Learning Targets is a great strategy to utilize in the classroom. It helps students understand what they are learning and helps them take ownership of his/her learning. You may not be familiar with learning targets so I'll spend a little time on this blog post explaining them.
A learning target is the key information you want your students to learn. Learning targets are created from your CSOs, Next Generation Standards, or whatever buzzword your state is currently using to outline what skills and information you need to teach your students. Learning targets are often referred to as "I Can" statements. I like to write mine this way. For example, I teach Social Studies and one of my standards is that students are able to classify the causes and effects of WWII. I would turn this into a learning target and "I Can" statement by saying "I can categorize the causes and effects of WWII."
What makes learning targets so important is how you use them. Learning targets should be displayed and reviewed in the classroom. I have my white board divided into sections with one area designated to my learning targets. I put these on the board when we are learning them/using them in the classroom. (see how my white board is set up in a previous post here.)
At the beginning of each unit/new lesson, I will write the learning target on the white board under the section designated for the learning target. After the bell ringer (welcome work), we will tackle the learning target together. I like to double underline the verbs and underline the concepts using two different colored markers. As a class, we discuss what the verbs are and the key concepts we are going to learn through this lesson/activity. I started learning targets half-way through my second year of teaching in a low SES school. I wish I had started using them earlier. The learning targets made a complete difference. Students were more engaged when they discovered why we were learning something and what exact skills I wanted them to walk away with. Students looked forward to "unpacking the learning target" at the beginning of each lesson. Unpacking the learning target is when myself, or a student, guides the class and walks through the learning target by asking for the verbs and the key concepts students found in the target. This is a great springing board for further discussion.
I have used learning targets for the past 3 years and I feel that they truly make a difference. In 6th grade, we cover WWI through present day. This year, I wanted to spruce up my white board for my learning targets. I decided to do a play on words (kind of). I love Rosie the Riveter and she is in my curriculum when teaching about WWII. We all know her famous saying "We Can Do It." So I decided, wouldn't it be cute to have a cut out of her and a talking bubble saying "We Can..." for the learning targets? I blew up an image of Rosie the Riveter which I got from loc.gov and printed her out. I then used Microsoft Word to use a talking bubble shape and typed "We Can" inside the bubble. I printed both of them out and laminated them.
I then had to cut them out. Rosie was quite the trouble maker when trying to cut her out but I succeeded. I think it turned out pretty cute and I cannot wait to stick her on my white board! I'll add a picture on Friday of
the finished project. Back to the grind on Friday :)
