Grammar, Syntax & Morphology IEP goals for kindergarten to grade 2
28 of the grammar, syntax & morphology templates in the library are written for kindergarten to grade 2. 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 · K–2 · How we write and review goals
Goals by skill
Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Grammar, Syntax & Morphology Speech & Language
Say a three- to four-word sentence about a picture
Subject-verb-object sentences
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 action pictures showing a person or animal doing something to an object and asked "What's happening?", the student will say a sentence with a subject, a verb, and an object (such as "Boy kicks ball") independently with at least 80% accuracy on action pictures, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Use is or are with -ing to describe actions
Present progressive (is/are + verb-ing)
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 action pictures and asked "What is he/she doing?" or "What are they doing?", the student will describe the action with is or are plus the verb with -ing (such as "The dog is running," "They are eating") independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts for present progressive, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Mark regular plurals with -s or -es
Regular plural -s and -es
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 picture pairs showing one item and several items and asked "What are these?", the student will name the group with the plural ending -s or -es (such as "cats," "buses") independently with at least 85% accuracy on obligatory contexts for regular plurals, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Use irregular plural nouns
Irregular plurals
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 picture pairs of nouns with irregular plurals (such as foot/feet, child/children, mouse/mice, sheep/sheep), the student will name the group with the correct irregular plural form independently with at least 80% accuracy on irregular plural contexts, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Mark possession with 's
Possessive 's
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 pictures of people or animals with belongings and asked "Whose is it?", the student will name the owner with the possessive marker (such as "the girl's hat," "Dad's keys") independently with at least 80% accuracy on obligatory contexts for possessive 's, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
Use subject pronouns (he, she, they) in sentences
Subject pronouns
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 action pictures of single people or groups and asked "What is happening?", the student will use the subject pronoun (he, she or they) that matches the character(s) when describing the picture independently with at least 85% accuracy on obligatory contexts for subject pronouns, across 3 consecutive therapy sessions, as measured by opportunity-by-opportunity data collected during each therapy session.
In kindergarten through grade 2, grammar, syntax & morphology goals target foundational skills and are measured with short probes, word lists, or direct observation that fit a young student's attention span. Criteria usually use small item sets and frequent checks.
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 grammar, syntax & morphology goals measured in the early grades?
With brief, repeatable measures: a one-minute probe, a 10-item set, or a few observed opportunities per day. The goal's mastery rule states how many measurements must meet the criterion.
Should early-grade goals be tied to grade-level standards?
Goals come from the student's present levels and should enable progress in the general curriculum, but the criterion is set from baseline data, not copied from a standard. The standard can inform what skill to target.
How many goals should a K-2 student have?
One per area of need identified in the evaluation. Young students often have goals across several areas (communication, early literacy, self-regulation), so keeping each goal to one measure keeps data collection realistic.
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