IEP goals for retelling a story: 16 examples

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A retell IEP goal names the text, whether prompts are allowed and a rubric score. Example: after reading an unpracticed grade 2 story, Maya will retell it without prompts, including characters, setting, problem, key events and resolution in order, scoring 12 of 14 on a story retell rubric on 3 consecutive probes. Graph the free retell score.

A retell is the student's own telling of what a text said, in order, with the important parts. It is one of the clearest windows into comprehension because nothing is handed to the student. No questions point to the answers. The student has to find the structure and hold it in memory.

The 16 goals below cover supported retell for young students, unprompted story retell, informational retell and older or access-focused retell. Each has a condition, a baseline, a criterion and a template link. Numbers are illustrations. The retell rubric page has the fill-in rubric these goals refer to. For identifying story parts with a map or questions, see IEP goals for story elements. The cluster pillar, reading comprehension strategies, covers how retell fits with other strategies.

How to choose a retell goal

Have the student read or listen to a short story and say, "Tell me the story from the beginning." Do not prompt. Write down what the student says. Then prompt for missing parts and note what comes out.

What the student does	Sub-skill to target	Measurement method
Says one or two things and stops	Supported retell with props or pictures	Parts included, out of 5
Retells only with adult turns	Co-constructed retell, fading turns	Parts added independently
Includes parts but out of order	Retell in order	Rubric with an order row
Retells stories well but lists facts from articles	Informational retell by structure	Informational rubric, out of 10
Retells everything, every detail	Summary instead of retell	See summarizing goals

Teaching story structure is among the recommendations in the What Works Clearinghouse guide for comprehension in the early grades.^[1] Retell is how that teaching shows up in data.

Supported retell (preschool to grade 1)

After a familiar story is read aloud, Ella will retell it using props or picture cards, including 3 of 5 key parts, in 4 of 5 sessions. Baseline: 1 of 5 parts. Template.
While retelling a story with an adult who takes turns, Ella will add the next event on her own for 3 of 4 turns across 3 sessions. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.
After a nonfiction read-aloud, Owen will retell 3 facts from the book in his own words, with 3 of 3 accurate in 4 of 5 read-alouds. Baseline: 1 fact. Template.
After hearing a story in his home language, Owen will retell it in that language with 4 of 5 key parts, on 3 probes. Baseline: 2 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Ella will retell stories." Measurable: Goal 1 above. It names the supports, the parts and the count.

Unprompted story retell (grades 1 to 5)

After reading an unpracticed grade 2 story, Maya will retell it without prompts, including characters, setting, problem, key events and resolution in order, scoring 12 of 14 on a story retell rubric on 3 consecutive probes. Baseline: 8 of 14. Template.
After reading a grade 3 story, Maya will retell the key events in order with no more than 1 event out of place, in 4 of 5 retells. Baseline: 3 out of place on average. Template.
After reading a story with 2 episodes, Jonah will retell both episodes with problem, attempt and outcome for each, scoring 10 of 12 rubric points on 3 probes. Baseline: 5 of 12. Template.
After retelling a story, Jonah will check his retell against a 5-part checklist and add any missing part, adding all missing parts in 4 of 5 retells. Baseline: adds 0 parts. Template.

Weak: "Maya will retell a story with 80% accuracy." Measurable: Goal 1 above. "80% of a retell" has no meaning without a rubric and a total.

Informational retell (grades 2 to 8)

After reading an unpracticed grade 3 informational passage, Tess will retell its topic, 2 main ideas and 2 supporting details, scoring 8 of 10 on an informational retell rubric on 3 probes. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
After reading a passage with a clear structure (sequence, cause and effect, or compare and contrast), Tess will retell it in that structure using matching signal words, scoring 3 of 4 rubric points in 4 of 5 passages. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.
After reading a textbook section, Raj will recall its key ideas without looking back, including 3 of 4 main points, on 3 consecutive probes. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.
After a nonfiction read-aloud, Raj will retell 4 facts using taught content words correctly, with 4 of 4 accurate and 2 content words used, in 4 of 5 sessions. Baseline: 2 facts, no content words. Template.

Weak: "Tess will retell informational text." Measurable: Goal 1 above. Informational text needs its own rubric, because there is no character or plot.

Older students and access needs (grades 5 to 12)

After reading a novel chapter, Leah will retell it from another character's point of view, with 4 of 5 key events and that character's feelings, scoring 3 of 4 rubric points on 3 probes. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.
After reading a short story, Leah will retell it using at least 3 taught story words correctly, scoring 12 of 14 on the retell rubric on 3 probes. Baseline: 9 of 14, no story words. Template.
After listening to a grade-level text with text-to-speech, Cal will retell it with 4 of 5 key parts in order, on 3 consecutive probes. Baseline: 2 of 5. Template.
After hearing information read aloud, Cal will retell it in the order it was given, with 4 of 4 points in order in 4 of 5 trials. Baseline: 2 of 4. Template.

Weak: "Cal will improve recall of what he reads." Measurable: Goal 3 above. It names the access support, the parts and the order.

How to measure retell goals: rubric scoring

Retell goals are measured with rubric scoring. Use the 14-point story rubric or the 10-point informational rubric from the retell rubric page and never change it mid-year.

Probe frequency. Every 2 weeks for most students; weekly for students in intensive intervention. Repeated measures over time are the core of progress monitoring.^[2] Each probe uses a new, unpracticed story at the goal's level.

Filled-in rubric scoring data sheet. This is Maya's sheet (fictional) for goal 1 in the unprompted section, kept on the rubric scoring data sheet.

Date	Story (grade 2, unpracticed)	Free retell score	Missing parts	Prompts and what they produced
Sept 15	The Lost Kite	8/14	Setting, cause of resolution	"Where?" gave "park"
Sept 17	Snow Day	7/14	Setting, 1 event, story words	"What else happened?" gave 1 event
Sept 19	The New Puppy	9/14	Setting	"Where?" gave "at home"
Oct 3	Lunch Swap	9/14	Setting	None needed for other parts
Oct 17	The Lemonade Stand	10/14	1 event	"What else happened?" gave the event
Oct 31	Rainy Field Trip	11/14	Story words	None

The first three rows are the baseline: median 8 of 14. After setting was taught with a story map in late September, setting points appeared on their own by October 17. That is the kind of note that makes a progress report useful.

Short-term objectives for retell goals

Add parts or remove support. For Maya's goal: by the first report, 10 of 14 with setting included; by the second, 11 of 14 with all events in order; by the third, 12 of 14 with story words. The IEP must state how progress on each goal is measured and reported.^[3] The short-term objectives guide has the format.

Adapting by grade and support level

Grade band or need	Typical focus	Example change
Preschool to K	Retell with props, 3 parts	Familiar picture books
Grades 1 to 3	Unprompted retell, 5 parts in order	150- to 300-word unpracticed stories
Grades 4 to 5	Multi-episode stories, informational retell	Longer stories, science passages
Middle and high school	Retell from a point of view, textbook recall	Chapters and sections
Access needs	Text-to-speech, AAC, home language	Same rubric, different input or output

When a student retells every detail, the next goal is summary. See IEP goals for summarizing. The retelling goal hub, the narrative language goals page and the comprehension goals page hold full templates. Run a draft through the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good retell IEP goal?

One that names the text and level, whether prompts are allowed and a rubric score with its total. For example: after reading an unpracticed grade 2 story, the student will retell it without prompts, scoring 12 of 14 on a story retell rubric on 3 consecutive probes.

How often should I probe a retell goal?

Every 2 weeks works for most students, and weekly for students in intensive intervention. Use a new unpracticed story each time, at the level the goal names, and score it with the same rubric.

What is the difference between retelling and summarizing?

A retell includes the important parts in order, often with some detail. A summary is shorter and keeps only the most important ideas in the student's own words. Students usually learn retelling before summarizing.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences
Progress Monitoring: Data & Goal Setting, National Center on Intensive Intervention
34 CFR §300.320: Definition of individualized education program, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

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.