Several people at a recent workshop asked for examples of good emergent literacy goals for kids with significant disabilities. I have no great insight to offer on this issue, but here are two great resources. The first is the OSERS policy guidance on Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), which says, among other things, that all IEPs must be standards-based. The second is the "IEPs Based on the DLM Essential Elements" module developed by Karen Erickson and her colleagues at the Center for Literacy and Disability Studies. The DLM IEP module includes the following example for developing an ELA goal for a student with significant disabilities in the 7th grade.
- The team identifies an area of priority for the child's IEP: ELA Conceptual Area 1.3 Integrating Ideas and Information from Text.
- The team generates a statement of the student's present level of academic and functional performance relative to the student's ability in this conceptual area. The team develops an annual goal: "Given familiar, beginning-level texts, Pat will integrate ideas and information to compare two or more text elements for at least five different texts by the end of this IEP cycle."
- The team considers the DLM Essential Elements for 7th grade that are related to Conceptual Area 1.3. These Essential Elements specify the types of elements that Pat will compare. The skills required to do this can be translated into short-term objectives. In this example, the team has prioritized Essential Elements EE.RL. 7.3 Determine how two or more story elements are related and EE.RL.7.6. Compare the points of view of two or more characters or narrators in a text.
- The team then considers how the Essential Elements translate into measureable short-term objectives for Pat. This example shows that the team wrote two short-term objectives to go with Essential Element EE.RL.7.3.
- Objective 1. Given familiar beginning level text, Pat will read to compare two characters identifying two or more similarities across five different texts.
- Objective 2. Given familiar beginning level text, Pat will read to compare two settings identifying two or more similarities across five different texts.
- Objective 1. Given familiar beginning level text, Pat will read to compare two characters identifying two or more similarities across five different texts.
- And one for Essential Element EE.RL.7.6.
- Objective 3. Given familiar beginning level texts, Pat will read to compare the point of view of two characters identifying two or more similarities across five different texts.
- Objective 3. Given familiar beginning level texts, Pat will read to compare the point of view of two characters identifying two or more similarities across five different texts.