Lesson: Whole Advisory Goal Setting

Understandings:

- The purpose of advisory is to provide a group in which peers and teacher can provide each student strong relationships they can depend upon for academic and social support.

- Well-framed goals are powerful tools for designing and influencing the course of your life.

- Goals are tools for helping you develop the habits you wish you had.

- Group goals are a means for building strong community bonds and self-esteem around common purpose.

Objective:

- The advisory will develop a "full value" contract that specifies values and norms that we are willing to hold each other to for the course of our time together.

Activities:

Part I: Identifying the Group's Central Committments

1) Open with a discussion eliciting what the students think should be the BIG purpose of advisory. Have a student manage a speakers' list and and another student take notes on chart paper to create a list of student contributions under the heading "What should our advisory be for? (student perspective)"

2) Prepare ahead of time a chart paper that lists the teacher objectives for advisory. Under the heading "What should our advisory be for? (teacher perspective)" include teacher's critical goals. These might include:

• To build communication skills and habits that allow each member to find success in school and beyond.
• The create a network of academic and emotional support between advisory members in which no one is excluded.
  

3) Present your students with the question: "Based on our lists, what do we value in common?" On a new piece of chart paper, ask students to generate a list of values under the heading "Our Common Values." For each value elicited, make sure the group has reached consensus to include this as a CORE value that the group is willing to commit itself to. Model this consensus-building process at least once before turning it over to a student facilitator.

4) On another sheet of chart paper, have the group develop two lists: "Habits and norms that support our values:" and "Behaviors that violate our values:" Again, explain to the group that they must be willing to commit themselves to these norms.

Part II: Sanctifying the Pact

Give students a bunch of arts and crafts materials and challenge them, as a group, to develop a flag or symbolic peice of art that embodies their values and norms. You might provide a time limit of 20 minutes or so, to focus the group. All members must sign the work, signifying their commitment to it's spirit.

Maintain the symbol in a space where the group frequently meets, and use it as a reference point when the group needs to revisit its norms, or when individuals need to be reminded of their commitment to them.