IEP goals for writing simple sentences

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

An IEP goal for writing simple sentences names the prompt, what makes the sentence complete, and how many sentences must meet it. For example: given a picture prompt, the student will write a sentence with a subject and a verb, a capital and an end mark in at least 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 data days. Below are 20 goals at five levels.

"Will write complete sentences" is one of the most common writing goals and one of the least useful as written. It does not say what prompt the student gets, what counts as complete, or how many sentences make a score. Two teachers would score the same paper differently.

The 20 goals below each settle those questions. They are grouped by level, from building a sentence out of word cards to finding fragments in the student's own writing. Each links to its library template and shows a sample baseline; replace it with the student's own data. For the full range of writing goals, from sentences to essays, see the pillar guide to IEP goals for writing.

Choosing the right sentence goal

What the student does now	Sub-skill to target	Measure
Writes single words or labels, no sentences	Building a sentence from given words	Opportunities
Says a sentence but cannot get it on paper	Say, count and write routine	Task-analysis steps
Writes sentences missing a subject or a verb	Writing a complete sentence from a picture	Opportunities or rubric points
Writes fragments and run-ons in paragraphs	Finding and fixing incomplete sentences	Percent of sentences in own writing
Writes complete but bare, short sentences	Expanding with details and conjunctions	Percent of items
Handwriting blocks composing	Typed, dictated or AAC sentences	Percent of items or opportunities

A sentence goal fits best when the student's writing samples show the problem at the sentence level. If sentences are fine but paragraphs fall apart, use a paragraph goal instead.

Building sentences from parts

These goals fit early writers and students who need the structure of a sentence made visible before they compose one.

Goal	Baseline
Build a sentence from word cards: By the annual IEP review date, given three to four picture-supported word cards that form a sentence, presented out of order, the student will arrange the cards left to right into a sentence that makes sense and read it aloud while pointing to each card independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive data collection days, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected twice weekly.	1 of 5
Unscramble words into a sentence and write it: By the annual IEP review date, given five sets of three to six scrambled word cards with the first word capitalized and the end mark on the last card, the student will put the words in an order that makes a complete sentence and write the sentence with spaces between words independently in at least 4 of 5 scrambled sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	2 of 5
Change one word in a patterned sentence: By the annual IEP review date, given a model patterned sentence on a card and picture choices for the changing word, the student will write a new sentence that keeps the model pattern and changes one word to name a different thing independently in at least 5 of 6 opportunities, across 2 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected twice weekly.	1 of 6
Build a sentence from a three-column word bank: By the annual IEP review date, given a word bank with three columns (who, does, what) of picture-supported words and a sentence strip, the student will choose one word from each column to build a sentence that makes sense and write or place it on the sentence strip independently in at least 5 of 6 tries, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected twice weekly.	1 of 6

Weak: "Will put words together to make sentences."

Measurable: "Given five sets of 3 to 6 scrambled word cards, will order and write each as a complete sentence in at least 4 of 5 sets on 3 of 4 weekly probes."

Writing a sentence from a prompt

The core simple-sentence goals. The prompt is a picture, a word or a spoken idea; the product is one complete sentence.

Goal	Baseline
Write a complete simple sentence: By the annual IEP review date, given a picture or oral prompt during a structured writing activity, the student will write a complete sentence with a subject and a verb that begins with a capital letter and ends with end punctuation independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive data collection days, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected twice weekly.	1 of 5
Tell who is doing what in a picture: By the annual IEP review date, given a photo or drawing that shows one person or animal doing a clear action, the student will write a sentence that names who is in the picture and what they are doing independently in at least 4 of 5 pictures, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	1 of 5
Write a sentence using a given word: By the annual IEP review date, given five target words from the week's vocabulary or spelling list, the student will write a complete sentence for each word that uses the word correctly and shows its meaning independently with at least 85% accuracy on target words, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	40% of words
Picture prompt sentences scored on a rubric: By the annual IEP review date, given a detailed picture prompt (such as a busy playground or kitchen) and 10 minutes, the student will write three sentences about the picture that each tell who, what they are doing, and where or when independently, earning a score of at least 7 out of 9 on a 9-point picture sentence rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive weekly samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected weekly.	3 of 9 points

Weak: "Will write a sentence about a picture."

Measurable: "Given a picture of one person doing a clear action, will write a sentence naming who and what they are doing in at least 4 of 5 pictures across 3 weeks."

Complete sentences, not fragments

For students who write in paragraphs but whose sentences run together or stop short. These goals measure the student's own writing, so they show whether the skill carries over.

Goal	Baseline
Sort complete sentences from fragments: By the annual IEP review date, given 10 written word groups, half complete sentences and half fragments, the student will mark each word group as a complete sentence or not and fix each fragment by adding the missing part independently with at least 90% accuracy on word groups, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	50% of word groups
Check own sentences for who and doing parts: By the annual IEP review date, after writing a paragraph or journal entry, given a sentence checklist (who or what, doing part, capital, end mark), the student will underline the who or what and circle the doing part in each sentence, and fix any sentence that is missing one independently in at least 4 of 5 entries, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	1 of 5 entries
Write sentences without run-ons or fragments: By the annual IEP review date, in independent writing samples of at least eight sentences, the student will independently write complete sentences without run-ons or fragments with at least 90% accuracy on sentences written, across 3 consecutive biweekly writing samples, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.	60% of sentences
Answer questions in complete sentences: By the annual IEP review date, given a classwork or homework assignment with at least five short-answer questions, the student will write each answer as a complete sentence that restates part of the question and gives the answer independently in at least 9 of 10 short-answer questions, across 3 consecutive weekly assignments, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	2 of 10 answers

Weak: "Will avoid run-on sentences."

Measurable: "In independent samples of at least 8 sentences, will write complete sentences with no run-ons or fragments in 90% of sentences across 3 biweekly samples."

Expanding and varying simple sentences

Once the student writes complete sentences, the next step is sentences that carry more information.

Goal	Baseline
Write statements, questions, commands and exclamations: By the annual IEP review date, given eight prompts that each name a topic and a sentence type (statement, question, command, or exclamation), the student will write a complete sentence of the named type with the matching end punctuation for each prompt independently in at least 7 of 8 sentence prompts, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	2 of 8 prompts
Expand kernel sentences with details: By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short kernel sentences of three to four words each, the student will expand each sentence by adding at least two details that tell when, where, why, or how while keeping it a complete sentence independently with at least 80% accuracy on kernel sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	30% of sentences
Join two actions with and: By the annual IEP review date, given ten pairs of short sentences that share the same subject, the student will write one sentence that keeps the subject once and joins the two actions with and independently in at least 8 of 10 sentence pairs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	3 of 10 pairs
Complete stems with because, but or so: By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sentence stems that end in because, but, or so, on familiar topics, the student will complete each stem with an ending that makes sense for the conjunction and forms a complete sentence independently with at least 90% accuracy on sentence stems, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	30% of stems

Weak: "Will write longer sentences."

Measurable: "Given 10 kernel sentences, will add at least two when, where, why or how details to each with 80% accuracy on 3 of 4 weekly probes."

Typed, dictated and AAC sentences

When handwriting gets in the way, measure composing with the tool the student uses. Put the tool in the condition.

Goal	Baseline
Type complete sentences about pictures: By the annual IEP review date, given 10 pictures and a keyboard or tablet, the student will type a complete sentence for each picture with a capital letter, a subject and a verb, and an end mark independently in at least 8 of 10 pictures, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	2 of 10 pictures
Dictate sentences with speech-to-text: By the annual IEP review date, given 10 picture or question prompts and speech-to-text software, the student will dictate one complete sentence per prompt and correct any misrecognized words so that each sentence reads as intended independently with at least 85% accuracy on dictated sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	30% of sentences
Compose a journal sentence on an AAC device: By the annual IEP review date, during daily journal time, given a photo or drawing from a recent activity and the student's AAC device, the student will use the AAC device to compose a journal sentence of at least three words about the photo independently in at least 3 of 4 journal sessions, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	1 of 4 sessions
Say, count and write a sentence: By the annual IEP review date, during journal or writing time, given a sentence idea the student has chosen, the student will follow the say, count, and write routine to write a sentence the student composed aloud using a picture card of the routine steps, performing at least 6 of 7 steps independently, across 3 consecutive observed writing sessions, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected twice weekly.	2 of 7 steps

Weak: "Will use assistive technology to write sentences."

Measurable: "Given 10 pictures and a tablet keyboard, will type a complete sentence with a capital, subject, verb and end mark for at least 8 of 10 on 3 of 4 weekly probes."

How to measure sentence goals

Decide before the first probe what counts as a complete sentence: a subject, a verb, a capital at the start and an end mark, or only the first two. Write the rule on the data sheet and use it all year. Count sentences, not lines.

Goals scored as opportunities use the opportunity data sheet. Mark each prompt as met or not met.
Goals scored as percent of items use the accuracy data sheet, with the item count written at the top.
The rubric goal uses a 3-row rubric (who, doing, where or when) scored 0 to 1 per sentence.

For sentence goals that need a fluency measure, correct word sequences on short picture-word probes work well. The guide on how to measure writing with TWW and CWS shows how to score them. The writing practice guide from the What Works Clearinghouse lists sentence construction among the foundational skills to teach directly.^[1]

Objectives for sentence goals

Sentence goals break down well by fading support: word bank and picture, then picture only, then a spoken topic. They also step by level, from building a sentence from cards to writing one from a picture. The page of IEP goals and objectives examples shows how to set up both kinds.

Adapting by grade and support level

Level	Typical sentence goal	Prompt and support
Preschool and K	Build a 3-word sentence from picture cards	Word cards with pictures, adult reads cards
Grades 1 to 2	Write who is doing what about a picture	One clear action per picture
Grades 3 to 5	Complete sentences in own paragraphs	Sentence checklist, then none
Grades 6 to 12	Answer content questions in complete sentences	Class assignments, no frame
Significant support needs	Compose a sentence with AAC or a word bank	Device or 3-column bank, daily routine

For spelling inside these sentences, see the spelling IEP goal examples. For goal wording to adapt, browse sentence construction goals in the library, then check your draft with the goal checker.

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a complete sentence in an IEP goal?

Decide and write it down. Most goals require a subject and a verb that express a complete thought. Many also require a capital letter at the start and an end mark. State the rule on the data sheet so every scorer uses the same one.

Should a simple sentence goal include capitals and punctuation?

Include them if the student is ready to handle both at once. For a student just learning to write any sentence, keep the goal on subject and verb and add a separate mechanics goal later.

How do I write a sentence goal for a student who cannot handwrite?

Measure composing with the tool the student uses, such as a keyboard, speech-to-text or an AAC device. Name the tool in the condition and score the sentence the same way you would a handwritten one.

Use it in IEP Atlas

Sources

Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers, What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences

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.