Sharing and turn-taking IEP goals

Turn-taking is several skills at once. The child has to wait, watch the other player, notice the cue that it is their turn, act, and then give the turn back. A goal that says "will take turns" hides which of those steps is breaking down.

The 24 goals below are split by sub-skill: waiting, back-and-forth turns with an adult, peer games, sharing and trading, asking for a turn with words, and turns in conversation. Every baseline is an illustration of the format, not a norm. The preschool IEP goals pillar covers the other preschool areas.

How to choose a turn-taking goal

Watch 3 play periods and note where the turn falls apart. Then pick the matching row.

The library groups all of these on the turn-taking goal topic.

A worked example: Ivy at the game table

Ivy is 4 years 3 months old. Her teacher and SLP watch her during a 10-minute bingo game with 2 peers and an adult on 3 days. They count each time it is someone else's turn and each time it is Ivy's.

Ivy takes her own turn almost every time. The problem is waiting: she waited through 12 of 36 turns, a third. The team writes a waiting goal, not a general turn-taking goal: "During a structured game with 2 peers and an adult, Ivy will keep her hands off the game materials while others take their turns, using a my-turn-next card, in 8 of 10 peer turns on 3 consecutive data days." The opportunity trial data sheet has room for 10 turns a game.

Waiting for a turn goals

Goal 3 uses a time limit because waiting grows by seconds and minutes. Start with a wait the child can already do once or twice, then stretch it.

Weak: "Ivy will wait her turn."

Measurable: "During a structured game with 2 peers and an adult, Ivy will keep her hands off the game materials during others' turns, using a my-turn-next card, in 8 of 10 peer turns on 3 consecutive data days."

Back-and-forth turns with an adult

For children who are new to turns, start with one adult and one simple toy. Rolling a ball, stacking a tower and pushing a car back and forth are each a game with a clear turn.

Each of these builds the rhythm of a turn before a peer is added. The Division for Early Childhood recommends using play and everyday routines as the setting for this kind of practice.^[1]

Weak: "Noah will engage in reciprocal play."

Measurable: "During a 5-minute play routine with an adult, Noah will take a turn and give the toy back for at least 4 exchanges in a row on 4 of 5 days."

Turn-taking in peer games

Goal 10 removes the adult from the game. That is the real test: can the turn happen without an adult directing it?

Weak: "Sam will play games with peers."

Measurable: "During a structured game with 1 peer and an adult, Sam will take a turn on cue and pass the turn back in 8 of 10 turns across 3 sessions."

Sharing and trading toys

Sharing at preschool rarely means splitting a toy. It means giving a toy when it is someone else's turn, trading, or using a shared bin of materials.

Weak: "Maya will share."

Measurable: "When a peer asks for a toy Maya is using, she will hand it over or offer a trade within 1 minute, with no more than 1 adult reminder, in 4 of 5 requests across 2 weeks."

Asking for a turn with words

These goals replace grabbing, crying or hitting with a request. Accept the child's real mode: a word, a sign, a picture or a device.

Weak: "Leo will stop grabbing toys."

Measurable: "When a peer takes or holds an item Leo wants, he will say or sign 'my turn' or get an adult instead of grabbing in 4 of 5 opportunities across 2 weeks."

The weak goal only says what to stop. The measurable goal names what to do instead, which is what you can teach.

Turn-taking in conversation

Conversation is turn-taking with words. This is where the SLP usually leads. Social communication covers taking turns in talk, staying on topic and repairing a message.^[2]

Weak: "Ava will improve her conversation skills."

Measurable: "During play or snack with an adult, Ava will take at least 3 back-and-forth conversational turns on one topic in 4 of 5 conversations across 2 weeks."

For more language goals for this age, see speech and language goals for 4 and 5 year olds and pragmatic language goals for kindergarten.

How to measure turn-taking goals

Most of these goals use opportunities data. A game gives a known number of turns, so the denominator is easy. Free play is harder, because the chances depend on what peers do. For free play, count the chances that came up, not a fixed 10.

• Waiting goals: count the turns the child waited through, or time the wait with the duration data sheet.
• Game goals: one row per turn on the opportunity sheet, marked independent, prompted or missed.
• Sharing and requesting goals: a tally of chances and responses during centers, taken by one assigned adult.
• Conversation goals: count exchanges in a 5-minute sample, 1 or 2 times a week.

Write the prompt level into the data. "With the turn card" and "without the turn card" are different scores, and the prompt hierarchy examples show how to keep them straight.

Short-term objectives for turn-taking

For goal 9 (peer game), objectives could read:

1. By December, during a structured game with an adult as the only partner, the child will take a turn and pass it back in 8 of 10 turns.
2. By March, with 1 peer and an adult, the child will do the same in 8 of 10 turns, using a turn card.
3. By May, with 1 peer and an adult, the child will do the same in 8 of 10 turns without the turn card.

Adapting turn-taking goals by age and setting

For goal wording on peer play in later grades, see peer interaction IEP goals. For waiting and impulse goals in school-age students, see impulse control IEP goals. Paste each draft into the goal checker before the meeting.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Turn-taking goal topic
• Play and social participation goals for preschool
• Preschool IEP goals
• Goals for the early childhood setting
• Opportunity trial data sheet
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• IEP goals for preschoolers: examples by area
• Social-emotional IEP goals for kindergarten
• Speech and language goals for 4 and 5 year olds
• Peer interaction IEP goals
• IEP goals for autistic preschoolers
• IEP goals for kindergarten: examples by area
• Kindergarten reading 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.