IEP Goals for Writing Skills in Kindergarten

Writing is a foundational skill that kindergarten students begin developing as they navigate early on in their educational journey. For students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), writing may be more challenging and therefore the goals play a crucial role in ensuring they receive the targeted support they need to show continued growth.

Unlike state standards, which set grade-level expectations for all students, IEP goals are personalized to meet the unique developmental needs of each child. This customization is especially important in kindergarten, where students are building the skills that will shape their academic future. (more on the difference between state standards and IEP goals in a bit).

In this post, we’ll explore how to create effective IEP writing goals for kindergarteners. From understanding how these goals differ from state standards to ensuring they are measurable and specific, we’ll break it all down. We’ll also discuss the various areas of writing that should be addressed, give you some examples- sort of like an iep goal bank for writing, and even talk about some possible team goals with occupational therapy and speech-language pathologists.  Whether you’re a teacher, a parent, or a member of an IEP team, this guide will equip you with the tools to support young learners in developing their writing skills.

How Kindergarten IEP Writing Goals Differ from State Standards

This, for some reason, can be very confusing for teachers. It is important to understand the difference of each and how they are BOTH crucial to the student’s progress.

State standards, or common core standards, outline grade-level expectations designed for all students, providing a benchmark for what children should ideally achieve by the end of the year. This means all students, so even if they have an IEP— they still have a goal to reach these state standards. These may not be achievable goals for some, which is where the IEP comes in. However, it is important to always know where we are headed and the goals for all students because that helps us create more appropriate IEP goals.

Kindergarten IEP writing goals are individualized to meet each student where they are, focusing on their unique needs and strengths. We want to think of them as breaking down the state standard into mini steps. For example, while a state standard might require students to write a complete sentence independently, an IEP goal could prioritize developing the fine motor skills needed to form letters or even mastering the ability to hold a pencil correctly. This flexibility ensures that IEP goals provide a clear, achievable path for progress, laying a strong foundation for future growth in writing.

You would not want a student’s IEP goal to be the same as a state standard, since they are already expected to be trying to reach that target.

Finally, a state standard is what is expected for typical students to learn by the end of the school year. However, annual goals are a target to reach by a full calendar year. Depending on when the student’s annual review meeting, they could have far beyond the end of the school year to complete the goal.

Making Goals Measurable and Specific

An effective IEP writing goal is one that is both measurable and specific, allowing the team to track a student’s progress with clarity and consistency. Yes, even writing goals require some type of data collection. This could be a rubric, work samples, or percent correct (say if targeting specific spelling).

Vague goals, such as “The student will improve their writing,” are difficult to assess and don’t provide clear direction. These types of goals are based on one’s opinion and not hard data so to show growth or lack their of is challenging.

Instead, goals should focus on observable skills, include quantifiable data, and outline clear benchmarks for success. For example, a measurable goal might state, “The student will write their first name legibly with correct capitalization 4 out of 5 times.” By using specific language and setting attainable targets, you create a roadmap that ensures progress is not only monitored but also celebrated.

Kindergarten IEP Writing Goals

Kindergarten writing encompasses several key areas, each requiring targeted goals to build foundational skills. By breaking writing into smaller, manageable components, you can create specific objectives that address the diverse needs of young learners. As a special education teacher, at times it can be difficult to come up with goals at times, so below are the main areas of focus, along with example goals for each.

Pre-Writing Skills

Before students can start forming letters or words, they need to develop the motor skills required for writing. Goals in this area often focus on pencil grip, tracing, and following simple patterns. These skills should be written in conjunction with other members from the IEP team such as occupational therapists. More on this in the following section.

Example goals:

1. The student will correctly hold a pencil using a tripod grip in 4 out of 5 attempts with minimal verbal prompts. This could go further to include using a support tool if needed as well.
2. The student will trace straight and curved lines with 90% accuracy during 3 consecutive fine motor activities. 
3. The student will copy basic shapes (circle, square, triangle) with proper alignment on paper in 4 out of 5 trials.

Letter Formation

Recognizing and writing letters is a crucial skill for young learners. Sometimes these can overlap with reading goals, so be sure they are very different when writing the IEP. Goals in this area help students connect visual recognition to motor output.

Example goals:

1. The student will independently write 10 uppercase letters of the alphabet in 3 out of 4 trials. You could also consider adding in ‘with one prompt’.
2. The student will match lowercase letters to their uppercase counterparts with 80% accuracy from a field of three.
3. The student will form the letters in their name legibly on lined paper with appropriate spacing in 4 out of 5 attempts. For this, consider using a rubric to be able to see if there are areas the student improves (ex. improves with letter formation but not letter spacing.)

Here are some great supports for tracing letters or copying sentences to help support students with their writing. There are different writing prompts for each month as well as different levels for when they progress!

Sentence Formation

As students progress, they begin combining words into sentences and practicing basic grammar and punctuation. Goals here focus on building meaningful written communication as well as sentence structure.

Example goals:

1. The student will write a sentence with a capital letter at the beginning and a period at the end on 4 out of 5 attempts.
2. The student will create a sentence using at noun and a verb with visual supports in 3 out of 4 writing sessions.
3. The student will complete a sentence starter (e.g., ‘I like __’) with an appropriate response 75% of attempts.

Written Expression

This area involves developing the ability to organize and express thoughts through writing, often combining words and illustrations. Kindergarten goals can include creating simple narrative stories or practicing sequencing skills like identifying the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Remember, kindergarteners are not expected to write full stories so we have to make simple goals to be building blocks to the state goal.

Example goals:

1. The student will write or illustrate a story with a beginning, middle, and end using teacher-provided graphic organizers in 4 out of 5 activities.
2. The student will dictate a narrative story with at least three events to a scribe. For this criteria, create a rubric as well. 
3. The student will independently sequence words in a sentence with 100% accuracy. If you need a tool for this goal, check out this writing notebook.

IEP Goals for Writing Skills in Kindergarten

Team Goals: Collaboration with Specialists

Writing goals don’t have to be tackled alone—collaboration with specialists like occupational therapists (OTs) and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can make a big impact. By creating interdisciplinary goals, students receive support across multiple developmental areas while working toward shared objectives. You can build off a student’s strengths as well as address skills from a variety of lenses.

For example, an OT can help a student improve their fine motor skills, such as spacing between words, while an SLP can focus on language-based writing tasks like forming sentences to answer WH questions. When working together, it can be a lot of targeted practice for the student so they gain the skills and achieve they goals faster. Although writing may not be done in physical therapy, collaborating with them can also be impactful on techniques to support writing as well- so don’t forget to also include them!

Example goals:

1. The student will leave consistent spaces between words in a sentence with the use of visual spacers during 3 out of 5 writing activities. 
2. The student will respond to ‘who’ and ‘what’ questions in writing using 3-5 words in 4 out of 5 attempts.
3. The student will integrate proper letter formation and verbal sentence structure to write a simple sentence in 4 out of 5 sessions.

Team goals like these ensure that specialists are working together to address the whole child’s needs, creating a cohesive plan that fosters progress in multiple areas. 

Additional Tips for Writing Kindergarten IEP Goals

Writing IEP goals is both an art and a science. To create measurable goals that truly support a student’s growth, it’s essential to align them with the student’s needs and abilities while also keeping them attainable. It is important to be regularly reviewing the child’s progress to ensure that goals remain relevant and can be adjusted as they grow. 

Do not feel as though you cannot change a goal if it has been achieved prior to the IEP meeting. There can always be an amendment added to the IEP if the goal is achieved to set new academic goals.

Additionally, involving parents in the process helps create a unified support system, and collaborating with specialists ensures that all areas of development are addressed. This helps students generalize their skills to other areas, as well as making the entire team aware of specific student struggles.

By using specific, measurable language and focusing on the child’s unique potential, you’re setting the stage for success—not just in kindergarten or 1st grade but for years to come. When writing goals, remember to celebrate the small victories along the way because every step forward is progress worth acknowledging.

Crafting IEP writing goals for kindergarten students is a critical step. It is not an area to bypass just because they are in kindergarten- which is sometimes seen on a student’s IEP.

Unlike state standards or common core state standards, these goals are tailored to each child’s unique needs, ensuring that they build skills at a pace and in a way that works for them. By focusing on areas such as pre-writing, letter formation, sentence creation, and written expression, and by making goals measurable and specific, educators and IEP teams can track meaningful progress.

Collaboration is key—whether it’s teaming up with OTs to improve fine motor skills or working with SLPs to develop language-based writing abilities, integrating expertise makes goals more impactful. This blog can be your go to spot for support when creating smart goals for writing. 

Need more support with writing? Check out these other blogs.

1. 11 Tips to Teach Writing in Special Education: 

Once you have your student’s goals, now it is time to teach the writing. If you need tips to teach special education students writing this is the blog you’ll need.

2.The Best Writing Notebook for Sped Teachers

Looking for actual tools to be able to teach writing learn about the best writing notebook for sped teachers on this blog post!