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Academics Blog Comprehension ELA Elementary High School IEP Middle School

5 IEP Goal Examples For ELA

What To Know When Writing An IEP Goal

Looking for IEP goal examples for ELA? Look no further! Writing IEP goals can be quite daunting, but here are a few things to keep in mind! We don’t want to overwhelm the student (or teacher), so it’s best to only write 2-3 goals per area of need. This could be 2 goals in Reading, 2 goals in Math, 3 goals in Social/Emotional, and so on.

When writing ELA goals, they need to be measurable and obtainable. That means you’ll need to write the goal in a way that you will be able to track progress. You’ll also want to make sure you can take data on the goal. How can you measure the item you want your student to learn?

Writing obtainable goals is essential in order to see your student make that progress and meet goals. You wouldn’t write one goal for a student to identify 26 letters of the alphabet and 26 letter sounds. That would be nearly impossible! Continue reading below to see some IEP goal examples for ELA.

2 letter cards to use with writing an IEP goal for ELA.
Sensory letter cards to use when working on letter identification

1. Identifying Letters of the Alphabet Goal Examples

There are many different ways in which to write an IEP goal for identifying letters. Here are a few to choose from that have a variety of levels.

When given a card with an uppercase letter on it, STUDENT will match to the identical uppercase letter card for letters A-C with 80% accuracy in 5 trials.

STUDENT will receptively identify 10 letters of the alphabet ( A-J) in a field of two with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.

When asked “What letter is this?”, STUDENT will verbally answer with the correct letter name with 80% accuracy across a two week period.

Sensory letter cards with a blue item to work on beginning sounds

2. Letter Sound Goal Examples for ELA

If your student is already able to identify the letters of the alphabet, it’s now time to learn letter sounds! Read on for some examples!

After asking “What letter says /B/?”, STUDENT will receptively identify the correct letter from a field of two for 10 letters of the alphabet (A-J) with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.

When asked “What sound does the letter B make?”, STUDENT will verbally state the sound for a total of 10 letters of the alphabet (A-J) with 80% accuracy in 5 consecutive trials.

When asked “What letter sound does blue start with?”, STUDENT will identify the correct letter for a total of 15 letters (A-O), with 80% accuracy across a two week period.

4 cards with the sight words for ELA goals that include help, my, play and not.
Examples of sight words

3. Sight Word Goal Examples for ELA

Working on sight words can look many different ways! Keep reading for some ideas on IEP goals.

Using the Fry word list, STUDENT will identify 5 sight words ( the, of, and, to, in) from a field of two with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.

When given 5 sight words, STUDENT will read words with automaticity from the Fry word list ( the, of, and, to, in) with 100% accuracy in 5 consecutive trials.

STUDENT will correctly spell 5 sight words from the Fry word list (the, of, and, to, in) with 100% accuracy in 5 trials.

Three cards with a question and two answer choices for IEP goal examples.
Comprehension picture cards

4. Comprehension

Some IEP goal examples for ELA include comprehension. This is always a hard subject for our special education population but so very important to work on. Check out some examples below!

When asked a WH question and given a field of two visual choices, STUDENT will correctly identify the answer with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.

After reading a simple story that includes picture symbols with an adult, STUDENT will correctly answer 3 questions with the help of picture icons with 80% accuracy in 5 trials.

After given a simple written sentence, STUDENT will match the sentence to the picture for a total of 3 sentences with 80% accuracy across a two week period.

A picture of a house, bee and tree for rhyming words for IEP goal examples for ELA.
Rhyming word pictures

5. Vocabulary Goal Examples

As you know, language is important when teaching students with disabilities. Working on teaching vocabulary words to expand their communication is very functional. Read below for more IEP goal examples for ELA.

When given picture icons, STUDENT will identify the correct rhyming word from a field of two choices with 80% accuracy in 5 trials.

STUDENT will match ten correct vocabulary words to the correct picture in a field of two for the category of school supplies ( ie glue stick, scissors, paper, crayon..etc) with 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 trials.

After given an object, STUDENT will use two descriptive words (adjectives) to describe the object for a total of ten objects with 80% accuracy in 5 trials.

Summary of IEP Goal Examples For ELA

There are so many different ways in which to write an IEP goal. The most important thing is to make sure they are appropriate and meaningful to the student. It is also very important to write the goal so that it is specific, achievable, time-bound and measurable. Make sure to keep in mind that every student needs to learn foundational skills before trying to teach higher skills.

What goal ideas do you have?

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Hi amazing teachers!
I'm Alyssa Shanahan -- a former Elementary Special Ed & Life Skills teacher. My classroom focus was always to keep things simple, increase communication, and build independence. Simply Special Ed's goal is to help teachers and students reach their full potential in and out of the classroom!

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