" statements.

To make my job simpler, I printed these out and laminated them, putting square magnets on each of the four corners.

I have the stack of them at the front of my room and at the end of each day, I find the appropriate target for the next day's lesson and post it on the board next to the class label (Spanish 1, Spanish 2, or Spanish 3 for me).

It's always posted in the same spot so kids and admin can easily find it and because they are laminated and work for more than one lesson, it saves me a ton of time as I don't have to write them on the board each day.

What targets do you use? I'd love to know in the comments below!

And since you're here, why not download our FREE Target Guide below?