Literary Analysis & Author's Craft IEP goals for middle school (grades 6 to 8)
9 of the literary analysis & author's craft templates in the library are written for middle school (grades 6 to 8). Each opens in the builder, where the grade band is a starting point and the baseline comes from your own assessment.
9 templates · 1 skill · 6–8 · How we write and review goals
Goals by skill
Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Trace how a theme builds across a story
Theme and central idea
By the annual IEP review date, after reading an instructional-level short story, given a three-box beginning, middle and end organizer, the student will write a theme statement and a quoted detail from the beginning, middle and end that each show the theme growing independently, earning a score of at least 9 out of 12 on a 12-point theme development rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly work samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.
Tell what a first-person narrator could not know
Point of view
By the annual IEP review date, after reading a first-person story or chapter, given 10 statements about events and characters' thoughts, the student will mark each statement as something the narrator could know or could not know and cite the sentence that shows it independently with at least 85% accuracy on narrator knowledge statements, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
Name the device in a figurative sentence
Figurative language and literary devices
By the annual IEP review date, given 12 sentences from instructional-level texts, each containing a simile, metaphor, personification or hyperbole, the student will name the device in each sentence and underline the words that make it independently with at least 80% accuracy on figurative language sentences, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
Explain how imagery sets a passage's mood
Figurative language and literary devices
By the annual IEP review date, after reading a descriptive passage of one or two paragraphs from a class text, the student will write a response that names the mood, quotes three sensory details, and explains how each builds the mood independently, earning a score of at least 7 out of 9 on a 9-point imagery and mood rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly work samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.
Find structure parts in poems and plays
Genre features
By the annual IEP review date, given a one-page scene from a play and 10 questions about its parts, the student will answer each question by locating the named part (cast list, stage direction, speaker, scene, stanza, line, rhyme or refrain) and marking it on the page independently with at least 85% accuracy on structure questions, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
Explain what drives a character's choice
Character motivation
By the annual IEP review date, after reading an instructional-level short story, given a key decision a character makes, the student will write an explanation of the character's motive for the choice, with two text clues and what the character hoped would happen independently, earning a score of at least 7 out of 9 on a 9-point character motivation rubric, on 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly work samples, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected every two weeks.
Middle school literary analysis & author's craft goals account for multiple teachers, changing classes, and more independent work. They often pair the skill with a strategy or tool, and the data can be collected across settings by different staff or by the student.
Matching data sheets
Each goal above links to the blank sheet built for its measure. These are the sheets this set of goals uses:
Frequently asked questions
How are literary analysis & author's craft goals measured across several middle school classes?
By defining the task and the observation period so any teacher can use the same sheet, or by work samples collected from more than one class. Student self-monitoring with a weekly check is common.
Should middle school goals include study skills?
When assessment shows that organization, planning, or test preparation limits the student's progress, yes. Those goals are measured with task-analysis checklists and percent of assignments completed.
When does transition planning start?
The IEP in effect when the student turns 16 must include postsecondary goals and transition services, and many states start at 14. Middle school goals can build the self-advocacy and independence those plans rely on.
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