This month’s Second Step tie to the 7 Habits Habit #2 (Begin with the End in Mind) is to “make a plan.” In Second Steps, students learn to make a solution plan to a problem by following three easy guidelines:

1. Is the plan simple?
2. Does the plan make sense?
3. Is the plan something I can do myself?

For example, suppose your student is always forgetting his/her homework at school. A good plan might involve the student putting a homework sticky note on his/her desk at school and showing his/her homework (or homework chart) to the adult picking him/her up from school. This is a simple plan that makes sense and is something the student can take charge of with minimal amount of supervision from the supervisory adult.

Plans help a student exert control over the future and help them to begin with the end in mind. In this case, the end goal is to build responsibility in the student and help the student remember the homework each and every day. Creating a plan that follows the above guidelines will help to build autonomy in the student and help the student be responsible for making a plan that the student can stick with and do each day. The next time your student has a problem, use habit #2 (Begin with the End in Mind) and help them complete a plan to help solve the problem.