Phonological awareness goals sit where speech-language therapy meets the reading block. They are some of the easiest goals to write badly: "will improve phonological awareness skills" says nothing about which skill, at what size of sound unit, or how anyone will know it has improved. This guide gives measurable phonological awareness IEP goal examples for every level of the hierarchy, from rhyme to phoneme substitution, with notes on how to measure each one and the free activities that practise it.
Each level below matches a section of the phonological awareness goals in the free SLP goal bank, where every goal links to boards you can open in a session. For activity ideas at each level, see phonological awareness activities for speech therapy.
The Format for a Phonological Awareness Goal
A phonological awareness goal needs the same parts as any SMART goal, plus two that are easy to forget: the size of the sound unit and whether the task is spoken only or uses letters.
"Given [presentation: spoken only / with pictures / with letter tiles], [student] will [skill: identify, blend, segment, delete, substitute] [unit: syllables / onset-rime / phonemes] in [word type: 2-syllable words, CVC words, words with blends] with [criterion] across [number] sessions, as measured by [probe]."
- Say whether letters are present. Blending with letter tiles is a decoding task; blending spoken sounds is phonological awareness. Both are valid goals, but they are not the same goal.
- Name the word type. Segmenting "cat" and segmenting "stamp" are different levels of difficulty.
- Probe with untaught words. If the probe list is the practice list, the goal measures memory for those words, not the skill.
Rhyme Goals
- Given two spoken words, [student] will judge whether they rhyme in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions, as measured by clinician probe with untaught pairs.
- Given a picture set of three, [student] will select the two pictures that rhyme in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a spoken target word, [student] will produce a real or nonsense word that rhymes with it in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
Rhyme judgment and rhyme production are separate goals. Many students can judge a rhyme long before they can generate one, so write the one the data supports. Practise with Rhyme Sort: Does It Rhyme?
Syllable Goals
- Given a spoken 2- or 3-syllable word, [student] will clap or tap once per syllable in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given syllables presented orally with a one-second pause ("pen ... cil"), [student] will blend them and say the word in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a spoken compound or 2-syllable word, [student] will say the word without one syllable ("say rainbow without rain") in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
Practise with the Syllable Clapping Game.
Onset-Rime and Word Family Goals
- Given an onset and rime presented orally ("/m/ ... at"), [student] will blend them into a word in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given a spoken word family rime (-at, -an, -ap), [student] will produce 3 words in that family in 4 of 5 opportunities across 3 sessions.
- Given a set of spoken or pictured words, [student] will sort them into two word families in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
Practise with the Word Families Sort (-at, -an, -ap).
First and Last Sound Goals
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will say its first sound in isolation in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions, as measured by probe with untaught words.
- Given a picture set of three, [student] will select the picture that begins with a target sound in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will say its final sound in isolation in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
Score a first-sound response as correct only when the student gives the sound, not the letter name, unless the goal says letters are allowed. Practise with First Sound Match.
Phoneme Blending Goals
- Given 3 phonemes presented orally with a one-second gap, [student] will blend them into a CVC word in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given 4 phonemes presented orally, [student] will blend them into a word with an initial or final blend (CCVC, CVCC) in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given 3 phonemes presented orally, [student] will blend them into a word and select the matching picture from a field of four in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
The gap between sounds is a variable you control. Write it into the goal or the objective so the person collecting data presents the task the same way. Practise with Phoneme Blending Flashcards.
Phoneme Segmentation Goals
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will say each phoneme in order, moving a token for each sound, in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will state how many sounds it contains in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a spoken CCVC or CVCC word, [student] will segment all phonemes in order without tokens in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
Words with digraphs make good segmentation probes because the number of letters and the number of sounds differ: "ship" has four letters and three sounds. Practise with Phoneme Segmenting Flashcards and Phoneme Count: How Many Sounds?
Phoneme Deletion Goals
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will say the word without its first sound ("say mat without /m/") in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will say the word without its final sound in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a spoken word with an initial blend, [student] will delete the second sound of the blend ("say slip without /l/") in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
Deletion goals are where many students show a gap even after blending and segmenting look solid. Practise with the Phoneme Deletion Game.
Phoneme Substitution Goals
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will change the first sound to a named sound and say the new word ("change /k/ in cat to /h/") in 8 of 10 trials across 3 consecutive sessions.
- Given a spoken CVC word, [student] will change the final or medial sound and say the new word in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
- Given a chain of four spoken words, [student] will identify which sound changed between each pair in 8 of 10 trials across 3 sessions.
Measuring Phonological Awareness Goals
- Keep a fixed probe list per goal. Ten untaught items you use only for probes, rotated with a second list so the student does not learn the probe.
- Probe before practice. Take the probe at the start of the session, before any teaching or modeling on that skill.
- Record the response, not just right or wrong. "Said /k/ /a/ for cat" tells you the final sound was dropped. A plain minus sign does not.
- Separate cued and independent trials. A model, a token or a picture is a cue. Report independent accuracy against the goal.
When you write the session note, the free SOAP note generator turns correct, cued and incorrect probe counts into a SOAP, BIRP or DAP note. The SOAP note examples by goal area include a phoneme blending session.
Working With the Reading Team
Phonological awareness is often taught in the classroom and in reading intervention as well as in speech therapy. Before writing a goal, ask the reading specialist or classroom teacher what program they use and which skills it covers this term. Three things help:
- Use the same words. If the reading group is working on short-a CVC words, use them for your blending and segmenting practice.
- Agree on the cues. If the classroom taps sounds on the arm, do the same, so the student is not learning two systems.
- Divide the work. The SLP can take the spoken-only skills and the students who also have speech sound goals, while the reading team takes the letter-linked practice.
Students working on both speech sounds and phonological awareness may benefit from goals that share stimuli. The phonological processes guide covers the speech sound side, and how to write SMART IEP goals covers the general format.
Common Mistakes
- One goal that tries to cover rhyme, blending and segmenting at once. Write one goal per skill, or one goal with objectives at each level.
- No word type in the goal, so the criterion is met on "cat" and the student still cannot segment "frog."
- Letter tiles in the practice but not in the goal, or the other way round.
- A criterion set without a baseline. Probe first; write the goal from what the student does now.
Ready to write one? Start from the phonological awareness section of the goal bank, adjust the word type and presentation, and set the criterion from your baseline probe.