Lesson 3 — Plan It, Try It, Adjust It

Summary

A goal is not a promise to get everything right the first time — it is a plan you are willing to adjust. Learners set one real, reachable goal, break it into steps, try the first step right away, notice honestly what happened, and — when a step does not work — change it and try again. The “plan, try, adjust” page joins the portfolio and carries the year’s agency work forward into the summer and Grade 5.

Objectives

• Plan the steps to reach a goal, try the plan, and adjust when a step does not work. (D01.S3.04.01)

Connection

Every builder, cook, athlete, and gardener knows the same secret: the first plan is almost never the last plan. A cook tastes the soup and adds salt; a gardener sees a seedling leaning and turns it toward the light; a builder finds a wobbly stone and puts a wedge under it. The people who reach their goals are not the ones who never fail — they are the ones who adjust. Today you make a plan, try it, and learn the grown-up skill of changing course when a step doesn’t work.

Materials

• A “plan, try, adjust” page (plan / what happened / adjustment)
• Writing and drawing supplies

Preparation

• Prepare the page with three labeled sections: “my plan” (numbered steps), “what happened when I tried,” and “my adjustment.”
• Have writing and drawing supplies ready.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”). It spirals up from Grade 3’s “set a goal and name the first step” to the fuller cycle — plan, try, adjust. Two commitments matter. First, the adjustment is the lesson, not a failure: normalize it explicitly with your own example (“I planned to read every night, but evenings were too tired, so I moved it to mornings”). Second, the goal is the learner’s own and costs no money — some learners live with scarcity, so coach toward concrete, free, near goals (read one new book; learn a new knot; water the class plant for a week; greet three people kindly each day). Model the plan-try-adjust sequence as a worked example before independent work — this is a new procedural skill, and novices need to see it done (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006). Give the sentence frames: “My first step is…” / “When I tried, I noticed…” / “So I will change…”. For a learner who is blind or has low vision, do the cycle aloud or with objects in a line. For a non-speaking learner, accept pointing, drawing, signing, or a partner voicing. Keep the tone light: adjusting is clever, not shameful.

Procedure

1. Gather (5 min). Last year you set a goal and its first step. This year you learn the next grown-up power: when a step doesn’t work, you adjust and try again.
2. Watch a worked example (5 min). Watch or read this example together: Goal — learn to water the class plant without spilling. Plan — (1) fill the can halfway, (2) pour slowly near the stem. Try — the can was still too heavy and splashed. Adjust — (1) fill it one-quarter full and use two hands. See how the plan changed after trying?
3. Set your goal and plan (10 min). Write one real goal on your page. Then write the steps, in order. Make the first step small enough to try today.
4. Try it (10 min). Do the first step now — or, if the goal is for later (like “read one book”), do a tiny practice of it right now. Notice carefully: what actually happened? Write or draw it in the “what happened” section. Be honest, not harsh.
5. Adjust (10 min). Look at what happened. If the step worked, write what you’ll do next. If it did not work, change it: make it smaller, get help, switch the order, use two hands. Write your adjustment.
6. Share and promise (5 min). Tell a partner your plan, what happened, and your adjustment — and listen to theirs. Promise yourself: I will try my adjusted step.
7. Close (5 min). Adjusting is not failing; it is how every goal is actually reached. Add your page to your portfolio.

Differentiation

• Support: Offer a menu of small, free goals with pre-written steps to choose from; scribe the “what happened” and “adjustment” lines.
• Support (non-speaking): Point to or act out each step; a partner voices the adjustment.
• Support (blind/low-vision): Lay one object per step in a line and move one to show the adjustment; the plan lives in words and objects.
• Extension: Write a three-step plan, try the first two steps, and record two adjustments over the week.

Assessment

• Formative (self + portfolio + observation): Can the learner state a goal, list ordered steps, describe honestly what happened on a try, and name one concrete adjustment — by word, drawing, sign, or a partner voicing?

Home connection

Take your plan home and do your adjusted step once before the next lesson. Tell someone how the adjustment changed what happened.

Resources

• Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success — growth through effort and adjustment (facilitator background).
• CASEL SEL Framework (self-management, responsible decision-making): https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/