Students investigate what helps them stay motivated, attend consistently, and remain engaged in school by tracking their own habits, stressors, supports, and progress over time. They use feedback from peers, staff, counselors, and caregivers to revise a personal school success plan grounded in realistic routines and next steps. Through role-plays, reflection circles, gallery walks, and public presentation, students build self-direction, communication, collaboration, and academic mindset while applying evidence from their own experience. The work leads to a final Goal Map Gallery, action plan exhibit, and Next Step Forum that connect daily choices to long-term school and postsecondary goals.

Students will analyze how routines, stress, self-talk, and support systems affect attendance, motivation, and academic engagement, using personal data, realistic scenarios, and weekly check-ins to identify patterns and make adjustments. Students will build self-directed learning skills by setting goals, tracking habits, using teacher and peer feedback, and revising a personal school success plan with clear next steps. Students will strengthen speaking, listening, and collaboration skills through role-play conferences, student-led circles, gallery walk critique, and exhibition presentations to peers, staff, and caregivers. Students will create and present a Goal Map Gallery board and short Next Step Forum talk that show before-and-after evidence, explain growth, and outline realistic strategies for staying on track over the next month.

Students create a personal Goal Map Gallery board that includes before-and-after evidence of attendance, habit tracking, self-talk shifts, motivation strategies, and revised routines collected across the four weeks. Throughout the project, they also build working artifacts such as weekly check-in rubrics, reflection notes, progress wall cards, role-play conference scripts, and visual milestone charts that show how their plan changes with feedback. By the end, each student produces a student-led action plan exhibit with updated goals, support systems, and realistic next steps for the coming month. Students also deliver a short live Next Step Forum presentation using practiced talking points to explain a challenge, the support they used, what changed, and how they will stay on track.

Open with a combined “Reset Room Challenge” and “Show Up Sprint” where small teams rotate through short stations on stress, self-talk, planning, and attendance dilemmas led by a counselor or youth mental health partner. At each station, students test one practical strategy, respond to a realistic school challenge, and record evidence of what might help them stay engaged and show up consistently. Teams then draft a first version of a personal goal map with one attendance goal, one habit to strengthen, and one support they will use this week. Close with a quick share-out in which each student names one move they will try immediately and posts it to a class progress wall for future check-ins and revision.

Host a Goal Map Gallery where students display before-and-after attendance records, habit trackers, motivation strategies, and revised action plans on presentation boards, then answer questions from classmates, counselors, caregivers, and school staff. Follow this with a live Next Step Forum in which each student gives a short conference-style presentation explaining a challenge they faced, the support they used, and their realistic goals and milestones for the next month. Build in a final exhibition prep conference before the event so students can practice their talking points, get feedback on clarity and realism, and revise their boards and presentations. Include a visible feedback component during the exhibition, such as comment cards or response prompts, so students leave with concrete next steps from peers and adult partners.