This goal bank is a 45-page resource designed to support speech-language pathologists, teachers of the deaf, and educational teams in writing clear, measurable, and developmentally appropriate goals for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students acquiring American Sign Language (ASL) and English literacy skills.
The goals are structured to align withlinguistic, cognitive, and academic growth, covering the following domains:
Phonology & Phonological Awareness – awareness of ASL parameters (handshape, movement, location), minimal pairs, visual rhyming, and fingerspelling-print connections.
Morphology & Syntax – word order, verb agreement, topic/comment structure, use of negation, conditionals, and complex sentence forms.
Semantics & Vocabulary – concrete and abstract vocabulary, synonyms/antonyms, multiple-meaning signs, and academic word use.
Pragmatics – turn-taking, eye gaze, role shift, topic maintenance, repair strategies, and discourse-level social language.
Narrative & Sequencing – story retell, sequencing events, use of story grammar, discourse cohesion, and figurative/idiomatic storytelling.
Basic Concepts & Categories – foundational concepts (size, quantity, spatial, temporal), sorting and classification, functional/related groupings, and advanced academic categories.
Receptive, expressive, and functional goals are provided for each topic area. Additionally, a goal progression for each topic shows how skills typically grow from foundational to expanded to advanced. This progression allows professionals to select goals that match the student’s current level, plan for step-by-step growth over time, and ensure alignment with ASL linguistics, English literacy, and academic access.
This goal bank is a 45-page resource designed to support speech-language pathologists, teachers of the deaf, and educational teams in writing clear, measurable, and developmentally appropriate goals for Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students acquiring American Sign Language (ASL) and English literacy skills.
The goals are structured to align withlinguistic, cognitive, and academic growth, covering the following domains:
Phonology & Phonological Awareness – awareness of ASL parameters (handshape, movement, location), minimal pairs, visual rhyming, and fingerspelling-print connections.
Morphology & Syntax – word order, verb agreement, topic/comment structure, use of negation, conditionals, and complex sentence forms.
Semantics & Vocabulary – concrete and abstract vocabulary, synonyms/antonyms, multiple-meaning signs, and academic word use.
Pragmatics – turn-taking, eye gaze, role shift, topic maintenance, repair strategies, and discourse-level social language.
Narrative & Sequencing – story retell, sequencing events, use of story grammar, discourse cohesion, and figurative/idiomatic storytelling.
Basic Concepts & Categories – foundational concepts (size, quantity, spatial, temporal), sorting and classification, functional/related groupings, and advanced academic categories.
Receptive, expressive, and functional goals are provided for each topic area. Additionally, a goal progression for each topic shows how skills typically grow from foundational to expanded to advanced. This progression allows professionals to select goals that match the student’s current level, plan for step-by-step growth over time, and ensure alignment with ASL linguistics, English literacy, and academic access.
