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How Do I Map My Future?

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kanysha milton

Tier 1
For Schools

Lesson Plan

Future Mapping Aspirational Goals

Students will visualize their aspirations and understand goal setting as a roadmap for their lives, empowering them to take ownership of their future.

Empowering students to set and pursue their own goals fosters a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, and motivation, which are critical for academic success and personal well-being.

Audience

6th Grade Class

Time

50 minutes

Approach

Through guided visualization and interactive activities, students will create a personal future map.

Materials

Whiteboard or projector, Your Future Navigator Slide Deck, Markers or pens, Large paper or poster boards for each student, Art supplies (colored pencils, markers, crayons, magazines for cutting images), My Life's Journey Map Activity, and Dream Big Reflection Prompts Journal

Prep

Gather Materials & Review Content

20 minutes

  • Review the Future Mapping Aspirational Goals Lesson Plan and all supporting materials, including the Your Future Navigator Slide Deck, My Life's Journey Map Activity, and Dream Big Reflection Prompts Journal.
  • Gather large paper or poster boards, markers/pens, and various art supplies (colored pencils, markers, crayons, old magazines for cutting images).
  • Ensure the whiteboard or projector is ready for the slide deck presentation.

Step 1

Introduction: What's Your Map?

5 minutes

  • Begin by asking students: "If your life were a journey, what would your map look like?" (Display Slide 2 of Your Future Navigator Slide Deck).
  • Introduce the concept of goal setting as creating a personal roadmap for their future.
  • Briefly explain that today's lesson is about dreaming big and mapping out their aspirations. (Refer to Slide 3 of Your Future Navigator Slide Deck).

Step 2

Guided Visualization: Dream Big!

10 minutes

  • Lead students through a short guided visualization exercise. Ask them to close their eyes (if comfortable) and imagine their future selves (10-15 years from now).
  • Prompt them with questions: "What are you doing? Where are you living? What makes you happy? What kind of person are you?" (Refer to Slide 4 of Your Future Navigator Slide Deck).
  • After a few minutes, have students briefly share one thing they imagined with a partner.

Step 3

Introducing Goal Setting as a Navigator

10 minutes

  • Use Slide 5 of Your Future Navigator Slide Deck to explain that goals are like the destinations on their map.
  • Introduce the idea of SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) in a simplified, age-appropriate way. Focus on S (Specific - what exactly?) and M (Measurable - how will I know I got there?). (Refer to Slide 6 of Your Future Navigator Slide Deck).
  • Give a simple example: Instead of "I want to be good at sports," say "I want to practice basketball for 30 minutes every day to improve my dribbling."

Step 4

Activity: My Life's Journey Map

20 minutes

  • Distribute large paper/poster boards and the My Life's Journey Map Activity handout.
  • Explain the activity: Students will create a visual

Step 5

Independent Reflection: Dream Big Journal

5 minutes

  • Hand out the Dream Big Reflection Prompts Journal.
  • Ask students to choose one prompt to start their reflection.
  • Explain that this journal is a personal space for them to continue thinking about their goals and aspirations after class.
  • Briefly discuss the importance of reflecting on their journey.
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Slide Deck

How Do I Map My Future?

Creating Your Personal Roadmap to Success!

Welcome students and introduce the engaging title of the lesson. Emphasize that this lesson is about their future and how they can actively shape it.

Your Life, Your Journey...

If your life were a journey, what would your map look like?

This slide serves as the initial hook mentioned in the lesson plan. Ask the question and encourage students to think broadly about their lives as a journey. Allow a moment for initial thoughts before moving on.

Goal Setting: Your Personal GPS!

Goals are like destinations on your map.
They help you decide where you want to go and how to get there.

Introduce the concept of goal setting as a tool for navigation. Explain that just like a GPS helps us get to a destination, goals help us navigate our lives.

Dream Big: Imagine Your Future Self

Close your eyes (if comfortable) and imagine yourself 10-15 years from now.

  • What are you doing?
  • Where are you living?
  • What makes you happy?
  • What kind of person are you?

Lead the guided visualization as outlined in the lesson plan. Provide prompts for students to imagine their future selves. Emphasize it's a safe space to dream without limits.

From Dreams to Destinations

Your big dreams are amazing!
Now, how do we turn those dreams into actual destinations on your map?

Transition from visualization to tangible goals. Reinforce that these dreams can become reality with a plan. Explain that goals are the specific stops on their journey map.

Making Your Map Markers: SMART Goals (Part 1)

Let's make our goals 'SMART'!

Specific: What exactly do you want to achieve?

Measurable: How will you know when you've reached it?

Example: Instead of "I want to be good at soccer," try "I will practice shooting 30 minutes every day to improve my accuracy."

Introduce a simplified version of SMART goals, focusing on 'Specific' and 'Measurable' for this age group. Give clear, relatable examples to distinguish between vague desires and concrete goals.

Your Mission: My Life's Journey Map

Now it's YOUR turn to create your own journey map!

Use the materials provided to draw, write, and illustrate your dreams and the goals that will help you get there.

Think about: education, career, family, hobbies, personal growth!

Introduce the activity. Explain that students will create their own visual journey maps. Encourage creativity and personal expression.

Every Step Counts!

Remember, your life is a journey, and every step you take brings you closer to your destinations.

What small steps can you take today or this week towards one of your goals?

Encourage students to think about how their daily actions contribute to their larger goals. This slide links the activity to the idea of a continuous journey.

Reflect and Recharge: Your Dream Big Journal

The journey continues!

Use your journal to keep exploring your dreams, setting new goals, and celebrating your progress.

It's your personal space to think, plan, and grow.

Introduce the journal reflection as a way to continue their thinking beyond the class. Emphasize that reflection is a powerful tool for personal growth.

You Are The Navigator!

You have the power to draw your own map and navigate your own amazing future!

Keep dreaming big and setting those goals!

Conclude the lesson by reiterating the main takeaway: students have the power to map out their own futures. Encourage them to keep dreaming and planning.

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Activity

My Life's Journey Map

Objective: To visualize your aspirations and map out the goals that will help you achieve them.

Materials: Large paper/poster board, markers, colored pencils, crayons, magazines (for cutting images), glue (optional).

Instructions:

  1. Title Your Map: At the top of your large paper, write a creative title for your life's journey map! Something like "[Your Name]
    T's Adventure Ahead" or "The Journey to My Amazing Future."

  2. Start Point - YOU! Draw or write about yourself in the center or at one end of your map. This is where your journey begins right now.

  3. Dream Destinations: Think about the future you imagined during our visualization. What are your big dreams and aspirations for 10-15 years from now? These are your "Dream Destinations."

    • Examples: What kind of career do you see yourself in? Where do you want to live? What kind of person do you want to be? What hobbies do you want to pursue? Do you want to learn a new skill?

  4. Illustrate Your Dreams: Use drawings, words, or cut-out pictures from magazines to represent your Dream Destinations on your map. Make them colorful and exciting!

  5. Pathways and Goals: Now, think about the "roads" or "pathways" that will lead you to these destinations. These pathways are your goals.

    • For each Dream Destination, brainstorm at least two to three specific, measurable steps (goals) you can take to get there. Remember our SMART goals?
    • Write these goals along the pathways leading to your destinations. You can draw different types of roads (bumpy, smooth, winding) to represent challenges or easy successes.

  6. Key Milestones: Are there any important "landmarks" or "milestones" you'll pass along the way? These could be smaller achievements or important events that contribute to your larger goals (e.g., graduating middle school, learning to code, joining a club).

  7. Add Details: Make your map vibrant and personal! Add elements like:

    • Challenges: Draw mountains or storms to represent obstacles you might face and how you might overcome them.
    • Support System: Include
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Journal

Dream Big Reflection Prompts: My Future Journey

This journal is your personal space to continue exploring your dreams, setting goals, and reflecting on your journey ahead. Choose any prompt to start, and write as much as you like! There are no right or wrong answers, just your amazing thoughts.

Reflection Prompts:

Prompt 1: My Biggest Dream

Think about one of the biggest dreams you have for your future, whether it's about a career, a skill, a place you want to visit, or the kind of person you want to be. Describe this dream in detail. What does it look like? What does it feel like to achieve it?












Prompt 2: First Steps on My Map

Look at your My Life's Journey Map Activity. Choose one goal you wrote down. What is the very first, smallest step you can take towards this goal this week or even today? How will taking this small step make you feel?









Prompt 3: Overcoming Obstacles

Journeys often have challenges. What kind of challenges or obstacles do you think you might face on your path to achieving your dreams? How can you prepare for these challenges, or who might you ask for help?











Prompt 4: My Support Crew

Who are the people in your life who support your dreams (family, friends, teachers)? How do they help you, and how can you involve them more in your journey?










Prompt 5: A Skill I Want to Learn

Is there a new skill you're excited to learn that could help you on your life's journey? (e.g., coding, playing an instrument, public speaking, cooking). Why is this skill important to you, and what's one way you could start learning it?











Prompt 6: My Future Self's Advice

If your future self (from the visualization) could give you one piece of advice right now, what would it be? Write down the advice and explain why you think your future self would say that.












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