Setting goals and objectives?
Begin by determining what is essential

Most discussions of setting educational goals and objectives imply that the most difficult part of the task is writing the objectives.

My observation, however, is that for most teachers the tough part is narrowing their goals to those that are essential. After that, writing the objectives is relatively easy.

If you always thought goals and objectives were synonymous terms, you should check the definitions before proceeding to setting goals and objectives.

Appropriate topics v. essential topics

In the US, most state education departments post a list setting goals and objectives for each grade level and discipline. Usually these are just lists of what the state considers grade-appropriate teaching topics. I've not seen any that identified only the topics that every student absolutely, positively must know, have you?

Therein lies the problem.

You cannot teach everything

The universe of potential teaching topics is vast and expanding. The available teaching time is finite and shrinking.

You must ignore good study topics to concentrate on teaching essential knowledge.

Restricting your focus:

• Makes it possible to meet your learning goals.

• Gives you empathy for students who must ignore many good ideas to write about just one.

Essential knowledge defined

Every discipline has a few terms, concepts, procedures and skills that someone must know to work in that field. Those terms, concepts, procedures and skills constitute essential knowledge.

Every student, without exception, must learn essential knowledge by graduation (by which I mean the end of a specific course of study).

Teaching essentials is not dumbing down curriculum; it's drilling down into curriculum.

Let me give you an example of essential information.

One evening I caught a bit of Homework Hotline in which a high school student called in for help with a statistics problem. As the TV teacher was talking the student through the problem, she asked, "What is 4 times 4?" There was a long silence before the student hesitantly replied, "Sixteen?"

Folks, which do you think is essential knowledge for a high school graduate: being able to calculate standard deviation or knowing 4 x 4?

To do a good job of teaching writing, you need to identify learning that is as foundational to writing as the times tables are for mathematics.

Go in two directions at once

You must identify essential knowledge in the field of English before you can begin setting goals; objectives for those goals come later. The easiest way to identify essential knowledge is to work backward from your goals.

That sounds like you have to go in two directions at once, doesn't it?

Actually, what you do is switch back and forth very quickly between identifying basic information and developing generalizations. Switchbacks are normal procedure for nonfiction writers as they plan written projects. Setting goals and objectives will remind you just how hard writing is.

Essentials in teaching writing

You will find your essential knowledge for expository nonfiction contains three clusters of essential knowledge:

1. Essential knowledge related to planning, composing and revising written pieces.

2. Essential knowledge related to writing mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.)

3. Essential knowledge related to writing conventions (usage, style, formats).

Essentials in other English areas

Setting goals and objectives for teaching writing is a piece of cake compared to figuring out what the other essentials of English study are. However, if you want to do a good job of teaching writing, you must also identify essentials for your students to know in other areas of ELA: essential grammar, essential, literature, essential reading skills, and so on.

You have only so many hours in the school year. You cannot afford to waste time on nonessentials. If you figure out what students must learn in your course, then you can use writing to help students learn those essentials.

It’s no harder to have students write about a topic they must learn than it is to have them write on one that is nonessential.

Since writing about a topic reinforces learning, having students write about concepts, procedures, and skills in other areas of your English curriculum helps students master that material.