Peer interaction IEP goals

Peer interaction goals cover the moments a student spends with classmates: recess, lunch, partner work, clubs and group chats. They differ from adult-directed social skills goals because the other person is a child who does not follow a script. That makes them harder to write and harder to measure, and it is why many of them end up vague.

These 20 goals are grouped by what the student needs to do with peers: respond, start, stay in the interaction, and work together. Each has a fictional baseline and a link to its template. The numbers are illustrations. For general social skills such as conversation rules and handling disagreements, see social skills IEP goal examples. The full area is covered in the social-emotional IEP goals pillar.

Write the goal around the student, not the peers

A goal like "Diego will have a friend" depends on other children. No IEP can promise that. Write the goal around actions Diego controls: greeting, answering, inviting, staying with the group. Then count the chances he had and what he did with them.

Place the goal where peers are. Students with IEPs take part with peers without disabilities in meals, recess and other nonacademic activities to the extent appropriate.^[1] A peer goal practiced only in a therapy room with one adult rarely carries over. Teach in small groups if needed, then measure on the playground and in the cafeteria.

The SLP is often part of the plan. Social communication, the use of language with other people, falls within the SLP's role in schools.^[2] Many teams share these goals between the SLP, the classroom teacher and a paraprofessional who sees recess.

How to choose a peer interaction goal

Before choosing, watch 2 or 3 recess or lunch periods. Count peer bids to the student, the student's bids to peers and how long each exchange lasts. Those 3 numbers usually point to the right section below.

Goals for responding to peers

Start here when peers already approach the student. Answering keeps peers coming back, which gives the student more chances to practice everything else.

1. When a peer says "stop" or moves away, Ava will stop the action within 3 seconds in 9 of 10 opportunities across recess and centers. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
2. During peer tutoring, Ava will answer her tutor's questions and prompts in 8 of 10 opportunities per session on 3 consecutive sessions. Baseline: 4 of 10. Template.
3. When a peer makes a joke or playful comment, Ben will respond with a laugh, a comment or a reply in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
4. During social time, Ben will answer peers with his AAC device in 6 of 8 peer questions on 3 of 4 observed days. Baseline: 2 of 8. Template.
5. After a classmate shares at morning meeting, Ava will ask the classmate a question in 3 of 4 sharing times. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.

Weak: "Ben will interact appropriately with peers." Measurable: Goal 3 above. It names the peer's bid and counts the reply.

Goals for starting interactions

Initiation is often the hardest step. Teach a few short openers the student is comfortable with, and keep the criterion small at first. Two real initiations at recess beat ten scripted ones in a therapy room.

1. When choosing partners, Diego will ask a classmate to be his partner on 3 of 4 partner activities over 4 weeks. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
2. At lunch or in the commons, Diego will ask to sit with a group of peers on 4 of 5 days. Baseline: 0 of 5. Template.
3. At lunch, Diego will exchange at least 3 comments or questions with a peer on 4 of 5 days, tallied by the lunch aide. Baseline: 0 per lunch. Template.
4. When a classmate is alone at recess, Hana will invite the peer to join in on 3 of 4 opportunities the aide observes. Baseline: 0 of 4. Template.
5. During class or group work, Hana will give a peer a compliment or encouragement at least 2 times per day for 4 weeks. Baseline: 0 per day. Template.

Weak: "Diego will make friends at lunch." Measurable: Goal 3 above. The aide tallies comments, which does not depend on whether a friendship forms.

The friendship skills hub and the conversation skills hub have more templates for openers.

Goals for staying in the interaction

Some students start well but leave after one turn. Measure how long the shared activity lasts, using a stopwatch or the minute marks on a recess observation.

1. During a partner activity, Lucas will stay with his assigned partner for 12 minutes on 4 of 5 activities. Baseline: 4 minutes. Template.
2. In a small-group conversation with classmates, Lucas will stay and take part for 8 minutes on 3 of 4 observed occasions. Baseline: 2 minutes. Template.
3. During recess, Maria will take part in a shared activity with a peer for 8 minutes on 4 of 5 recesses. Baseline: 2 minutes. Template.
4. At centers, Maria will trade turns with a trained peer buddy at least 8 times per 15-minute center on 3 consecutive days. Baseline: 2 trades. Template.
5. At a weekly club meeting, Lucas will work alongside club members on the shared activity for 30 minutes on 3 of 4 meetings. Baseline: 10 minutes. Template.

Weak: "Lucas will play with peers." Measurable: Goal 3 above. Minutes in a shared activity are easy to time.

The fourth goal uses a trained peer buddy. Peer-mediated support, where classmates are taught how to invite and respond, gives the student more natural practice than an adult can. Train 2 or 3 peers, rotate them, and keep it voluntary for them.

Goals for partner and group work

Classroom partner work is the most frequent peer interaction in a school day, and it is easy to measure because the teacher is right there.

1. During partner reading or math talk, Sophie will share her answer and restate her partner's answer in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.
2. During partner reading, Sophie will switch roles and coach her partner on 5 of 6 sessions. Baseline: 2 of 6. Template.
3. In cooperative groups, Sam will carry out an assigned group job, such as timekeeper, in 4 of 5 group lessons. Baseline: 2 of 5. Template.
4. During a group project, Sam will take a role and complete the agreed part, finishing 4 of 4 steps on the task checklist for 3 projects. Baseline: 1 of 4. Template.
5. When a peer suggests a different way to do the task, Sophie will try it or explain another plan in 4 of 5 opportunities. Baseline: 1 of 5. Template.

Weak: "Sam will work cooperatively in groups." Measurable: Goal 4 above. A short checklist of the agreed steps shows exactly what he did.

How to measure peer interaction at recess and lunch

Free settings are noisy and busy. Pick a method that one adult can run without following the student around.

• Event tally for starts and responses. Mark each initiation and each response on a card during a 15-minute window. Use the frequency data sheet and the frequency recording method.
• Opportunities for answering peers. Count each peer bid as an opportunity and record whether the student answered. The opportunity data sheet fits.
• Duration for staying in. Start a stopwatch when the shared activity begins and stop it when the student leaves. See duration recording.
• Scan sampling for whole recesses. Every 2 minutes, look up for 10 seconds and mark whether the student is alone, near peers or with peers. Over a 20-minute recess that gives 10 marks. See interval recording.

Measure on the same days and times each week. Recess on a Friday before a holiday is not the same setting as recess on a Tuesday in March. Record the activity too, because a student who joins in on the climbing frame may not join in at four square.

Short-term objectives

Change one thing at a time: the support, the setting or the length. For the lunch goal:

1. Exchanges 3 comments with a trained peer buddy at a small table, with a topic card.
2. Exchanges 3 comments with a peer at the regular table, with a topic card.
3. Exchanges 3 comments with any peer at the regular table, with no card.

The short-term objectives guide covers the format.

Adapting by grade

Autistic students often benefit from interest-based groups, where the shared topic gives a natural reason to talk. The IEP goals for autism guide covers that. Teenagers can use the discussion and online goals in social-emotional goals for high school.

All 55 templates are on the peer interaction goals page, with more on the social skills hub and the play and social participation goals. Paste your draft into the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

Use it in IEP Atlas

• Peer interaction goals (social emotional)
• Social skills goal hub
• Friendship skills goal hub
• Play and social participation goals
• Frequency data sheet
• IEP goal checker

Related guides

• Social-emotional IEP goals: examples you can actually measure
• Social skills IEP goal examples
• Social-emotional IEP goals for high school students
• IEP goals for autism: examples by area and age
• IEP goals for friendship skills
• IEP goals for bullying and teasing

Sources

1. 34 CFR §300.117: Nonacademic settings, U.S. Department of Education (IDEA website)
2. Social Communication Disorder, ASHA
3. 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.