Games can be used to teaching students the risks involved in setting very high goals. Get a peg with a wooden base and set it on the ground. Draw chalk marks at distances from the peg of 2 feet, 4 feet and 6 feet. A player has three chances to toss a rubber ring around the peg. He can choose to throw from any chalk mark and collects the points for that distance if successful (award one point for the closest line, two for the middle line and three for the farthest). The player loses that number of points if he misses. Students learn to set achievable goals and take risks only when necessary. You can also play this game with a basketball hoop.
Role playing can help students identify and articulate their long-term goals for life. Have two students improvise a skit in which they are adult versions of themselves and run into each other for the first time since middle school. Have the students ask each other questions about where they live, what kind of house they live in, what their job is and anything else. Let students have fun with it and be funny, but also encourage them to express their goals. Play the game until everyone in the class has had a turn.
Students should also be able to identify specific daily goals for the classroom. Have students write down a series of achievable goals for themselves, such as coming to class on time, not talking out of turn, finishing their homework each night, helping clean up or anything else. Negotiate with each student for the number of points each task is worth, based on that student's individual needs and skills. Assign students the appropriate points each day when they achieve those goals. At the end of the week or month, give students their totals and offer rewards if the class achieves a certain number of points, such as a free reading period or having class outside.
By middle school, students should understand that achieving goals is often helped by other inspirational people in their lives. Have a student come to the front of the room and tell a story about the person who has been the most inspirational to them in achieving goals. It can be a family member, a friend, a teacher, a celebrity or anyone else. Have the rest of the class guess whether the story is true or not. Give each student a turn to play.