Gifted Student Goal Setting For Year-Long Service Learning Projects

Here are several different service learning projects. Gifted students will work well on these. Student goal setting and managing a year-long project are important skills for gifted students to master. With service learning projects, gifted students can follow their interests and work to achieve goals based on something they care about.

Here are some year-long service learning projects gifted students may want to tackle.:

1. Raise money to buy animals through Heifer International.
2. Raise money to buy mosquito nets through Nothing But Nets.
3. Create a school recycling program.
4. Create a school tutoring program.
5. Create a mentoring or buddy program at the school between older and younger grades.
6. Adopt a food bank or homeless shelter and work to provide supplies throughout the year.
7. Match kids with nursing home residents and start a pen pal program.
8. Create a campaign to find volunteers, supplies, adoption families for the local Humane Society.

There are many more year-long service learning projects gifted students could do based on their individual interests.The important thing is once students choose a project, they need to focus on student goal setting. They should set goals for each month and for the overall project.

When gifted students are involved in goal setting, it is important for them to remember that goals should be attainable (not easy but attainable) and measurable. Here's an example of a good student goal for a year-long service learning project gifted students may want to pursue:

I will raise $500 to buy animals through the Heifer International program.

This goal is measurable, which means that the gifted student will know when he has $500 and has met his goal. It is also attainable. The amount of money is large, but he has an entire school year to raise the money and the help from his gifted classmates.

An example of an unmeasurable goal would be:

I will raise a bunch of money for Nothing But Nets.

An example of an unreasonable/unattainable goal would be:

I will find 5000 kids to become pen pals with nursing home residents and set up the program.

Student goal setting is not always easy, and sometimes, students have no idea where to start to set their goals for their service learning projects. Gifted students may need some guidance from you. You may have to spend some time discussing the projects one-on-one to understand what your gifted students hope to accomplish and then aid them in setting their goals.

Once they have their overall goals, they should set monthly goals to break down the large task. For example, what will the student need to do in October to start raising the $500 for Heifer International? Again, during these student goal setting sessions, they need to make sure their goals are measurable and attainable.