IEP Goals for Comprehension
Comprehension is the foundation of reading. We read things to become informed, to entertain, to pursuade… and all those different types that your reading teacher taught you!
Written communication is all around us, and understanding text (or text paired with visuals) is important for many reasons.
If a student is able to read fluently, but not understand what they’ve read… they may need extra support to understand the message of a text.
And we can write goals for that!
First – Why Reading Comprehension?
As I said, comprehension of the materials is key to reading. The purpose we read is to gain information on a variety of topics. In my Life Skills class, we focus on functional reading for life skills and student safety. Can students read safety signs and words on buildings? How about wording on informational posters, or other text we regularly see in our environment? Then, do they understand what is being conveyed to them through the signs and print? This still counts if it is paired with visuals. Many (if not all) safety signs and informational bulletins are posted with visuals!
Target Vocabulary and Communication
In our self-contained classes, support your students’ vocabulary and communication through reading and comprehension.
Reading a variety of texts can expose students to new vocabulary. Through comprehension tasks, students put it to functional use. Explicitly teach new vocabulary, and have students practice it daily. This is not only for their expected routine, but for valuable practice to make vocabulary stick!
Using visual comprehension is one of my favorite ways to support students who may be non-readers and/or non-writers. These visual comprehension sheets have options with 2 answers and 3 answers so that students can choose the answer with visual support!
Comprehension Practice Sheets
Which ways can we practice reading comprehension to strengthen student skills? Use text of different lengths- you could even start with just a word or two and have students match the word to a visual.
Expand to a few sentences, a paragraph, an entire sheet, and a lengthy passage. All reading comprehension practice is valuable.
These sheets make it easy for different levels of learners to read or listen to a short bit of text, and then answer questions about what they read. The four different types of sheets allow for visual response as well as written response.
AAC and Communication Practice
Reading comprehension is also a great time to use student’s AAC devices and core boards to practice vocabulary in a real world context. This can help link core words to meaningful situations as well.
Core words make up a large portion of daily communication. Practice these words across many topics and settings! There are many different core word lists that contain different words. (Sometimes, it depends on the device or app being used.) A few first core words may be:
- A–G: all, can, different, do, finished, get, go, good
- H–M: he, help, here, I, in, it, like, look, make, more
- N–S: not, on, open, put, same, she, some, stop
- T–Y: that, turn, up, want, what, when, where, who, why, you
Have your students respond with these words.
Where did he jump? “In the leaves!” Who is with Sam? “She is mom!”
Additionally, you can practice having your student respond with “no” and “not. Show them an incorrect answer and ask if it is correct.
Goals for Reading Comprehension
Here’s a variety of reading comprehension IEP goals for students at different ability levels.
Remember: all goals are individualized for each student. They should be SMART: Specific, measureable, appropriate, realistic, and time-bound. Read more about IEP goal writing here.
Beginning Level Comprehension
- Answering Who/What Questions
- Identifying the Main Idea
- Matching Picture to Text
- Identifying Characters
- Identifying Setting
“When read a short adapted passage and visual answer choices, the student will answer who/what questions about the text with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive data collection sessions.”
“Given a short passage and 3 visual choices, the student will identify the main idea of the passage with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive opportunities.”
“After being read a text and shown a field of 3–4 pictures, the student will select the picture that represents information from the text with 80% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
Developing Level Comprehension
- WH Questions
- Sequencing
- Story Elements
- Finding Information
- Making a Choice Based on Text
“When reading grade-level or adapted passages, the student will answer who, what, where, and when questions using verbal, visual, or written response choices with 70% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
“Given a short story and 3–5 picture or written choices, the student will sequence events from the story in the correct order with 50% accuracy across 3 consecutive opportunities.”
“After reading or listening to a short passage, the student will select an answer that is supported by information in the text from a field of 3 choices with 75% accuracy.”
Intermediate Level Comprehension
- Main Idea and Details
- Sequencing Without Pictures
- Summarizing
- Text Evidence
- Vocabulary in Context
“After reading a short passage, the student will provide a 1–3 sentence summary that includes the main idea and relevant details with accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
“Given a passage containing an unfamiliar word, the student will use context clues, surrounding information, or a provided glossary to determine the meaning of the word with 70% accuracy.”
“When reading narrative text, the student will identify and sequence 3–5 major events using written responses with 60% accuracy across 3 consecutive opportunities.”
Higher Level Comprehension
- Making Inferences
- Predicting
- Author’s Purpose
- Compare and Contrast
- Drawing Conclusions
“After reading a short passage, the student will make a logical inference based on information from the text and prior knowledge with accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
“Given two short texts, the student will identify at least 2 similarities and 2 differences using a graphic organizer as needed with 75% accuracy.”
“When independently reading a short passage, the student will draw a conclusion and provide at least one detail from the text supporting the conclusion with 70% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
Functional Reading Comprehension
- Reading Signs
- Schedules
- Reading Directions
- Functional Information
- Reading for a Purpose
“When shown common community signs and/or symbols, the student will identify the meaning or appropriate action associated with the sign with 50% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.”
“Given a daily schedule, school schedule, or activity schedule, the student will answer questions about what, when, and where an activity occurs with 50% accuracy.”
“After reading a functional text such as a menu, shopping list, bus schedule, calendar, label, or simple advertisement, the student will locate specific requested information with 75% accuracy.”
For Students Who Need Significant Support
You can make the goal less about traditional reading and more about demonstrating understanding:
- Given a short adapted text presented orally and/or visually, the student will demonstrate comprehension by selecting, pointing to, eye gazing toward, activating a switch, or otherwise indicating the correct response from a field of 2–3 choices with 50% accuracy across 3 consecutive sessions.
This is particularly helpful when a student’s motor or communication needs make traditional written responses inappropriate. The goal measures comprehension rather than the student’s ability to physically write or speak an answer.
