Goal Bank for Language

Important Note: Goals/objectives need to be individualized and it is important to adapt elements of these goals/objectives to meet the specific needs of your
students. These are examples to give you ideas when you are writing your IEPs.

Long Term Goals:

1. “Student” will produce grade level language, demonstrating competency in form, content, and use, both
orally and in writing.
2. “Student” will demonstrate understanding and use of grade level language, as measured by informal
activities within the therapy setting.
3. “Student” will understand and utilize appropriate language to access the academic curriculum.

Short Term Objectives/Benchmarks:

1. “Student” will formulate single or multiple sentences on a given topic or using given words, with
appropriate and clear meaning and increasing accuracy.
2. “Student” will demonstrate improved grammar and syntax at the sentence level, using copula/is,
noun/verb, gender/number agreement with 80% accuracy as measured through language activities within
the therapy setting.
3. “Student” will demonstrate knowledge of orally sequencing stories, using varied transitional language,
given visual cues in 4 out of 5 trials.
4. “Student” will produce an oral narrative (including the characters, setting, goals, problem, and solution)
using appropriate temporal language and varied transition words in 4 out of 5 opportunities.
5. Given instruction and moderate cueing, “Student” will formulate grammatically correct, detailed
sentences in speech and/or writing with 70% accuracy.
6. “Student” will form syntactically correct sentences using conjunctions with 80% accuracy.
7. “Student” will correctly use irregular forms of plurals and past tense verbs with 80% accuracy.
8. “Student” will communicate using 4-5 words per sentence during 80% of utterances.
9. “Student” will ask and answer “why” and “how” questions.
10. “Student” will develop and utilize associative thinking skills, with improved semantics, through
defining, describing, and comparison / contrast, 80% accuracy, with minimal cueing.
11. “Student” will improve syntax and sentence structure during classroom assignments and speaking
activities given moderate cues.
12. Given instruction, “Student” will improve understanding of ‘when’ and ‘why’ questions in response to
an orally presented narrative with 1-3 clinician cues.
13. “Student” will describe and compare items, events and other topics with increasing clarity of thought,
such that peers and adults understand the description, in 9 out of 10 opportunities.
14. Given instruction, “Student” will demonstrate improved verbal expression by defining terms, describing,
comparing and contrasting items, events, etc., 80% accuracy, with minimal prompts.
15. During language activities, “Student” will follow up to a 3-step direction that incorporates age
appropriate linguistic concepts (temporal, sequence, location) when provided with 3-5 clinician cues.
16. “Student” will identify and sort picture cards into appropriate categories with 75% accuracy in three out
of four observable opportunities as measured over nine weeks.

1
 Short Term Objectives/Benchmarks:
1. “Student” will act upon named/described elements in 2-part directions with no more than one repetition
of directions, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
2. “Student” will perform specific actions (including colors, prepositions, and drawing/coloring) in 2-part
directions with no more than one repetition of directions, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
3. “Student” will name items from an array of 25 symbols when given verbal clues describing appearance,
function, or other features, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
4. “Student” will answer the teacher's direct questions accurately (i.e., answer "who" with a person,
"where" with a place, "when" with a time word/phrase) with no more than one repetition of the question,
in 8 of 10 opportunities.
5. “Student” will recall 10 details from a story he has just read/heard, including characters, action,
cause/effect, and sequence, by circling the correct symbol from a choice of 3, with no more than one
repetition of the question, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
6. “Student” will manipulate items correctly when given verbal directions that contain 1-2 objects and a
preposition with no more than one repetition of directions, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
7. After repeated exposure to 25 thematic symbols throughout one month, “Student” will name 80% of the
symbols.
8. After repeated exposure to 25 thematic symbols throughout one month, “Student” will point to 80% of
the symbols when named, given an array of 8 symbols at a time.
9. “Student” will perform 3 consecutive 1-step directions in order with no more than one repetition of
directions, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
10. Given a verbal label of a category, “Student” will name 3 items that belong to that category, in 8 of 10
opportunities.
11. When a list of 3 items within a category are read to him, “Student” will name the category or unifying
feature, in 8 of 10 opportunities.
12. “Student” will repeat a sentence of 4-8 words after hearing it once, with no more than one error, in 8 of
10 opportunities.

Pre-K Expressive Language Goals:

1. “Student” will respond to teacher directed questions by touching an appropriate symbol on the display of
a voice output communication aid when a visual cue or gesture prompt is provided in 3 out of 4
opportunities over 3 consecutive sessions.
2. “Student” communicate using combinations of two or more words or understandable representations
(e.g. word approximations, picture symbols, signs) with __% accuracy over 3 out of 4 trials.
3. “Student” will participate verbally in structured language activities by answering “wh” type questions
related to ongoing events with _ % accuracy in 2 out of 3 trials over 3 consecutive sessions.

Pre-K Receptive Language Goals:

1. “Student” will demonstrate appropriate attention to person/task by looking briefly at person requesting
attention on first command in a one – to – one situation with 80% accuracy over 3 out of 4 trials with 1
cue after initial request.
2. “Student” will respond appropriately to the language of others during interactions to follow oral
directions involving: one or more object, several prepositions, ongoing events/activities, complete a
single step task in a small group, complete a multi-step task in a small group.

2
Figurative Language Goals:
1. “Student” will identify various types of figurative language encountered in text.
2. “Student” will identify and interpret the meanings of idioms, metaphors, similes, or proverbs.
3. “Student” will create similes and metaphors in a sentence or paragraph.
4. “Student” will make predictions and inferences based on available information and/or evidence.
5. Given instruction and support, “Student” will explain nonliteral and figurative language and infer the
causes of a character’s behavior in novels.
6. “Student” will infer why characters in literature say, feel, and do the things they do.

Written Language Goals:

1. “Student” will produce an expanded and grammatical sentence containing designated parts of speech.
2. “Student” will vary sentence structure to enhance the meaning of sentences and paragraphs.
3. “Student” will produce expanded grammatical sentences that answer the 5 wh questions.
4. Given a graphic organizer, “Student” will produce a cohesive five paragraph essay that includes topic
sentences, transitions, and conclusion.