Circle time IEP goals

Circle time asks a lot of a young child at once: come to the rug, sit near other children, look at the teacher, listen to a story, sing, wait, answer when called and keep hands to themselves. A goal that says "will participate in circle time" lumps all of that together, and the data will never show what changed.

The 24 goals below break circle time into its parts. Every baseline is an illustration of the format, not a norm. Change the circle itself first, because many circle problems are a 25-minute circle meeting a 3-year-old. The preschool IEP goals pillar covers the other routines.

Check the circle before writing a goal

Before targeting the child, check the activity. A circle that runs 10 to 15 minutes, mixes sitting with movement songs, uses real objects and pictures, and gives each child a turn is easier for everyone. The Division for Early Childhood recommends adapting the environment and activities so children can take part, before or alongside teaching new skills.^[1]

Simple changes often move the numbers: a carpet square or cube chair, a visual schedule of the circle's parts, a "first sit, then song" card, or a fidget. Write the ones that help into the preschool accommodations section, so the goal measures the child's skill with those supports in place.

How to choose a circle time goal

Observe 3 circles and note where the child drops out. Then pick the matching row.

Worked example: Rafael on the rug

Rafael is 3 years 11 months old. His class circle runs 15 minutes: greeting song, calendar, a story and a movement song. His teacher timed how long Rafael stayed in the circle area over 5 days in October.

His median was 3 minutes. He left most often at calendar, which is the longest sitting part with the least to do. The team made two changes before writing the goal: a cube chair, and a job for Rafael at calendar (moving the weather picture). The goal: "During a 15-minute circle with a cube chair and a calendar job, Rafael will stay in the circle area for at least 10 minutes on 4 of 5 days." His teacher kept the duration data sheet on a clipboard by the rug.

Coming to and staying in the group goals

Weak: "Rafael will sit appropriately during circle time."

Measurable: "During a 15-minute circle with a cube chair and a calendar job, Rafael will stay in the circle area for at least 10 minutes on 4 of 5 days."

Attending to the teacher and materials goals

Weak: "Maya will pay attention during circle."

Measurable: "During a 5-minute read-aloud at circle, Maya will look at the book or the reader for at least 4 minutes on 4 of 5 days."

Songs and movement goals

Weak: "Leo will participate in music."

Measurable: "During circle songs with actions, Leo will do at least 2 of the actions in 4 of 5 songs."

Responding and answering question goals

Accept every mode the child uses: words, signs, pointing to a picture, or a device.

For more on question goals, see wh-questions IEP goals.

Weak: "Ava will answer questions in circle."

Measurable: "After a story at circle, Ava will answer a who or what question about it, using a word, sign or picture choice of 3, in 4 of 5 questions."

Waiting and turn to talk goals

The turn-taking IEP goals page covers waiting in games and play.

Weak: "Noah will stop interrupting."

Measurable: "During circle share time, Noah will wait until the speaker finishes before talking, with a talking object passed between speakers, in 4 of 5 share times."

Peer interaction at circle goals

Circle is often the one time each day the whole class is together, which makes it a good place to practice social communication: greeting, sharing news and responding to what someone else said. The SLP can lead these goals or coach the teacher.^[2]

Weak: "Mia will interact with peers at circle."

Measurable: "During the greeting at circle, Mia will greet a classmate by name or sign and respond to a classmate's greeting in 4 of 5 circles."

The library has 40 templates on the play and social participation goals page and more on the preschool readiness goals page.

How to measure circle time goals

• Staying in the group (2, 5): start a stopwatch when circle starts and stop it when the child leaves. Record minutes out of the total circle length.
• Interval goals (3, 6): set a vibrating timer for every minute and mark yes or no. One adult can do this while helping lead circle. The interval recording data sheet fits.
• Response goals (7 to 24): tally each chance and the response on the opportunity trial data sheet.

Circle is a hard time for the lead teacher to take data. Assign the data to the aide or co-teacher, and take it 2 to 3 times a week rather than every day. Write the supports used on every data point: "with cube chair" or "without."

Short-term objectives for a staying goal

For goal 2 (staying in the circle area), objectives could read:

1. By December, with a cube chair and an adult seated behind them, the child will stay in the circle area for at least 6 minutes on 4 of 5 days.
2. By March, with a cube chair and a calendar job, the child will stay for at least 8 minutes on 4 of 5 days.
3. By May, with a cube chair and no adult behind them, the child will stay for at least 10 minutes on 4 of 5 days.

Adapting circle goals by age and support level

For the bigger picture of classroom routines, see school readiness IEP goals. For play goals that pair well with circle goals, see play skills IEP goals. Paste each draft into the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Play social participation goals (social emotional)
• Preschool IEP goals
• Goals for the early childhood setting
• Preschool readiness goals (functional skills)
• Preschool special education in the IEP glossary
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• IEP goals for preschoolers: examples by area
• Play skills IEP goals
• IEP goals for kindergarten: examples by area
• Kindergarten reading IEP goals
• School readiness IEP goals for preschool
• Sharing and turn-taking IEP goals

Sources

1. DEC Recommended Practices, Division for Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children
2. Social Communication Disorder, ASHA

Written and checked by the IEP Atlas editorial team under our editorial policy. This guide describes general practice and federal rules. It is not legal advice; your state may add requirements, and the IEP team makes the decisions for each student.