Story Elements Goal Guide
IEP Goal & Objective Toolkit
Story Elements Goal Guide
Special Education & Speech-Language Intervention Framework • Communication Impairment Support
IEP Date: Sept 10, 2026
Review: Annual / Quarterly
Student: ___________________
Grade / Placement: ___________________
Primary Modality: AAC / Visual / Verbal
Case Manager / SLP: ___________________
ANNUAL SMART GOAL Expressive Language & Narrative Comprehension
Target: 80% Across 4/5 Trials
By September 2027, when presented with a grade-level narrative text (read aloud with visual access), the student will identify key story elements (characters, setting, problem, key events, and solution) and retell the narrative using their preferred communication modality (speech, speech-generating AAC device, communication board, or picture symbols) with no more than minimal visual/gestural cues across 80% accuracy in 4 out of 5 consecutive sessions.
Scaffolded Instructional Objectives (Quarterly Benchmarks)
Progressive fading of prompts & expanding narrative structure
1 Characters & Setting (Who, Where, When) Q1
Given a shared story and a field of 3–4 pictorial options or AAC fringe pages, student will identify the main character ("Who") and setting ("Where/When") in 80% of trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
Who • Where • When Field of 3–4 / AAC
2 Problem & Solution (Conflict & Fix) Q2
Given visual sentence stems ("The problem was..." / "They fixed it by...") or graphic cards, student will identify the story problem and resolution in 75% of trials with moderate visual cueing over 4 sessions.
Problem • Solution Visual Stems / Graphic Org
3 Plot Sequencing (Beginning, Middle, End) Q3
Given 3–4 picture sequence cards, student will order events chronologically (First, Next, Then, Last) and label key narrative actions with 80% accuracy across 4 trials with minimal gestural prompts.
First • Next • Last Sequencing Cards / Strip
4 Complete Story Structure & Retell Q4
Following narrative presentation, student will synthesize components to retell the story (naming characters, setting, problem, 2 events, solution) using AAC or story map with ≤1 indirect prompt in 4 of 5 sessions.
Full Macrostructure Multi-Modal Story Board
Communication Support & AAC Accommodations Matrix
Standardized Supports for Instruction & Data Probes
AAC Device Configuration
Pre-program narrative fringe pages (specific character nouns, locations, feelings, action verbs: go, see, help, fix). Ensure quick-navigation links from home screen.
Visual Scaffolding
Use color-coded story element icons (Who=Yellow, Where=Green, Problem=Red, Solution=Blue), tactile story rope or tokens, and physical card sorting arrays.
Processing & Response Rules
Provide 8–10 seconds processing wait time before prompting. Accept multi-modal responses (verbalizations, high-tech AAC speech, eye-gaze selection, or card pointing).
IEP Team Collaboration: General education teachers, SLP, and paraprofessionals use standardized prompts listed on Page 2. Page 1 of 2
Progress Monitoring Protocol
Story Elements Clinical & Classroom Data Log
Key: C=Character • S=Setting • P=Problem • E=Events • Sol=Solution
Prompt Hierarchy Key
I Independent
V / G Visual/Gesture
VER Verbal Cue
MOD Direct Model
Response Modality Codes
AAC SGD Device
PIC Picture Board
VER Spoken Word
MUL Multi-Modal
Session Observation Log (10 Sequential Probe Records)
Record accuracy as percentage or trials met
| Date | Narrative Text Title / Level | Target Element(s) | Modality | Prompt | Score | Clinical Observations & Next Steps |
|---|
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
| ____/____ | | C • S • P • E • Sol | | | ___ % | |
Quarterly IEP Benchmark Reporting & Decision Framework
Quarter 1 Target: 70%
Obj 1: Characters & Setting
Score: ____ %
Status: [ ] Met [ ] Prog
Quarter 2 Target: 75%
Obj 2: Problem & Solution
Score: ____ %
Status: [ ] Met [ ] Prog
Quarter 3 Target: 80%
Obj 3: Event Sequencing
Score: ____ %
Status: [ ] Met [ ] Prog
Quarter 4 Target: 80%
Obj 4: Full Story Retell
Score: ____ %
Status: [ ] Met [ ] Prog
SLP Clinical Practice Tip: Pair core words (who, where, bad/problem, fix/solve) with descriptive fringe icons. When fading visual cues, gradually expand choice field from 3 to 6 before transitioning to independent AAC navigation.
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