IEP Goals / Benchmarks, Special Education
The Story Grammar Marker®, the beginning of MindWing's methodology, was created by a speech language pathologist at an outplacement school for children with dyslexia and language learning disabilities. As the SGM® was field-tested, it was discovered to assist all children achieve in various areas of language and literacy. However, this tool and our methodology was originally designed to help children at different ability levels to achieve. See our About Us and Methodology pages to learn more about MindWing’s methodology.
The system of Special Education is loosely defined as a group of teaching procedures, planned for individuals and monitored through the systematic use of goals and objectives written into legal documents known as IEPs. Most of us in the field of education are familiar with the terminology, names of specialized equipment, types of educational settings in the least restrictive environment. Programs for students receiving special education are governed by goals and objectives written with their specific needs in mind as a result of input of standardized testing, teacher comments and parental concerns.
MindWing Concepts has devised a group of learner focused goals and benchmarks for students who have difficulty narrating. As delineated in the research base of methodology, narrative language is vital for telling and re-telling stories orally and in writing, listening and reading comprehension and for social-emotional growth through the development of feelings, planning behaviors and the use of mental state verbs to talk about “thinking.” Since narrative development follows a research-based sequence, the delineation of a narrative language goal as well as a series of benchmarks toward achievement of that goal serves as both a guide for instruction and a tool for monitoring of progress between standardized testing.
IEP goals must be explicit, measurable, and parent friendly. Below is a sampling of goals and benchmarks from our manuals and an example of one written for a student using MindWing's methodology and tools.
| Monitoring Comprehension / Using Fix Up Strategies |
|---|
| Processes a text of a designated length within time limits. |
| Poses questions to clarify before, during and after reading. |
| Self-corrects for comprehension to clarify at word-, sentence-, and passage level. |
| Uses self-correction to demonstrate understanding of key concepts developed in content areas. |
| Self-corrects for comprehension to clarify at word-, sentence-, and passage level. |
| Making Connections |
| Makes and compares text-to-self, text, and world connections to understand life problems and situations and/or scientific or technical concepts. |
| Compares different narrative forms (informational text, poetry, plays, and media) across curriculum. |
| Makes connections to technical concepts derived from content area text. |
| Asking Questions |
| Poses questions to demonstrate understanding of key concepts. |
| Asks and answers literal, inferential, and evaluative questions. |
| Makes Inferences |
| Makes inferences based on details of text and media. |
| Makes interpretations, draws conclusions throughout the reading of a text. |
| Constructs and discusses theme while reading/viewing. |
| Determining Importance |
| Uses text features (charts, graphs, maps, diagrams, tables) to identify author’s purpose and perspective. |
| Uses correct information from graphic features of text (charts, graphs, maps, diagrams, timelines, and tables). |
| Employs previewing, skimming and scanning. |
| Retelling, Summarizing, Synthesizing Expands vocabulary of personality traits to include: ____________________________. |
| Describes setting scripts for the following settings: ____________________________. |
| Identifies feelings of character in illustrations by reading facial & body language along with using what the character says and does. Enhances vocabulary by using synonym for the feeling words of happy, sad, mad, scared, surprised, disgusted. |
| Uses mental state (such as: thought, wished, knew, believed, forgot, realized) and linguistic verbs in the form of flashbacks/ and remembered thoughts or verbalized beliefs. |
| Retells an episode from the perspective of multiple characters. |
| Retells include embedded episodes which can be stories experienced in the past or future; perspective taking is evident. |
| Writes non-fiction retell with first (topic, introduction, feeling), second (details — description, list, sequence) and third (conclusion — review of main points and feeling) paragraphs including descriptive noun phrases, and linguistic verbs and adverbs which describe the character’s tone of voice. |
| Writes five paragraph essay on non-fiction research using non-fiction (ThemeMaker) story structures. |