Middle School Main Idea of Non-Fiction Texts IEP Goals
Updated: March 15, 2026. Reviewer: Dr. Rose Sebastian, Ed.D.
Creating Measurable, Comprehensive Main Idea and Details Annual Goals
These middle school non-fiction comprehension IEP goals do double duty, helping students learn to find the main ideas and supporting details in classroom texts and setting them up to be able to use those same skills in their own writing. Finding central ideas and details is such an essential skill in the Common Core that there are standards on it at every grade level, including 6th, 7th, and 8th. We have elementary school and high school non-fiction reading comprehension goals too. We also have guides on how to read and evaluate IEP goals and state specific IEP guides.
- Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2
- The focus for this goal is on the main idea. You can assess for this using any grade level text– just ask the student after reading what it was mostly about and how they knew that.
- You can also use main idea and supporting detail worksheets, but you will need to verify that they are grade appropriate. These resources from DePaul university are pretty good.
Looking for easy-to-use assessment resources or support with turning assessments into goals and present levels? Check out the IEP Success Kit in the store!
After listening to a grade level passage, Dion can tell the big idea of the passage but needs teacher support to identify supporting information and to go beyond a general big idea statement like that “big cats are cool.”
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given direct instruction in textbook and nonfiction comprehension strategies, X will determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details, answering central idea and detail questions about a fifth-grade level passage with 80% accuracy as measured by teacher records and observations CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.2
- Change the grade level of the text
- grade 3
- grade 4
- Change the types of questions the student needs to answer
- choosing the correct main idea from four choices
- identifying at least two supporting details for the central idea
- Determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.2
- The focus for this goal is on the main idea. You can assess for this using any grade level text– just ask the student after reading what it was mostly about and how they knew that.
- You can also use main idea and supporting detail worksheets, but you will need to verify that they are grade appropriate. These resources from DePaul university are pretty good.
Looking for easy-to-use assessment resources or support with turning assessments into goals and present levels? Check out the IEP Success Kit in the store!
After listening to a grade level passage, Dion can tell the big idea of the passage but needs teacher support to identify supporting information and to go beyond a general big idea statement like that “big cats are cool.”
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given direct instruction in textbook and nonfiction comprehension strategies, X will determine two or more central ideas in a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, answering central idea and detail questions about a fifth-grade level text with 80% accuracy as measured by teacher records and observations CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.2
- Change the grade level of the text
- grade 3
- grade 4
- Change the types of questions the student needs to answer
- choosing the correct main idea from four choices
- identifying at least two supporting details for the central idea
- Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2
- The focus for this goal is on the main idea. You can assess for this using any grade level text– just ask the student after reading what it was mostly about and how they knew that.
- You can also use main idea and supporting detail worksheets, but you will need to verify that they are grade appropriate. These resources from DePaul university are pretty good.
Looking for easy-to-use assessment resources or support with turning assessments into goals and present levels? Check out the IEP Success Kit in the store!
After listening to a grade level passage, Dion can tell the big idea of the passage but needs teacher support to identify supporting information and to go beyond a general big idea statement like that “big cats are cool.”
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given direct instruction in textbook and nonfiction comprehension strategies, X will determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas, answering central idea and detail questions about a sixth-grade level text with 80% accuracy as measured by teacher records and observations CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2
- Change the grade level of the text
- grade 3
- grade 4
- Change the types of questions the student needs to answer
- choosing the correct main idea from four choices
- identifying at least two supporting details for the central idea
