Social Awareness & Perspective Taking IEP goals for middle school (grades 6 to 8)
21 of the social awareness & perspective taking 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.
21 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.
Social Awareness & Perspective Taking Social-Emotional & Communication
Name emotions from tone of voice
Emotions from tone of voice
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 recorded sentences with neutral words (such as "We're going now") said in happy, sad, angry, or worried voices, the student will name or choose the emotion the speaker's voice shows independently with at least 80% accuracy on recorded voice samples, across 3 consecutive sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Tell friendly teasing from unkind teasing
Friendly versus unkind teasing
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short written or video scenarios of peer teasing at school, half friendly and half unkind, the student will tell whether the teasing is friendly or unkind and name 2 clues that show it independently with at least 80% accuracy on teasing scenarios, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Read sarcasm from words and situation
Interpreting sarcasm
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short written or video scenes in which a person makes a comment that is sarcastic or sincere, the student will say whether the comment is sarcastic or sincere, what the speaker really means, and the clue independently with at least 75% accuracy on sarcastic or sincere comments, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Tell when someone is joking
Recognizing jokes
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short scenes of peers talking, half including a joke and half serious, the student will say whether the person is joking or serious and name one clue independently with at least 80% accuracy on joke or serious scenes, across 3 consecutive sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected weekly.
Notice when a listener has lost interest
Noticing a listener's interest
By the annual IEP review date, during a 5-minute conversation with a peer or adult about a topic the student picked, the student will notice the listener's signals and respond by asking a question, checking in ("Want to hear more?"), or giving the listener a turn independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive sessions, as measured by direct observation collected weekly.
Name two points of view in a disagreement
Seeing both sides
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 short written or video scenarios of a disagreement between two students, the student will state what each person wants and one reason each person has independently with at least 80% accuracy on disagreement scenarios, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Middle school social awareness & perspective taking 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:
- Accuracy trackerNumber correct out of number attempted, with percent accuracy and support level.Used by 12 goals here
- Opportunity trackerRecords each opportunity as independent, prompted, or not demonstrated.Used by 4 goals here
- Rubric trackerScores each rubric criterion and totals the score for each sample.Used by 5 goals here
Frequently asked questions
How are social awareness & perspective taking 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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Count trials, prompts, and minutes live in the session; the graph and trend line draw themselves; progress reports are drafted from your data.