Capitalization, Punctuation & Grammar IEP goals for middle school (grades 6 to 8)
31 of the capitalization, punctuation & grammar 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.
31 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.
Use commas in lists, dates, and addresses
Commas in a series, dates, and addresses
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sentences that each need commas in a series, a date, or an address, the student will add commas where they belong in each series, date, and address independently with at least 85% accuracy on comma placements, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Place a comma before the conjunction in compound sentences
Comma before a conjunction in compound sentences
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 compound sentences with the comma missing, the student will add a comma before the conjunction in each compound sentence and leave sentences that do not need one unchanged independently with at least 85% accuracy on compound sentences, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Use apostrophes in contractions and possessive nouns
Apostrophes in contractions and possessives
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sentences that each need an apostrophe in a contraction or a possessive noun, the student will independently write each contraction and possessive noun with the apostrophe in the correct place and leave plurals without one with at least 85% accuracy on apostrophe items, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Punctuate dialogue with quotation marks and commas
Punctuating dialogue
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 lines of dialogue with speaker tags, written without quotation marks or commas, the student will punctuate each line of dialogue with quotation marks around the spoken words, a comma or end mark inside the closing marks, and a capital at the start of the quotation independently with at least 80% accuracy on lines of dialogue, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Write sentences with subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement
By the annual IEP review date, given 10 sentences with the verb missing and two verb forms to choose from, the student will write the verb form that agrees with the subject in each sentence independently with at least 90% accuracy on subject-verb pairs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Keep verb tense consistent within a paragraph
Consistent verb tense
By the annual IEP review date, given a paragraph of 10 sentences with five verbs in the wrong tense, the student will find and correct each verb that does not match the paragraph's tense independently with at least 90% accuracy on verbs, in 3 of 4 consecutive weekly probes, as measured by work-sample analysis collected weekly.
Middle school capitalization, punctuation & grammar 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 24 goals here
- Frequency & rate trackerCounts a defined behavior during a fixed observation period. Calculates rate when time is recorded.Used by 1 goal here
- Opportunity trackerRecords each opportunity as independent, prompted, or not demonstrated.Used by 3 goals here
- Task-analysis checklistMarks each step of a routine as independent, with support, or not completed across sessions.Used by 1 goal here
- Rubric trackerScores each rubric criterion and totals the score for each sample.Used by 2 goals here
Frequently asked questions
How are capitalization, punctuation & grammar 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.