Middle School Vocabulary IEP Goals
These Common Core aligned vocabulary goals focus on helping students find the meaning of unknown words from context.
Vocabulary IEP Goals for Middle School
Note that the Common Core has almost the same exact standard for informational text and literature:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6.4
We used the literature standard in the goal, but you can easily swap it out if you want the focus on nonfiction texts!
There are a few ways to assess the student’s baseline for this goal. The challenge is that the goal is for unknown words–before assessing how well the student can use context clues to figure out what the word means, you first need to establish whether the student already knows the word.
- The easiest way is to ask them questions as they read. What does this word mean? How do you know? Are there clues in the text that can help you figure it out?
- You can also look for context clues worksheets– they vary a lot in how hard they are. This one is relatively easy and this one is a bit more challenging.
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!
Susie is a very good at sounding out multisyllabic words. She struggles, however, when asked what the words mean. When she is prompted to go back to the text and look for clues, she can choose the definition of the word from two choices with 60% accuracy.
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given instruction in context clues and an unfamiliar passage with at least four unknown words, X will determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, choosing the correct definition for each word from four options with 75% accuracy as measured quarterly by a special educator using a curriculum-based measure CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.4
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Add supports for the student
- Given a familiar passage,
- Given an unfamiliar passage,
- After listening to a passage,
- Given a passage on a topic of his/her interest,
- Give even more supports
- and given a graphic organizer,
- and given multiple choices,
- and given a copy of the text to look at,
- and given prompting questions,
- Change the accuracy or number of trials
- with 80% accuracy
- with 75% accuracy
- on two of three opportunities
- on three of four opportunities
- Change what the student is asked to do
- choose the correct definition of the word from two choices
- define the word
Note that the Common Core has almost the same exact language under reading literature and reading informational texts:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of rhymes and other repetitions of sounds (e.g., alliteration) on a specific verse or stanza of a poem or section of a story or drama. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.7.4
We built the goal below using the literature standard, but you can easily swap it out!
There are a few ways to assess the student’s baseline for this goal. The challenge is that the goal is for unknown words–before assessing how well the student can use context clues to figure out what the word means, you first need to establish whether the student already knows the word.
- The easiest way is to ask them questions as they read. What does this word mean? How do you know? Are there clues in the text that can help you figure it out?
- You can also look for context clues worksheets– they vary a lot in how hard they are. This one is easy, this one relatively easy and this one is a bit more challenging– and this one is nicely varied.
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!
Susie is a very good at sounding out multisyllabic words. She struggles, however, when asked what the words mean. When she is prompted to go back to the text and look for clues, she needs significant support to deduce the meaning of the word.
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given instruction in context clues and an unfamiliar passage with at least four unknown words, X will determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, choosing the correct definition for each word from four options with 75% accuracy as measured quarterly by a special educator using a curriculum-based measure CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.7.4
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Add supports for the student
- Given a familiar passage,
- Given an unfamiliar passage,
- After listening to a passage,
- Given a passage on a topic of his/her interest,
- Give even more supports
- and given a graphic organizer,
- and given multiple choices,
- and given a copy of the text to look at,
- and given prompting questions,
- Change the accuracy or number of trials
- with 80% accuracy
- with 75% accuracy
- on two of three opportunities
- on three of four opportunities
- Change what the student is asked to do
- choose the correct definition of the word from two choices
- define the word
The Common Core has two relevant standards for this goal:
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.4
We chose to use the first one for the goal below but because the start is the same for both, you can easily swap out the standard if you want to.
There are a few ways to assess the student’s baseline for this goal. The challenge is that the goal is for unknown words–before assessing how well the student can use context clues to figure out what the word means, you first need to establish whether the student already knows the word.
- The easiest way is to ask them questions as they read. What does this word mean? How do you know? Are there clues in the text that can help you figure it out?
- You can also look for context clues worksheets– they vary a lot in how hard they are. This one is easy, this one relatively easy and this one is a bit more challenging– and this one is nicely varied.
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!
Susie is a very good at sounding out multisyllabic words. She struggles, however, when asked what the words mean. When she is prompted to go back to the text and look for clues, she needs significant support to deduce the meaning of the word.
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Given instruction in context clues and an unfamiliar passage with at least four unknown words, X will determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, choosing the correct definition for each word from four options with 75% accuracy as measured quarterly by a special educator using a curriculum-based measure CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
For more baseline ideas, check out the IEP Success Kit!
- Add supports for the student
- Given a familiar passage,
- Given an unfamiliar passage,
- After listening to a passage,
- Given a passage on a topic of his/her interest,
- Give even more supports
- and given a graphic organizer,
- and given multiple choices,
- and given a copy of the text to look at,
- and given prompting questions,
- Change the accuracy or number of trials
- with 80% accuracy
- with 75% accuracy
- on two of three opportunities
- on three of four opportunities
- Change what the student is asked to do
- choose the correct definition of the word from two choices
- define the word
