IEP goals for narrative writing: 20 examples from labels to dialogue

By the IEP Atlas editorial teamLast updated November 1, 2026

Short answer

A narrative writing IEP goal names the prompt or support, the story parts the student must include, and how the story is scored. For example: given a story map and two writing sessions, the student will write a story with characters, a setting, a problem, two events and a solution, scoring at least 11 of 15 on a story grammar rubric on 3 of 4 scored stories.

Narrative writing is the first kind of writing most children do: a drawing with a label, then "I went to the park," then a story with a problem. It is also where gaps in oral language show up on paper. A student who cannot retell a story in order out loud will rarely write one in order.

The 20 goals below run from emergent writing to dialogue and character feelings. Each links to its template in the written expression goal bank and shows a sample baseline. For the full set of writing goal types, start with the pillar guide to IEP goals for writing.

How to choose a narrative writing goal

Collect two stories the student wrote alone and one oral retell of a familiar story. Compare them. If the oral retell is organized and the written one is not, the barrier is likely transcription or planning. If both are disorganized, start with story structure and work with the SLP, since narrative language is often a language goal too.

What the samples show	Sub-skill to target	Measure
Drawings with no writing, or random letters	Emergent narrative: dictation, labels, sequenced pictures	Opportunities or task-analysis steps
One sentence about an event, then stops	Recounts and journals	Opportunities, rubric points
Events with no problem or ending ("and then... and then...")	Story structure	Story grammar rubric points
Complete plot, flat telling, no dialogue or feelings	Narrative craft	Rubric points or percent of sentences revised
Cannot retell or summarize a story read aloud	Responding to stories	Rubric points or opportunities

Emergent narrative goals

For preschool through first grade, and for older students at the earliest stages of writing. These goals accept dictation, labels and pictures, because the story matters more than the letters at this point.

Goal	Baseline
Dictate a sentence about a drawing: After completing a drawing during center or journal time, the student will dictate a complete sentence about the drawing for an adult to write under it, given one open question such as "What is happening in your picture?", in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	1 of 5 opportunities
Label a drawing with letters or words: After completing a drawing during journal or center time, the student will write at least one label on the drawing using the first letter sound or more of the word independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	0 of 5 opportunities
Order three pictures and tell a sentence for each: Given three pictures of a familiar routine or short story presented out of order, the student will arrange them and dictate or write one sentence for each using first, then and last, performing all 4 steps independently, across 3 consecutive data collection days, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected twice weekly.	1 of 4 steps
Finish each page of a story booklet: During writing workshop, given a stapled booklet of three to five pages with a picture box and lines on each page, the student will add a picture and at least one sentence that tells part of the story on each page independently, completing at least 80% of assigned booklet pages, across 3 consecutive weeks of booklets, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	30% of pages

Weak: "Will tell stories about pictures."

Measurable: "Given three out-of-order pictures of a familiar routine, will order them and dictate or write a sentence for each using first, then and last, completing all 4 steps on 3 consecutive data days."

Recount and journal goals

A recount tells real events in order. It is the bridge between a single sentence and a story, and it gives students something true to write about, which helps reluctant writers.

Goal	Baseline
Write a journal entry of connected sentences: Given a daily journal prompt or a picture and 15 minutes of journal time, the student will write at least three connected sentences about the prompt independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks of journal entries, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	1 of 5 opportunities
Retell a class event with first, next, last: After a shared class event, given photos of three moments, the student will write a recount with at least one sentence for each of three events in order, starting the sentences with first, next and last, earning at least 7 of 9 points on a sequenced recount rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored recounts, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	2 of 9 points
Recount a community outing using photos: After a community outing, given three photos and a word bank, the student will write a recount of at least three sentences, one per photo, that tell what happened in order independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 5 consecutive outings, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected after each outing.	1 of 5 opportunities
Write a reflective response: Given a reflective prompt about a text, class activity or personal goal and 20 minutes, the student will write a response that states a reaction, gives a specific personal experience and explains what it means for the student, earning at least 7 of 9 points on a reflective writing rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored responses, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	2 of 9 points

Weak: "Will write in a journal daily."

Measurable: "Given a journal prompt and 15 minutes, will write at least three connected sentences about the prompt in at least 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 consecutive weeks."

Story structure goals

Story grammar is the set of parts most stories share: characters, setting, a problem, events, and a resolution. A short rubric with one row per part turns a story into numbers you can graph.

Goal	Baseline
Write a personal narrative with a beginning, middle and end: Given a personal narrative prompt and a 30-minute writing period, the student will write a personal narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end, earning at least 11 of 15 points on a narrative writing rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	6 of 15 points
Draft a story from a story map: Given a narrative prompt, a story map with boxes for characters, setting, problem, events and solution, and two writing sessions, the student will fill in the map and write a story that follows it, with at least two events, earning at least 11 of 15 points on a story grammar writing rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored stories, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	4 of 15 points
Dictate a story to a scribe and revise: Given a narrative prompt, a planning organizer and a scribe who writes exactly what the student says, the student will dictate a story with a character, setting, problem, events in order and a solution, then listen to it read back and name at least one change, earning at least 9 of 12 points on a dictated story rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored stories, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	4 of 12 points
Create a digital story with images and text: Given a book-creation or slide app, a narrative topic and three class sessions, the student will create a digital story of at least five pages, each with an image and at least two sentences, with a beginning, middle and end, earning at least 8 of 12 points on a digital story rubric, on 2 consecutive scored stories, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected monthly.	3 of 12 points

Weak: "Will write a story with a beginning, middle and end."

Measurable: "Given a story map and two sessions, will write a story with characters, setting, problem, two events and a solution scoring at least 11 of 15 on the story grammar rubric on 3 of 4 scored stories."

The dictated story goal keeps the focus on composing for a student whose handwriting or spelling would otherwise cap the story at a few sentences. It is still a writing goal: the student plans, composes and revises.

Narrative craft goals

Once the plot holds together, the next gap is usually telling instead of showing. These goals target dialogue, feelings and description.

Goal	Baseline
Write a story that includes dialogue: Given a narrative prompt with two characters and 30 minutes, the student will write a story with at least three exchanges of dialogue that move the story forward, earning at least 7 of 9 points on a narrative dialogue rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored stories, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	3 of 9 points
Show a character's feelings through action and dialogue: When drafting or revising a narrative in English class, the student will replace or expand each sentence that names a character's emotion with at least two sentences that show it through actions, dialogue or body language independently with at least 75% accuracy on emotion-naming sentences, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored drafts, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.	20% of sentences
Punctuate dialogue with quotation marks and commas: Given 10 lines of dialogue with speaker tags, written without quotation marks or commas, the student will add quotation marks around the spoken words, a comma or end mark inside the closing marks, and a capital at the start of the quotation independently with at least 80% accuracy on lines, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	2 of 10 lines (20%)
Write a descriptive paragraph with sensory details: Given a familiar object, place or photograph and 20 minutes, the student will write a descriptive paragraph that names the subject and includes details about how it looks, sounds, feels, smells or tastes, earning at least 7 of 9 points on a descriptive writing rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	3 of 9 points

Weak: "Will use more descriptive language."

Measurable: "When revising a narrative, will expand at least 75% of sentences that name a character's emotion into two sentences that show it through action or dialogue, on 3 of 4 scored drafts."

Responding to and summarizing stories

These goals sit where reading and writing meet. They ask the student to write about a story someone else wrote, which is the most common narrative task in grades 3 and up.

Goal	Baseline
Write a response to a story: After listening to a story read aloud, the student will write a response that names the main character, the setting and one important event independently, earning at least 5 of 6 points on a story response rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive scored responses, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.	2 of 6 points
Summarize a story with somebody, wanted, but, so: After reading or listening to a short story at the student's instructional level, the student will write a summary of three to five sentences that names the main character, what the character wanted, the problem, what the character did and how it ended independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive weeks of data, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.	0 of 5 opportunities
Complete reading response journal entries: During independent reading time, given a response journal with one prompt per day, the student will complete each entry with at least three sentences that respond to the prompt and name the book independently, completing at least 85% of assigned entries, across 4 consecutive weeks, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.	40% of entries
Write a journal entry from a historical perspective: Given a historical setting from the current social studies unit, class notes and two writing sessions, the student will write a first-person journal entry as a person from the period that includes at least three accurate facts and describes what the person did, saw and thought, earning at least 7 of 9 points on a historical perspective rubric, on 2 consecutive scored entries, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected monthly.	3 of 9 points

Weak: "Will summarize stories."

Measurable: "After reading a short story at instructional level, will write a three- to five-sentence summary naming the character, goal, problem, action and ending in at least 4 of 5 opportunities."

How to measure narrative writing goals

The What Works Clearinghouse elementary writing guide recommends teaching students to use the writing process and to write for a range of purposes, narrative among them.^[1] Measuring a story well takes a short, fixed rubric and equivalent prompts.

Story grammar rubric. One row per part (character, setting, problem, events, resolution), each scored 0 to 3. That gives a 15-point rubric. Record part scores on the rubric scoring data sheet so you can see which part is missing. The full method is in how to score a writing sample against a rubric.
Opportunities. Journal, dictation and summary goals count successful entries out of the chances given.
Amount of writing. If the student's stories are organized but very short, add a fluency measure such as total words written or correct word sequences, explained in how to measure writing with TWW and CWS.
Prompts. Rotate prompts of the same type. Personal narrative prompts ("a time you were surprised") work better for students with little background knowledge than fantasy prompts.

Score every two weeks and plot the totals. Check the goal wording in the goal checker before the meeting.

Short-term objectives for narrative goals

Story structure goals break down by story part. For the story map goal:

Fill in every box of the story map for 4 of 5 prompts.
Write a story with a character, setting and problem, scoring 7 of 15.
Add two events in order and a solution, scoring 9 of 15.
Write the full story from the map, scoring 11 of 15 on 3 of 4 scored stories.

Adapting narrative goals by grade and support level

Targets are illustrations, not norms.

Grade band or support level	Typical narrative target	Typical support
Preschool to grade 1	Labels, dictated sentences, three-picture sequences	Drawing first, adult scribe
Grades 2 to 3	Recounts with first, next, last; simple stories with a problem	Story map, photos
Grades 4 to 5	Full story grammar; dialogue; summaries	Story map, then plain planning sheet
Middle and high school	Feelings shown through action; historical and reflective narratives	Mentor texts, checklists
Significant support needs at any age	Recounts of real events from photos; dictated or device-composed stories	Photos, word banks, a scribe or AAC

Students working on basic paragraph organization can pair this page with paragraph writing IEP goals. For opinion pieces, see IEP goals for opinion and argument writing.

Frequently asked questions

Should the SLP or the teacher own a narrative writing goal?

Either can, and many teams share it. If the student's oral retells are also disorganized, the SLP often targets story structure in speech and the teacher targets the written version. Use the same story grammar rubric for both so the data line up.

Is a dictated story a real writing goal?

Yes. Composing a story, planning it and revising it are writing skills, whoever holds the pencil. Name the scribe in the goal's condition so everyone knows how the story was produced, and address handwriting or spelling in separate goals.

How long should a narrative writing probe be?

Long enough to write a full story at the student's level: often 15 minutes in grades 1 and 2, 25 to 30 minutes in grades 3 to 5, and one or two class periods for longer pieces in middle school. Keep the time the same on every probe.

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.