Grocery Shopping IEP goals
19 templates across 10 skills: community services: library, post office & bank, independent living, functional academics, personal finance & money management, daily living skills, planning, working memory strategies, math problem solving, health education, social studies skills. Open any goal to set the baseline and target from your own data, then print the matching data sheet.
19 templates · 10 skills · 3–5, 6–8, 9–12 · How we write and review goals
Top skills
The 8 most relevant skills, with sample goals. Numbers are illustrative; set targets from the student's own baseline.
Community Services: Library, Post Office & Bank Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Scan and bag a small order at self-checkout
Self-checkout
By the annual IEP review date, at a grocery or store self-checkout on a community trip, with 3 to 6 items including one without a barcode, the student will scan each item, look up any item without a barcode, place each item in the bagging area and finish the order, performing all 7 steps independently, on 3 of 4 consecutive community trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected weekly during community-based instruction.
Signal the attendant when self-checkout stops
Self-checkout
By the annual IEP review date, when a self-checkout stops with an error, a help light or a request for staff approval, the student will stop scanning, press the help button or look for the attendant, wait at the machine and tell the attendant what happened independently in at least 4 of 5 opportunities, across 3 consecutive data collection periods, as measured by direct observation collected weekly during community-based instruction.
See all 18 community services: library, post office & bank goals
Independent Living Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Build a grocery list from a meal plan
Meal planning
By the annual IEP review date, given the student's weekly meal plan, the recipes, and a kitchen inventory sheet, the student will write a grocery list of every ingredient needed that is not already at home independently with at least 90% accuracy on needed ingredients listed, on 3 of 4 consecutive weekly lists, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Shop for groceries within a set budget
Grocery shopping with a list and budget
By the annual IEP review date, given a grocery list of 8 to 12 items and a set budget, on a community trip to a grocery store, the student will buy the items on the list while keeping a running total under the budget, performing at least 9 of 10 steps independently, on 3 consecutive shopping trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected weekly on community shopping trips.
Functional Academics Functional & Independence Skills
Use a calculator to total a shopping list
Totaling a shopping list
By the annual IEP review date, given a shopping list of 5 items with prices and a calculator, the student will enter each price and state the total independently with at least 90% accuracy on shopping list totals, on 3 consecutive probes of 5 lists each, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Write a grocery list from a kitchen check
Writing a grocery list
By the annual IEP review date, given a photo inventory of the classroom kitchen with 10 items, some out or low, the student will check each item and write or type the ones that are out or low on a grocery list independently with at least 85% accuracy on items correctly listed or left off, on 3 of 4 consecutive weekly lists, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Personal Finance & Money Management Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Compare unit prices on shelf tags
Comparison shopping
By the annual IEP review date, given photos of 8 to 10 pairs of shelf tags for the same product in different sizes, the student will choose the item with the lower unit price in each pair independently with at least 85% accuracy on unit price comparisons, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Compare prices for one item across stores
Comparison shopping
By the annual IEP review date, given an item the student wants and 3 store websites or apps, with a comparison chart and a phone calculator, the student will record the total cost at each store and choose the lowest total independently with at least 85% accuracy on store totals and comparisons, in 3 of 4 consecutive biweekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
Daily Living Skills Functional & Independence Skills
Buy items from a shopping list at a grocery store
Grocery shopping
By the annual IEP review date, given a picture shopping list of 3 to 5 items and a set amount of money during a community-based instruction trip to a grocery store, the student will purchase the items on the shopping list with staff observing from a distance, performing at least 8 of 9 steps independently, on 3 consecutive shopping trips, as measured by a task-analysis checklist collected at each community-based instruction trip (about twice monthly).
Planning Executive Function
Draft a weekly meal plan and grocery list
Planning meals and groceries
By the annual IEP review date, during an independent living class, planning five dinners for the week, the student will write a meal plan for the week and a grocery list of the items needed that are not already at home independently, earning a score of at least 6 out of 8 on a 4-row meal plan rubric scored 0 to 2 per row, on 3 consecutive weekly plans, as measured by a defined scoring rubric collected weekly.
Working Memory Strategies Executive Function
Keep a running total while shopping
Keeping a running total
By the annual IEP review date, during a community shopping trip with a set budget and a list of 6 items, the student will update the running total on a calculator, phone, or notepad after each item goes in the cart independently in at least 5 of 6 opportunities, across 3 consecutive shopping trips, as measured by direct observation collected on each community or simulation shopping trip.
Math Problem Solving Math
Keep a running estimate while shopping
Running estimate while shopping
By the annual IEP review date, during a community shopping trip with a budget and a list of 4 to 8 items, the student will round each price to the nearest dollar, add it to a running estimate as items go in the cart, and stop or swap items before going over the budget independently in 4 of 4 opportunities, on 2 consecutive shopping trips, as measured by direct observation collected at each shopping trip.
Work out what to buy for a recipe
Shopping list from a recipe
By the annual IEP review date, given a recipe, a list of what is on hand and package sizes from a store flyer, the student will find how much more of each ingredient is needed and how many packages to buy, then total the cost independently with at least 85% accuracy on shopping list lines, on 3 of 4 consecutive probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected every two weeks.
All 10 skills
Every skill with goals for this group, by area. The number is how many of its goals are tagged here.
Transition & Postsecondary Skills
Functional & Independence Skills
Executive Function
Science, Social Studies & Digital Literacy
Grocery shopping goals come from independent living, functional academics, daily living, personal finance, planning, working memory, and math problem solving. They cover writing a grocery list from a meal plan or a kitchen check, finding items in the store, keeping a running total or estimate, comparing unit prices, using a coupon, ordering groceries for pickup in an app, paying, and putting groceries away. Good goals name the store or app, the list length, the budget, and the supports, such as a picture list or a calculator. List and math steps are measured with percent accuracy, and a full shopping trip with a task analysis. Practice in the student's real store and with their family's typical list whenever possible.
Matching data sheets
Each goal above links to the blank sheet built for its measure. These are the sheets this set of goals uses:
- Opportunity trackerRecords each opportunity as independent, prompted, or not demonstrated.Used by 5 goals here
- Accuracy trackerNumber correct out of number attempted, with percent accuracy and support level.Used by 8 goals here
- Rubric trackerScores each rubric criterion and totals the score for each sample.Used by 1 goal here
- Task-analysis checklistMarks each step of a routine as independent, with support, or not completed across sessions.Used by 5 goals here
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a grocery shopping IEP goal?
List the steps of the trip and the support. For example: given a 6-item picture list and a budget, the student will complete a grocery trip, performing 9 of 11 steps independently on 3 consecutive community outings.
Can grocery shopping be practiced at school?
Parts of it can: writing lists, comparing prices from ads, and practicing payment in a mock store. Real community trips should follow, since store layouts and noise are part of the skill.
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