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Students need goals. With clear goals in mind, a student can make great strides during the school year and accomplish more than expected. Goals are amazing that way. The trick is getting students to remember their goals for the entire year so they can strive to reach them.
A few years ago we discovered the benefit of using visual story boards to help students get their thoughts on paper and internalize the stories they were struggling to write. One day this summer it occurred to me that my students need visual storyboards to help them focus on goals, to get beyond the basics and really get set up for maximum success.
To make our visual storyboards, each student will use a large poster board, construction paper or card stock, Scotch™ Double-Sided Tape, a printer and printer paper, a paper trimmer or scissors, and a Scotch™ Thermal Laminator with the Scotch™ Letter Size Thermal Lamination Pouches, 50-Pack which we grabbed at our local Wal-Mart.
I love my laminator and use it all the time for projects like this so they will last for the entire school year. Plus, it makes things look prettier and neater. Students should also have a variety of Post-it® Notes and Scotch® Expressions Washi Tape to personalize their story boards even more.
We will use the printer and printer paper first, creating strips of paper that say Goals for the 2017-2018 School Year, along with a goals sheet for each student and a drawing sheet for each student. Did you know that we are 42% more likely to accomplish our goals if we write them down? You can simply have your students create their own goals display using Post-it® Notes or paper and a drawing of what it will feel like to reach their goals OR you can download the printable at the end of this post and use that for each student in your homeschool or classroom.
Once everyone has created a goals sheet and drawing, trim the edges of the paper off and mount each piece on colorful card stock using the Scotch™ Double-Sided Tape. Each of these pieces will then be laminated using our Scotch™ Thermal Laminator. Students can decorate around the edges of each piece with Scotch® Expressions Washi Tape if desired. I think it gives it an extra flair.
Laminating is super easy. Just plug it in, unfold the paper guide in the back, set the thickness of your pouches and wait for the ready light. While you are waiting, place all of your materials into pouches. I like to use the sealed edge of the pouch to keep my papers straight so I push the paper right up against that edge inside the pouch.
When the ready light comes on, simply slide the film through the guides in the back and feed it into the machine. It will come out the other side ready to trim!
Post-it® Notes can be used for removable short term goals, encouraging notes, and inspiring quotes to finish out the storyboard. Students could also use magazine images or photographs to visualize goals and decorate their boards.
Once you have everything laminated, you are ready to mount each item to your poster board using the double-sided tape again. Completed visual storyboards can be hung in a prominent place where students can keep an eye on them throughout the year and track their progress.
Homeschool students can hang them in their bedroom or in a central location for the family. Classroom students might enjoy having these goal boards hanging in the classroom for some time and then taking them home to display.
Download the free printable to create visual storyboards with your students.
[…] a couple weeks ago, I wrote a post about goal setting with visual story boards, and as part of that post, I had to go buy a laminator. But guess what? I already had a Scotch […]