Reduce capital letters in the middle of words
When to use this goal
For young writers who mix uppercase letters into words and sentences (baBy, we went to The park), often because they learned some uppercase forms first. Present levels should show the student can write lowercase forms of the letters involved; if not, a handwriting goal comes first.
- Baseline
- Count misplaced uppercase letters in five journal entries of similar length. Note which letters are involved; b, d, and r are often written as B, D, and R because their lowercase forms are confusing. Do not count correct capitals (sentence starts, names, I).
- Tips
- Teach and practice the lowercase forms of the letters involved; the goal pairs with handwriting instruction. Pair this reduction goal with the matching skill: correct capitals at sentence starts and names. Praise lowercase words as much as you count errors.
- Limits
- Counts depend on how much the student writes; keep entries similar in length. Some students switch to printing in all lowercase, including where capitals belong; watch for that. Handwriting fatigue can raise errors late in the day.
Original IEP Atlas template based on general measurement principles; not copied from any goal bank. ID wr-mec-024.
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Goal
By the annual IEP review date, during daily journal writing of at least three sentences, the student will reduce uppercase letters written where lowercase belongs to no more than 2 instances per journal entry, across 5 consecutive journal entries, as measured by frequency recording collected daily, summarized weekly.
Baseline: 9 instances per journal entry.
- Condition
- Observable behavior
- Criterion
- Measurement method
Measurability check11 of 11 met
Met: Observable behavior. Stated as an action.
Met: Condition. Stated.
Met: Unit fits the behavior. Frequency fits this behavior.
Met: Explicit criterion. Number and unit stated.
Met: Mastery rule and schedule. Both stated.
Met: Method produces the metric. Frequency (event) recording gives frequency data.
Met: Review timeframe. Stated.
Met: Baseline and target compatible. Same unit, change in the right direction.
Met: Aligned with area of need. Still about Capitalization, Punctuation & Grammar.
Met: Level of support. Defined.
Met: Blanks filled in. Nothing left to fill in.
Checks structure and wording only. Whether the goal fits the student is the team's call.
Short-term objectives (optional)
When are objectives required?Required for students on alternate assessments (34 CFR §300.320(a)(2)(ii)); some states require them for everyone.
Paste into your IEP system
Most district systems have a separate box for each part of a goal. Copy them one at a time, or all at once as labeled text.
- Area of need
- Writing - Capitalization, Punctuation & Grammar
- Baseline
- 9 instances per journal entry.
- Annual goal318 characters
- By the annual IEP review date, during daily journal writing of at least three sentences, the student will reduce uppercase letters written where lowercase belongs to no more than 2 instances per journal entry, across 5 consecutive journal entries, as measured by frequency recording collected daily, summarized weekly.
- Timeframe
- By the annual IEP review date
- Condition
- During daily journal writing of at least three sentences
- Behavior
- The student will reduce uppercase letters written where lowercase belongs
- Criteria
- No more than 2 instances per journal entry, across 5 consecutive journal entries
- Evaluation method
- Frequency recording
- Schedule
- Daily, summarized weekly
Copied as plain text, with straight quotes and plain dashes.
Matching data sheet
Frequency & rate tracker. Records the count and the observation length.
Frequency & rate tracker
Frequency- Student label:
- Target:
- no more than 2 instances per journal entry
- Mastery rule:
- across 5 consecutive journal entries
- Collection schedule:
- daily, summarized weekly
- Method:
- Frequency (event) recording
- Data collector:
Goal: By the annual IEP review date, during daily journal writing of at least three sentences, the student will reduce uppercase letters written where lowercase belongs to no more than 2 instances per journal entry, across 5 consecutive journal entries, as measured by frequency recording collected daily, summarized weekly.
| Date | Observation period (start–end) | Minutes observed | Activity / context | Count (tally) | Rate per minutecount ÷ minutes (only if periods vary) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Preview shows 4 of 12 rows.
- Count each occurrence of the defined behavior per journal entry.
- Keep the observation length the same each session. If it varies, compare rate per minute, not raw counts.
- Write the behavior definition at the top of the sheet so all data collectors count the same thing.
The CSV opens in Excel or Google Sheets, with formulas. Sheets print blank; no student data is stored.