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Curriculum › Grades 3-5 › Life Skills & Career Paths

Keeping a Schedule and Meeting a Deadline

  • Grades 3-5
  • Life Skills & Career Paths
  • JS:FD-5
  • Personal Responsibility
  • Free lesson

Aligned to JS:FD-5 — Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education & Advance CTE Career Clusters.

What this lesson teaches

A deadline is a promise about time. Meeting one means working backward from the due date and breaking the job into pieces small enough to actually start. Most missed deadlines are not caused by the last day — they are caused by the first day.

Worked examples

Example 1

A book report is due Friday. Read Monday and Tuesday, draft Wednesday, fix it Thursday. Four small jobs instead of one impossible one.

Example 2

If a job feels too big to start, the piece you chose is too big. 'Write the report' is not a step; 'write the first paragraph' is.

Example 3

Write the due date down somewhere you will see it. A deadline you are only keeping in your head is the one you miss.

Practice questions

  1. Take something due next week and break it into daily steps.
  2. Why do people usually miss deadlines on the first day, not the last?
  3. Where will you write down your next deadline?

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Llevar un horario y cumplir una fecha límite

Una fecha límite es una promesa sobre el tiempo. Cumplirla significa contar hacia atrás desde la fecha y partir el trabajo en pedazos lo bastante chicos para poder empezar. Casi ninguna fecha se pierde por el último día — se pierde por el primero.

Ejemplo 1: Un reporte de lectura es para el viernes. Lee lunes y martes, escribe el borrador el miércoles, corrígelo el jueves. Cuatro trabajos chicos en vez de uno imposible.

Ejemplo 2: Si un trabajo se siente demasiado grande para empezar, el pedazo que escogiste es demasiado grande. 'Escribir el reporte' no es un paso; 'escribir el primer párrafo' sí.

Ejemplo 3: Anota la fecha límite donde la vayas a ver. La fecha que solo llevas en la cabeza es la que se te pasa.

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