Receptive Language IEP goals for grades 3 to 5
28 of the receptive language templates in the library are written for grades 3 to 5. Each opens in the builder, where the grade band is a starting point and the baseline comes from your own assessment.
28 templates · 1 skill · 3–5 · How we write and review goals
Goals by skill
Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Receptive Language Speech & Language
Answer wh- questions about a passage read aloud
Answering wh- questions about a heard passage
By the annual IEP review date, after listening to a short passage or story read aloud at their listening comprehension level, the student will answer wh- questions about the passage aloud, in writing, or by pointing to a picture choice independently with at least 80% accuracy on questions, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Identify and define taught curriculum vocabulary
Curriculum vocabulary
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 taught vocabulary words from the current science or social studies unit, the student will define each taught vocabulary word by stating its category and at least one defining feature independently with at least 80% accuracy on taught curriculum vocabulary words, on 3 of 4 consecutive unit probes, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected every two weeks.
Sort items into categories and name the category
Categories
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sets of three or four pictures or words from familiar categories, the student will name the category that each set of items belongs to independently with at least 80% accuracy on categorization items, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Find the item that matches a spoken description
Identifying items from a description
By the annual IEP review date, given a field of four pictures and a spoken description with two or three features for 10 items, the student will select the item that matches all the features in the description independently with at least 85% accuracy on descriptions, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Find the item that goes with a named item
Identifying associations
By the annual IEP review date, given a field of four pictures and a spoken word, and asked which one goes with it, for 10 items, the student will select the picture that is commonly associated with the named item independently with at least 85% accuracy on association items, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Pick the two items that are alike or the one that is different
Same and different
By the annual IEP review date, given sets of four pictures and asked to find the two that are the same kind of thing, for 10 sets, the student will select the two items that are alike independently with at least 85% accuracy on same-and-different sets, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Grades 3 to 5 receptive language goals build on foundational skills and begin to use longer tasks, multi-step work, and independence as the target. Measurement shifts toward curriculum-based probes, work samples, and rubrics the student can see.
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
What changes in receptive language goals between the early and upper elementary grades?
Tasks get longer and more independent, and the support level in the goal moves from prompts toward checklists and self-monitoring. The measure often changes too, from direct observation to work samples and probes.
Can an upper elementary goal include self-monitoring?
Yes. Students at this age can check their own work or rate their own behavior, and the goal can measure both the skill and the accuracy of the self-rating.
How do I set a criterion for a grade 3 to 5 student working below grade level?
Use the student's baseline on the measure and expected growth for that measure, not the grade-level benchmark. The goal should be ambitious for the student, as Endrew F. requires, and reachable within the year.
IEP Atlas Pro
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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.