In Language Arts we started the year with a unit on adolescent brain development and goal setting. Students were tasked with learning about the parts of the brain, what they control, and how they develop in young people. Next, students had to brainstorm personal goals: long term, short term, academic, social, and intra-/interpersonal. To tie it all together, students then created a visual that highlighted three of their goals and explanations of how they connect to adolescent brain development. Even if students don’t necessarily follow through on the goals they set, hopefully we’re at least planting the seed that they should view themselves as works in progress who are always working on progressing.
