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248: SLP Paperwork Organization That Actually Works (Without Creating More Work)

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A simple SLP paperwork system can save you hours and protect your focus during the school week. In this episode, I’m sharing an easy way to organize pending IEPs and evaluations so your desk stays clear, you always know what to work on next, and nothing slips through the cracks. You’ll hear my go-to folder + checklist setup, plus flexible options for SLPs who prefer printable systems or digital workflows.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • A “one-folder-per-student” system to keep paperwork contained
  • How to prioritize paperwork by due date automatically
  • Why checklists reduce errors and last-minute scrambling
  • Printable vs. digital ways to stay consistent and organized
  • How SLP Now can streamline forms, progress monitoring, and reminders

Ready to make SLP paperwork easier? Start your free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod.

Paperwork doesn’t have to take over your desk or your time.

In fact, the best paperwork organization system for school-based SLPs isn’t the prettiest one. It’s the one that’s easy to maintain, helps you find what you need instantly, and makes it obvious what to work on next.

In this post, I’m sharing a simple, realistic way to organize your IEP and evaluation paperwork so you can stop shuffling piles and start moving through your tasks with more clarity and less mental load.

The Goal: An SLP Paperwork System That Makes Your Job Easier

When your desk is covered in papers, it becomes harder to focus—even if you technically know what needs to get done.

You sit down to write an IEP… and you see:

  • a progress note you forgot to submit
  • an evaluation you need to schedule
  • a form you printed two weeks ago
  • a sticky note reminding you to follow up (but you can’t remember on what)

That visual clutter turns into decision fatigue fast.

So instead of aiming for a Pinterest-perfect setup, we want a system that’s built around one question:

✅ Does this help me work faster and feel calmer?

Step 1: Use One Folder Per Pending IEP or Evaluation

Here’s the simplest strategy that makes the biggest difference:

Create one folder for each student with a pending IEP or evaluation.

Then, any time you get a piece of paper, you immediately place it in the correct folder.

That’s it.

This keeps all the paperwork for a single student in one place—so when it’s time to work on that student’s case, you’re not searching for:

  • parent input forms
  • teacher feedback
  • work samples
  • consent forms
  • notes you scribbled during a quick hallway conversation

Even if most of your paperwork is digital now (which is true for many SLPs), this system still works beautifully for the few “random paper things” that still show up.

Step 2: Use a Hanging File Organizer (Fast + Visible)

The tool that makes this system easy is a hanging file organizer, ideally one that:

  • holds multiple folders
  • hangs on a wall or sits upright
  • allows quick grab-and-go access
  • helps you keep your desk clear

If you like color-coding, you can absolutely do that… but it’s not required. The magic isn’t the colors.

The magic is this:

✅ Every student’s paperwork is contained, labeled, and easy to access.

Bonus Tip: Use a dry erase marker to write student names on folders so you can reuse them.

Step 3: Keep a “Catch-All” Folder for Random Documents

Sometimes you’ll receive something for a student before they’re officially in your IEP/evaluation workflow.

Instead of letting it land in a pile on your desk, create one folder labeled something like:

“Catch-All / Incoming Papers”

Drop work samples or forms there until you’re ready to create that student’s official IEP/eval folder. Then, when you start a new folder, do a quick scan to make sure nothing is sitting in the catch-all for that student.

This one small habit prevents papers from disappearing into the abyss. 🙌

Step 4: Organize Folders by Due Date (So You Always Know What’s Next)

This is the part that truly reduces mental load:

Organize your folders by due date.

The IEP or evaluation that’s due soonest goes in the most accessible spot—so it becomes your default “next up.”

A simple way to do this:

✅ Whatever is due first goes at the bottom

Then during a paperwork block, you simply grab the bottom folder and work on that student.

No debating. No sorting. No “what should I do first?”

It’s already decided.

Step 5: Pair Your Folder System with a Checklist

Folders organize papers.

Checklists organize your brain.

If you’ve ever thought:

  • “I KNOW I’m forgetting something…”
  • “I always end up scrambling at the end.”
  • “Why did I not do the language sample sooner?”

…a checklist changes everything.

Why checklists work so well for SLP paperwork

A checklist helps you:

  • reduce errors
  • prevent last-minute scrambling
  • create momentum during paperwork time
  • keep your process consistent across students
  • stop relying on memory to hold 15+ steps

Instead of holding everything in your head, you just follow the list.

✅ If it’s on the checklist, you don’t have to think about it.

Printable vs. Digital SLP Paperwork Checklists (Choose What Fits You)

Every SLP’s brain works a little differently.

Here are two great options, depending on your workflow:

Option A: Printable Checklist

If you prefer paper:

  • print your checklist
  • laminate it (so it’s reusable)
  • use a dry erase marker
  • OR keep a stack of printed checklists and toss one each time

Option B: Digital Checklist

If you prefer digital:

  • use a checklist system where tasks load automatically
  • track completion without hunting down sticky notes
  • store student input and forms in one place
  • reduce your reliance on printing + organizing physical papers

A Simple SLP Paperwork Workflow You Can Repeat Every Week

Here’s what the full process looks like in action:

  1. Keep one folder per pending IEP/eval
  2. File papers immediately (takes seconds)
  3. Organize folders by due date
  4. During your paperwork block, grab the next folder
  5. Open your checklist and work down the list
  6. Stop when you run out of time
  7. Put the folder back and pick up next time

This creates a repeatable routine you don’t have to rethink every day.

Want a Done-For-You Digital System? Try SLP Now (Free Trial)

If you want help streamlining this process even further, SLP Now includes tools designed to reduce the paperwork load without sacrificing quality.

Inside SLP Now, you can use:

  • pre-made IEP & evaluation checklist templates
  • secure parent/guardian & teacher forms
  • student forms
  • digital progress monitoring tools
  • workload tools + reminders
  • the ability to customize tasks for your district

It’s built to support real school-based SLP workflows—so you’re not reinventing the wheel every time you have an IEP due.

👉 You can start a free trial at slpnow.com/pod

(You’ll also get access to the paperwork course + workbook + templates, and you can earn PD hours!)

Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Keep It Sustainable

The best SLP paperwork organization system is the one you’ll actually use on a busy Wednesday afternoon.

Start with just one step:

✅ create one folder per pending IEP/eval

✅ pair it with a checklist

✅ organize by due date

And let the system carry the mental load for you.

Because organization should make your job easier—not harder.

Transcript

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Hello there and welcome back to the podcast. Let's continue our series on paperwork. Today we are going to chat about paper organization that actually works without creating more work. If organization makes you feel overwhelmed. You are not alone, especially when it comes to organizing paperwork.
But if you're like me and you're excited about the idea of some organization tips and strategies, either way, I am excited to share some strategies that you can use. Organization should make your job easier, not harder. Especially on Instagram, we'll see these beautiful color coded boxes and systems.
Some of them take a ton of work to maintain, and maybe look prettier than they are functional. And of course, this varies. Every SLP is different and needs different types of systems. There's definitely nothing wrong with color coding. I do love a good color coded system, but our focus in this episode is going to be on things that make your job easier.
We wanna cut any of the unnecessary fluff of things that you don't need. So let's chat about how we organize all of these pieces of paper that we have pending at any given time. How I like to set up my paperwork, because there's nothing worse than having your desk be covered in papers. And anytime you're sitting down to work on an IEP or an evaluation, having to dig through all of the things on your desk and the mental overwhelm of trying to sit at your desk and focus on one thing, but then you see this IEP, this evaluation, and this progress note. I think having a clear desk is one of those strategies.
And of course, you know yourself best. If that doesn't negatively impact you, then you don't have to worry about this. We'll talk a little bit about strategies on how to choose what to focus on. If you have a hard time finding the right papers and if you are getting overwhelmed by all of the papers on your desk, this is for you. What I like to do is I have one folder per pending IEP or evaluation. I put all of the relevant information in there. A lot of it is actually digital now because I used to use it to collect forms, but my forms are digital now.
My progress monitoring is now digital. If I have any work samples, I might have consent forms, if I am collecting any papers, they go into that student's folder, like their IEP folder or their evaluation folder. Every time I get a piece of paper, I stick it in the appropriate folder.
It takes me no time at all. I'll share a link and a picture in the show notes, but I like to use this hanging file organizer. It has color coded folders, which is great. It's hanging on my wall and I use a dry erase marker to write the student's name so I can erase it when I'm done and use it for the next IEP. I use that to organize all of the pending paperwork. If I receive something for a student's IEP I just stick it in the appropriate folder. I have everything I need in one place.
It keeps my desk clean. It helps me keep track of all the things. If you receive something ahead of time before a student's IEP is due, and before that IEP or evaluation is in your queue, you can have one catchall folder for all the work samples and other documents.
And then whenever you're setting up a new IEP folder, you can look through that and make sure that you don't have anything for that student. The folders are organized by due date. Whatever IEP is due first is on the bottom. Anytime I have a paperwork block, I grab the folder on the bottom and open up my checklist in SLP Now, and I do as many items as I can for that student's IEP.
If I run out of time, I'll just put the folder back and pick up where I left off next time. If I get through all of the items for that student and still have some time left, I'll grab the next folder and work on that IEP. I'll continue that process until I'm all caught up or out of time.
We just rinse and repeat during every paperwork block. I don't have to waste any time deciding what to work on. It's already decided for me. The big cognitive load relief trick here is using a checklist, which is incredibly helpful if you feel the massive mental load of trying to keep track of all the tasks.
If you are like me and forget certain steps, like, grabbing a language sample for each IEP, that's something I would often forget and scramble last minute to do If that is on your checklist, you're less likely to forget.
Or if your district has specific steps once you complete an IEP, that can help you keep track of the process and keep things straight. If it's on your checklist, you don't have to think about it. You just reference the checklist and do it when it comes up and then you're good to go.
Checklists help us reduce errors, prevent last minute scrambling. With a system like I just described, you can move through things quickly. They help create momentum and support you as an SLP in making paperwork more manageable and ensuring high quality, information and that we're not forgetting important steps. I'm going to tell you about, how I set this up digitally, but we also have a printable checklist if you prefer not to have a digital system. This is included in the free trial of SLP Now as well.
If you search checklist in the materials library, there's an editable printable version. I give a sample of what the steps might look like for an IEP or an evaluation, but you'll want to check with your district and consider those requirements, so you can customize it to fit your needs. If you prefer not to do digital, you can print the checklist. Laminate it so it's reusable and use a dry erase or wet erase marker. Or you can have a stack of paper checklists and toss them every time you're done. If you use the printed checklist, mark off the steps as you complete them.
And that works really well. In SLP Now, we also have a workload feature and pre-made templates that are best practice informed. We include parent guardian forms, teacher forms, easy ways to collect information needed for an IEP or evaluation.
The form is created for you. You just have to grab the link and share it with the parent, guardian teacher, or whoever else you need feedback from. We also have student forms. It's set up in a secure way.
That information automatically gets loaded to your account. They also include progress monitoring tools, so you can do that all digitally. And it includes reminders for the important steps in the IEP and evaluation process. You can also create your own list. So if you don't love the template, it's just a place for you to start. but you can create your own list and add your own custom tasks. Every time an IEP is due, you would just click the button to create that checklist It automatically loads all of those tasks, and then you send off the forms.
You can see when the forms come in, and use that to manage your process and make it streamlined. That is just a quick peek at how you can get your paperwork process more organized. Again, I mentioned the free trial to SLP. Now. If you go to slpnow.com/pod, you can access the paperwork course that includes a workbook and templates. You can take a quiz and get PD hours. It also includes access to the workload tools if you want to give that a try and test it out. You would just enter your name and email, create a password, and then no credit card required, no strings attached.
This is a good opportunity to check out the course, grab some of those time saving templates, and maybe try out this digital task management system. That's what we've got for you today. We'll see you next week, and we'll chat about increasing our report writing time without sacrificing quality.
Can't wait to see you there.

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247: Paperwork Planning: How to Decrease Overwhelm

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Paperwork doesn’t just take time. It takes up mental space. In this episode, we’re kicking off a 4-part series to help you reduce paperwork overwhelm by building a simple paperwork planning system that supports your deadlines (and your sanity). You’ll learn how to map out what’s coming, spot your busiest months, and create realistic weekly goals so you’re not carrying every IEP and eval in your head at once.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

  • Do a quick paperwork inventory to identify your biggest stress points
  • Audit upcoming IEPs/evals by month to plan ahead with confidence
  • Set weekly paperwork goals that reduce decision fatigue and mental load
  • Protect focus time using simple schedule boundaries

Try the SLP Now free trial at slpnow.com/pod to access the Paperwork Course + workbook and start building your system.

Paperwork is one of the biggest hidden workloads for school-based SLPs—not just because it takes time, but because it takes up mental space all day long.

If you’ve ever found yourself mentally tracking IEP dates, eval timelines, and progress report deadlines while trying to run therapy sessions… you’re not alone.

A workload approach (instead of just counting caseload numbers) recognizes that school SLP responsibilities include evaluations, documentation, meetings, compliance tasks, and planning—not only direct therapy.

The good news? You don’t need a perfect system to feel more in control. You need a planning system that holds your deadlines for you, so your brain doesn’t have to.

This post will walk you through a simple, practical framework for paperwork planning that helps reduce overwhelm, decision fatigue, and last-minute scramble.

Why Paperwork Feels So Overwhelming (Even When You’re “On Top of It”)

Paperwork doesn’t just cause stress when we miss deadlines. It causes stress when it lives in the background of our thoughts.

You might be managing therapy groups just fine, but still feel like you’re carrying a running mental checklist:

  • “I need to write that present levels section…”
  • “That eval report is due next week…”
  • “Did I send the meeting notice?”
  • “Wait, when is that annual review again?”

That kind of constant background tracking creates open loops, which can increase cognitive load and contribute to overwhelm.

And in schools, paperwork demands are real. Research and professional advocacy resources consistently describe administrative compliance and documentation requirements as a top issue in special education workloads.

Step 1: Do a Paperwork Inventory (So You Know What’s Actually Happening)

Before you try to “fix” your paperwork system, start by getting clarity.

Ask yourself:

  • Am I meeting deadlines consistently?
  • Do I feel confident in the quality of my paperwork?
  • How much work am I taking home?
  • Which paperwork feels most stressful (IEPs, evals, progress notes, Medicaid billing, etc.)?

This step isn’t about judgment. It’s about identifying where your biggest pressure points are so you can make smart adjustments.

Why This Matters

The most stressful paperwork isn’t always the paperwork that takes the longest. It’s often the paperwork you’re trying to mentally track without a system.

Step 2: Audit Your Schedule (The “Months at a Glance” Approach)

Here’s the strategy that changes everything:

✅ List your upcoming IEPs and evaluations by month

You can do this in a notebook, spreadsheet, planner—whatever works for you.

Your goal is to answer:

How many IEPs and evals do I have due each month?

This “month view” gives you two powerful insights:

  1. You can predict your busiest months.
  2. You can plan ahead instead of reacting.

This aligns with a workload approach to school-based services, because we’re not just looking at caseload size, we’re looking at the full set of responsibilities that affect your week.

Step 3: Turn the Year into Weekly Goals (So Your Brain Stops Spinning)

Once you’ve grouped your IEPs and evals by month, you can take it one step further:

✅ Divide the remaining paperwork by weeks left in the school year.

Example:

  • 30 IEPs remaining
  • 10 weeks left
  • ➡️ 30 &pide; 10 = 3 IEPs per week

Now you have a realistic weekly target instead of a vague, stressful feeling of “I have so many reports to do.”

Why Weekly Goals Help

Weekly goals reduce the mental load of constantly reprioritizing.

Instead of thinking about 15 deadlines at once, you focus on:

  • “This week’s 3 IEPs”
  • “This week’s 1 eval”

And that kind of structure helps cut down on decision fatigue, the constant mental drain of making too many choices all day long.

Decision fatigue is recognized as a real cognitive phenomenon in high-demand helping professions and healthcare-related work settings.

Step 4: Protect Paperwork Blocks (Even If Your Schedule Is Chaotic)

Once you know what you need to do each week, the next step is deciding when it will happen.

This is where planning becomes a relief.

✅ Create protected paperwork blocks.

Here are realistic places to start:

  • Before school (quiet, fewer interruptions)
  • After school (if mornings aren’t possible)
  • Between groups
  • One recurring block per day
  • One longer block 1–2x per week

Even a 30-minute daily paperwork block can make a difference over time.

“But my days are nonstop.”

If your schedule is currently overloaded, it may not be realistic to instantly stop taking work home.

Instead, start by shifting some paperwork into the workday, then gradually increase that percentage as your system improves.

Step 5: Use Your Data to Advocate (Instead of Just Saying “I’m Drowning”)

When you complete your schedule audit, you’ll have numbers like:

  • “I have 18 IEPs and 6 evals due in May.”
  • “It takes me 1 hour to complete and IEP and 2.5 hours to complete an evaluation (on average).”
  • “That means I have 33 hours of paperwork in May.”
  • “This is my schedule. I’ve spent the past few months optimizing (by doing X, Y, and Z). I have 20 hours of paperwork time allocated in May. Can you help me figure out how to complete 33 hours with my current workload/responsibilities?”

That’s powerful, because it moves the conversation from vague overwhelm to measurable workload.

ASHA notes that changes intended to reduce paperwork burden aim to decrease time-consuming administrative tasks that don’t directly benefit the student.

What to Do with This Data

You can use it to:

  • request additional support
  • request adjusted scheduling
  • ask for coverage during high-deadline months
  • prioritize your time realistically

What This Planning System Actually Solves (Beyond “Better Time Management”)

Paperwork planning isn’t just about being productive.

It helps you:

✅ reduce mental load

✅ reduce task switching

✅ reduce missed deadlines

✅ improve follow-through

✅ feel calmer during the school week

When your deadlines live in a system (not your brain), you get to show up more fully for therapy—without the constant underlying pressure.

Want Support Setting This Up? (Free Trial + Paperwork Course Workbook)

If you want help walking through these steps with guidance and templates, you can access the SLP Now Paperwork Course + Workbook inside the Academy.

You can try it free (no credit card required) at slpnow.com/pod.

Transcript

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Welcome back to the podcast. I am looking forward to kicking off this series all about paperwork. We have a series of four episodes designed to help you reduce your overwhelm around paperwork and to give you some practical tips and strategies to lighten the load. In this first episode, we are kicking off with paperwork planning and how to use a planning system to decrease your overwhelm.
So before we dive into some practical tips and strategies, let's start chatting about how things actually are. A lot of us dread paperwork. We wake up in the middle of the night, Waking up from a nightmare that we forgot to do a certain piece of paperwork or that we're called into a meeting and had no idea the IEP was coming up and all sorts of nightmares, even if we're generally on top of our paperwork.
I find that this has been a common thread across a lot of my SLP friends. Even if we're not having nightmares about paperwork, it's something that we always carry mentally. We're juggling all these deadlines in our heads thinking about doing this for Johnny and this for Isaac, it's a lot of mental load and I can absolutely relate to feeling really behind. especially when I was carrying a triple digit caseload, I never felt caught up. It was incredibly mentally draining I was not very efficient either because I was so stressed about paperwork.
It took me way longer than it should have. I forgot to do certain things and it was just a little bit messy. After refining my process and figuring out what worked and what didn't, I'm excited to share some of that with you. We are going to be chatting about different strategies to decrease those open loops of deadlines, swimming through our head nonstop, help reduce decision fatigue and help you prioritize and make the most of your therapy.
The first step in that process is to do an inventory of your paperwork. Before we fix anything, we need to know what paperwork workload we're dealing with and where the stress is coming from. Some reflection questions to think about.
Are you meeting deadlines? Are you confident in the quality of your paperwork? How much work are you taking home? What type of paperwork causes the most stress? Is it IEPs, evaluations, progress notes? Jot down some answers to help you understand exactly where you're at.
And this isn't about judgment, it's about clarity. So you can decide what you need to prioritize, because we're going to be doing a whole month of strategies. If you're really struggling with the confidence and the quality of your reports, you might want to focus on different strategies than if you are taking work home all the time.
Or if you're really stressed about IEPs, you might focus on those first. Just jot down your initial thoughts. In the SLP Now Academy, we have a paperwork course that includes a workbook with all of these questions and some additional reflection tools, as well as other resources to help you on the paperwork journey.
And you can access that totally free by signing up for a trial. So if you're interested in that, go to slpnow.com/pod. That'll take you to the registration page. You just enter your name and email and a quick password, and then you have access to the Academy course as well as a bunch of other resources.
And you don't have to enter a credit card or anything. If you're, looking for additional support. that's a great place to go. Step two is our schedule audit and the course workbook. the Paperwork Course workbook in the Academy also includes some templates to help you with your audit.
What you want to do is list your upcoming IEPs and evaluations and group them by month. If you're using SLP Now to manage your caseload, most SLPs enter the IEP and evaluation date. When setting up their caseload. you can filter for, show me all the IEPs due in February, March, April, May, etc. Then you can jot down, I have 10 due in February, 15 in March, and so on. This gives you an overview of the rest of the year at a glance. You can use these numbers for a couple different things.
This will help you see which months are going to be busiest. If one month is significantly higher than others, you might want to plan ahead and front load some of your IEPs. If you have 20 IEPs due, in May, maybe you ask for some extra support.
Whether it's asking your administrator for SLP support or decreased therapy time, maybe having an assistant. If that doesn't feel realistic you can also ask for support at home or just lower expectations.
Instead of having a home cooked meal every night, you get some easier meals set up for yourself, so you can plan ahead that way and brainstorm what makes the most sense for you. And then another thing that you can do is if you know how many IEPs you have until the end of the school year, you can divide that by the number of weeks left in the school year too.
Let's say I have 30 more IEPs left and we have 10 weeks of school. I can do 30 divided by 10. That tells me, I should be able to complete about three IEPs a week.It takes me about this amount of time to do that many IEPs. Set aside time in your schedule to make that happen. If you are very overloaded and you're working early mornings, nights, weekends, it might not be realistic to suddenly shift from working extra hours to only doing work at work. Sometimes that can be a really overwhelming goal to set. If you've been taking reports home and working all hours, it might not be realistic to get this done during the school day.
Wherever you can plug in blocks of time to work on paperwork during the school day, that'll be amazing because over time, especially over the course of this series, you'll get faster at your paperwork and you'll be able to get done more in less time.
Eventually those paperwork blocks will be more efficient and you can decrease some of your early morning, evening, and weekend work blocks. If I know that, my workload is really heavy right now I need to figure out a way to make it more manageable. I just told myself, okay, I'm going to get to school a little bit early every day. I am going to use that as my paperwork block before the students come in, before the teachers start knocking on my door. That'll be my focus time.
You can also create focus time for yourself during the school day. Close the door, put up a sign, put on your headphones when you're in the focus zone. Just protect that time for yourself,
Before school, during school, after school, whatever it might be. That is the recommendation in terms of your schedule audit and examples of how you might use that audit to help you make this a little bit easier. By planning ahead of time, it gives you some options. You can try and ask for support or communicate with your admin.
If you share specific numbers, they might be able to offer some potential solutions. They're more likely to help you too, versus if they just check in with you and you're in the middle of a crazy paperwork week and you're like, I'm drowning in paperwork. There's not much they can do to help. The same goes at home if you can put some meals in the freezer so you have some easy go-tos or see if its in the budget to eat out a little bit more .
Planning is deciding when we're going to work on things and not doing everything.
Sometimes we have 15 IEPs due in a month, and we're thinking about all of those But if you set up your system with an audit like, every week doing three IEPs and one evaluation, you can test to make sure that pace will help you meet your deadlines.
You may have to work ahead a little bit or set your goals per month. if you make that decision for yourself ahead of time, like every week I'm going to focus on three IEPs and one evaluation. Then, you know, okay, I only have to think about these four pieces of paperwork instead of trying to think about all of the pieces at once.
That can help reduce anxiety by a lot because it reduces that mental load. Instead of spinning between 10 different IEPs, we're really focused on those three and get them done much faster than if we were trying to split our attention.
Having a system like this holds your deadlines for you and makes planning actually doable. You're not having to reinvent the wheel every week or every month. You know what your goals are, and you have blocks set aside to make them happen. We're gonna talk about even more systems throughout this month to make the most of your time blocks.
This is just our intro episode, but as we go through the series, I'm going to share what this looks like for me and how I set it up and how I'm able to meet my weekly and monthly goals and get work done in a very balanced and calm way. I mentioned the free trial previously, but if paperwork is living rent free in your head, the SLP Now free trial is a safe space to experiment with some different planning and systems and it doesn't have to be a commitment to overhaul everything.
And like I said before, we have a paperwork course that includes a workbook. You can take a quiz at the end for PD hours, but it walks you through some systems and gives you instant access to some tools to help you implement this. Feel free to go check it out at slp now.com/pod and we will see you in the next episode.

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246: My Favorite Books to Teach Story Grammar Elements

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Not all picture books are created equal when it comes to teaching story grammar. Some stories make the work easier by clearly showing the problem, plan, and resolution—while others leave too much to inference. In this episode, I share three of my favorite picture books that contain complete episodes and explain why they’re especially effective for narrative intervention. You’ll walk away with practical ideas for choosing texts that support comprehension, language, and written expression in an engaging, evidence-based way.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • What makes a “complete episode” and why it matters for narrative goals
  • Why some popular books fall short for teaching story grammar
  • Three go-to picture books that naturally support problem–plan–solution
  • How these texts support comprehension, vocabulary, and sentence formulation

Listen in to get clear, practical guidance you can use right away in your narrative sessions.

Choosing the right picture book can make or break a narrative intervention session. When stories clearly show a problem, plan, and resolution, they give students the structure they need to understand, retell, and create meaningful narratives. For speech-language pathologists, this structure isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.

In this post, we’ll look at why complete story episodes matter, what to look for in a book, and three picture books that consistently support story grammar instruction in an evidence-based way.

Why Complete Episodes Matter in Narrative Intervention

A complete story episode typically includes:

  • Characters
  • Setting
  • Initiating event (problem)
  • Internal response
  • Plan
  • Attempt
  • Consequence or resolution

This framework aligns with widely accepted models of narrative structure used in both research and academic settings (Stein & Glenn, 1979; Westby, 2005). When students can identify and use these elements, we often see improvements in:

  • Reading comprehension
  • Vocabulary depth
  • Sentence formulation
  • Written expression
  • Social communication skills

Research consistently shows that explicit narrative instruction using well-structured stories supports language development, particularly for students with language disorders (Gillam & Ukrainetz, 2006).

What to Look for in Picture Books for Teaching Story Grammar

Not all popular children’s books are ideal for story grammar goals. Many stories follow a loose sequence of events without a clear plan or resolution, requiring students to infer critical elements.

When selecting books for narrative intervention, look for stories that:

  • Present a clear problem
  • Show the character’s goal or plan explicitly
  • Include attempts and consequences
  • End with a satisfying resolution

These features reduce cognitive load and allow students to focus on learning the narrative structure itself.

3 Picture Books With Complete Episodes That Work in Therapy

1. A Camping Spree with Mr. McGee by Chris Van Dusen

This book combines rhythmic text, engaging illustrations, and a clear narrative arc. When Mr. McGee and his dog encounter an unexpected problem during a camping trip, the story naturally walks through a problem, plan, and resolution.

Why it Works:

  • Clear initiating event and consequence
  • Easy-to-identify story grammar elements
  • Highly engaging for elementary students

This book is especially effective for introducing story grammar concepts or supporting retell tasks.

2. The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson

The Gruffalo offers a more complex narrative structure with repeated episodes and strong opportunities for perspective-taking. The main character’s plan is explicit and intentional, making it ideal for targeting higher-level narrative skills.

Why it Works:

  • Repeated problem–plan–solution structure
  • Supports discussion of character motivations
  • Ideal for mapping multiple episodes

This text works well for students ready to move beyond basic story grammar identification.

3. Duncan, the Story Dragon by Amanda Driscoll

This story excels at illustrating internal responses and goal-directed behavior. Duncan’s emotional reaction to his problem drives multiple attempts, making it a powerful tool for teaching deeper narrative elements.

Why it Works:

  • Strong internal response and goal structure
  • Multiple attempts and outcomes
  • Excellent for discussing perseverance and problem-solving

This book is particularly helpful for targeting internal states, which are often challenging for students.

How to Use These Books in Narrative Intervention

To maximize learning:

  • Pair books with visual story grammar organizers
  • Model identification of each element during shared reading
  • Practice retelling using structured supports
  • Gradually move toward independent narrative generation

Using consistent visuals and language across sessions helps students internalize story structure more effectively (Petersen, Gillam, & Gillam, 2008).

Supporting Your Narrative Instruction With Less Prep

If you want support identifying story grammar elements and implementing narrative intervention with confidence, the SLP Summit course on narratives includes:

  • Step-by-step strategies for teaching story grammar
  • Ready-to-use graphic organizers
  • A story grammar organizer specifically mapped to Duncan, the Story Dragon

These tools are designed to save prep time while keeping therapy aligned with research and best practices.

Final Thoughts

Teaching story grammar doesn’t require more materials; it requires better texts. By choosing picture books with complete episodes, you give students the structure they need to build comprehension, language, and confidence as storytellers.

References

Gillam, R. B., & Ukrainetz, T. M. (2006). Language intervention through literature-based units. In T. M. Ukrainetz (Ed.), Literate language intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 literacy achievement (pp. 59–94). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

Petersen, D. B., Gillam, S. L., & Gillam, R. B. (2008). Emerging procedures in narrative assessment: The Index of Narrative Complexity. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(2), 115–130.

Stein, N. L., & Glenn, C. G. (1979). An analysis of story comprehension in elementary school children. New Directions in Discourse Processing, 2, 53–120.

Westby, C. (2005). Assessing and facilitating text comprehension problems. In H. Catts & A. Kamhi (Eds.), Language and reading disabilities (2nd ed., pp. 157–232). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Transcript

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Today we are diving into one of my favorite topics, which is using picture books to teach story grammar elements. But I don't use just any picture book. I want to make sure that I am using a picture book that contains complete episodes because we need to have all of the story grammar elements available to us in the story to actually teach the story grammar elements.
I'll walk you through three of my go-to books and what makes them narrative intervention gold and give you some ideas on how you can use them to teach story grammar in a way that's engaging and evidence-based. So before we dive into the books, let's chat a little bit about why complete episodes matter.
A complete episode includes characters setting, initiating event, internal response, plan, attempt, and then a consequence or resolution. This structure reflects the way that stories often work in academic context. And they're really important for reading comprehension writing and social communication.
When students are able to identify, retell, and eventually generate their own complete episodes, we see improved comprehension, more vocabulary depth, stronger sentence formulation, improved written expression. All of this happens when the story naturally contains these elements.
And that's why I've intentionally curated today's list of books. They include a clear problem, plan, and solution. A lot of popular children's books, the plan has to be inferred. We want a text that has a clear plan. A lot of texts are a sequence of random events, like I'm going outside to play and then I saw this and this and this, and then I went home. But we want stories with a clear problem and solution. that brings us to my list of books with complete episodes that I'd love to use to teach story grammar.
So first up is A Camping Spree with Mr. McGee. This story is incredibly engaging. It has bright illustrations, rhythmic text, and a clear narrative arc. It's about Mr. McGee and his dog. They go on a camping trip and a bear bumps their camper and they roll downhill and, end up in A river. And so they have to come up with their plan and figure out how to get out of this situation. This is a fun one to use, because it includes different story grammar elements.
Then second up is The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. This has really nice character traits. It has a repeated narrative structure. It's definitely a more complex episode. We get to do perspective taking and map multiple episodes.
It's about a mouse who meets some predators, and the predators try to invite him to dinner so they can eat him. But the mouse comes up with a great plan to outsmart his predators and avoid being eaten. This is a fun one for those more complex structures.
And next up is Duncan, the Story Dragon by Amanda Driscoll. This is a great way to illustrate internal responses and goal oriented behaviors. It's about a dragon who desperately wants to finish a book, but every time he reads, he gets excited and burns his book.
And so we get to see him navigate this problem, make multiple attempts. So again, this is also a more complex story, but it has a very satisfying resolution. These are some great stories to target story grammar.
If you want some help identifying the specific story grammar elements and giving your students some visuals, check out my course in the SLP Summit. I walk through strategies to help you implement narrative intervention with confidence.
I also share a set of freebies that include graphic organizers that you can use across narrative interventions. I also include a specific story grammar organizer with, the elements identified from Duncan, the Story Dragon.
It'll decrease your prep time, if you're looking to implement this and you just want a little bit of support, that is a perfect place to start. So just type slpsummit.com in your browser. It'll redirect you to the Be the Brightest site and the registration page for the Summit. Then just sign up there, access my course on narratives, as well as seven other incredible courses.
I hope that they are super helpful and I will see you in the next episode.

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245: 4 Ways to Use a Narrative Graphic Organizer

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Narrative graphic organizers are a simple tool that can unlock stronger storytelling, richer language samples, and better generalization across therapy sessions. In this episode, I’m sharing four practical ways to use a narrative graphic organizer with students across grade levels—whether you’re targeting personal narratives, story retells, or literacy-based therapy goals. These strategies are easy to implement, highly flexible, and designed to reduce overwhelm while supporting clear narrative structure.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

  • Use graphic organizers to scaffold personal narratives
  • Build pre-story knowledge before reading a book or article
  • Support accurate and meaningful story retells
  • Create parallel stories to promote generalization

If you want to see these strategies in action and grab free graphic organizers, check out my on-demand SLP Summit course for a deeper dive.

Narrative skills play a critical role in academic success, literacy development, and social communication. Students with language disorders often struggle with narrative macrostructure—such as organizing characters, settings, events, and resolutions—which can impact both oral and written language performance. One widely used, evidence-aligned support for narrative instruction is the narrative graphic organizer.

Narrative graphic organizers provide a visual framework that helps students organize ideas, reduce cognitive load, and produce more complete and cohesive narratives.

Below are four practical ways to use narrative graphic organizers in speech therapy across grade levels and therapy contexts.

1. Use a Narrative Graphic Organizer for Personal Narratives

Personal narratives are functional, motivating, and highly relevant for students. However, many students benefit from explicit support when organizing personal experiences into a coherent story.

Using a narrative graphic organizer, students can visually map out:

  • Who was involved
  • Where and when the event occurred
  • What happened first, next, and last
  • How the situation was resolved

Students may draw simple pictures or add keywords before verbally retelling the story. This approach reduces overwhelm and supports clearer, more organized language output.

Why this Works:

Research on narrative intervention highlights the importance of explicit instruction in story structure and opportunities to produce narratives with visual supports (Spencer & Slocum, 2010; Petersen, Gillam, & Gillam, 2008).

2. Build Pre-Story Knowledge Before Reading

Narrative graphic organizers can also be used before reading a story to activate background knowledge and preview narrative structure.

After a brief book walk, students can use the organizer to:

  • Predict characters and settings
  • Anticipate possible problems or events
  • Practice telling a predicted version of the story

This strategy allows SLPs to identify gaps in vocabulary or world knowledge early and provides meaningful narrative practice prior to reading.

Why This Works:

Pre-story instruction and narrative previewing have been shown to support comprehension and narrative performance, particularly for students with language and literacy difficulties (Petersen et al., 2014).

3. Support Story Retell After Reading

After reading a picture book or fiction-based article, the same narrative graphic organizer can be used to support structured story retell.

Students reference the text to:

  • Identify story grammar elements
  • Sequence key events
  • Retell the story using clear organization

Comparing pre-story predictions with the actual story can also support higher-level language skills such as comparison, reflection, and metalinguistic awareness.

Why This Works:

Narrative retell tasks with explicit story grammar support improve both narrative organization and comprehension (Spencer & Slocum, 2010).

4. Create Parallel Stories to Promote Generalization

Once students understand a story’s structure, narrative graphic organizers can be used to create parallel stories.

A parallel story follows the same narrative framework as the original text but changes one or more elements, such as:

  • The character
  • The setting
  • The problem or solution

This structured variation allows students to apply narrative knowledge in a new context while maintaining familiar scaffolding.

Why This Works:

Generalization improves when students practice skills across varied contexts with consistent structural supports, a principle supported across language intervention research (Petersen et al., 2008).

Why Narrative Graphic Organizers Are So Effective

Narrative graphic organizers:

  • Reduce cognitive load
  • Make abstract story grammar concepts concrete
  • Support data collection and progress monitoring
  • Work across grade levels and settings

They’re a simple tool with powerful instructional impact—especially when used consistently across personal narratives, literacy-based units, and structured generalization tasks.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you’d like to see these strategies modeled step by step and grab free narrative graphic organizers, check out my on-demand course inside SLP Summit. It’s packed with practical examples you can use right away in your therapy sessions.

👉 Explore the course and access the freebies through SLP Summit.

References

Petersen, D. B., Gillam, S. L., & Gillam, R. B. (2008). Emerging procedures in narrative assessment: The Index of Narrative Microstructure. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(2), 115–130.

Petersen, D. B., Gillam, S. L., Spencer, T. D., & Gillam, R. B. (2014). The effects of literate narrative intervention on children with language impairments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(3), 961–973.

Spencer, T. D., & Slocum, T. A. (2010). The effect of a narrative intervention on story retelling and personal story generation. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53(2), 356–372.

Transcript

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Hello and welcome back to the SLP Now Podcast. I am Marisha. Today we're talking about four simple ways to use a narrative graphic organizer in your therapy sessions. And these strategies work beautifully across multiple grade levels, as long as we're still targeting narrative structure. And these strategies give students a clear structure for organizing their thoughts, whether they're telling a personal narrative or retelling a story they heard from someone else, a picture book or a fiction article. There's lots and lots of options and uses here. So let's jump in to our four ways to use a graphic organizer.
The first step is to use the graphic organizer to structure personal narratives. One of my favorite starting points in intervention is helping students produce personal narratives using the graphic organizer to help them organize something that happened over the weekend or on the playground, whatever is meaningful to the student. Let's make a narrative about it. And we can use the graphic organizer and go through the different elements and ask them like, who was there, when did it happen, where did it happen?
Do some quick pictography to fill in that graphic organizer. And produce a beautiful personal narrative. By using this graphic organizer, it makes personal storytelling much easier. It reduces the overwhelm and gives us really rich language samples.
The second strategy is to use a graphic organizer to build pre-story knowledge when implementing a literacy based therapy unit. Before reading the story, I like to do a book walk and look at the cover of the book and maybe look at a few pages. We don't read it yet. We just scan the book, then we use the organizer to activate pre-story knowledge. After looking at the cover we'll go through our graphic organizer, and we'll ask who do we think the story is about? Where do we think it'll happen?
What do we think the problem will be? We can draw some quick pictures, like little stick drawings, to symbolize what we think will happen in the story. And that is a way to practice building a narrative. Then students can practice telling their version of what they think will happen.
This gets some really meaningful repetitions. It's a great way to make sure that we have adequate story knowledge before we dive in, because if students really struggle with this, I might do some vocabulary instruction, a virtual field trip, or fill out a KWL chart
But using the graphic organizer for pre-story knowledge is really helpful and gives us a great starting point for our unit. The third way we can use the graphic organizer is to support story retell.
After we read the book or the fiction article, we can go through the questions and identify the character, the setting, and all of the different story grammar elements. We can reference the book or article to help create that story retell.
And then that brings us to the fourth and final way we can use a graphic organizer. So that is to create a parallel story. Once we've read the book or the fiction article, we can create a parallel story. A parallel story is following the same narrative structure of the book or article that we just read, but we change some elements.
We might change the character, the setting, the problem, the resolution, whatever it might be. And this supports generalization because students are able to apply that narrative structure, but it's still scaffolded. It's a structure they're familiar with and it helps us bridge that gap to more open-ended storytelling.
My students love creating their parallel stories. They get to infuse their own lives and their own stories into the final parallel story. So it's a really fun activity on all ends. To recap the four strategies we talked about when using a graphic organizer. Use it for personal narratives, pre-story knowledge activation, story retell and parallel stories. If you keep your story grammar graphic organizers, students can use those to compare and contrast. So maybe the pre-story knowledge one, you can compare it to the actual retell. Like what did we guess correctly? Where were we off? That leads to a lot of additional fun language opportunities as well. To wrap things up, a graphic organizer is a very simple tool, but it can be very powerful. And we can use it across a variety of narrative contexts. If you want a deeper dive into narrative interventions to see graphic organizers being used for these different types of narratives, be sure to check out my SLP Summit course.
The replay is available until January 31st. It's packed with practical examples that you can use right away. It also includes some free graphic organizers that you can use in your therapy room for all of the purposes listed in this episode. So that's a wrap for today.
I hope to see you at the SLP Summit. If you go to slpsummit.com, it'll redirect you to the Be the Brightest site and the registration page for Summit. Check out my on-demand course, where you can access the freebies and learn more in-depth strategies than I shared today.
I hope this was super helpful and I'll see you in the next episode.

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244: Why I Don’t Write Sequencing Goals (And What I Do Instead)

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Sequencing goals are common in IEPs, but do they actually lead to meaningful outcomes? In this episode, I share why I no longer write traditional sequencing goals and what I do instead to support generalization, comprehension, and real-world language use. We’ll look at how isolated sequencing tasks fall short and how embedding sequencing within narrative-based therapy can better support students’ communication skills.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • Why decontextualized sequencing tasks often don’t generalize
  • How narrative-based frameworks support sequencing, memory, and comprehension
  • Examples of functional, measurable alternatives to traditional sequencing goals
  • Practical ways to scaffold sequencing within real stories and experiences

Listen in to rethink how you target sequencing and walk away with ideas you can apply in therapy right away.

Sequencing goals show up in countless IEPs, but do they actually support meaningful language use in the classroom and beyond? If a student can sequence four picture cards with 80% accuracy, what does that really tell us about their ability to communicate, comprehend, or retell real-life events?

Over time, I’ve stopped writing traditional sequencing goals. Not because sequencing isn’t important—but because how we target it matters. Instead of isolated tasks, I embed sequencing within narrative-based therapy to support generalization, comprehension, and functional communication.

Let’s break down why.

Why Traditional Sequencing Goals Often Fall Short

Many sequencing goals look something like this:

Student will sequence four picture cards with 80% accuracy.

While these goals are easy to measure, they’re also highly decontextualized. Tasks like ordering picture cards or following unrelated multi-step directions often rely on short-term memory rather than deeper language processing.

The problem? Skills learned in isolation don’t reliably generalize.

A student might successfully sequence pictures in a therapy room—but still struggle to:

  • Retell what happened at recess
  • Explain steps in a classroom activity
  • Understand story structure during reading comprehension

Real-world sequencing is never just sequencing. It requires vocabulary, grammar, attention, working memory, and understanding how events connect over time.

What the Research Tells Us About Sequencing and Language

Research consistently shows that contextualized, meaningful language instruction leads to better outcomes than isolated skill drills.

Narrative-based intervention:

  • Supports comprehension and expressive language
  • Builds mental schemas for organizing information
  • Promotes generalization to academic and real-life contexts

Studies have found that targeting narrative structure improves story retell, language complexity, and comprehension—skills directly tied to functional sequencing (Gillam & Ukrainetz, 2006; Petersen, Gillam, & Gillam, 2008).

When sequencing is taught only as picture ordering, students may demonstrate task-specific success without meaningful language growth.

What I Do Instead: Embed Sequencing in Narrative-Based Therapy

Rather than teaching sequencing as an isolated skill, I target it within narratives—the way it naturally appears in real communication.

This might include:

  • Retelling stories from books
  • Sharing personal narratives
  • Describing familiar routines or classroom events

In this context, sequencing becomes part of a larger language framework that also supports:

  • Vocabulary development
  • Grammar and sentence structure
  • Temporal and causal language (first, then, because)
  • Working memory and attention

This approach reflects how students are actually expected to use language in school.

Examples of Functional Sequencing Goals

Instead of a traditional sequencing goal, consider goals like:

  • When given a short story, the student will retell the events using appropriate temporal language with minimal support.
  • When producing a personal narrative, the student will include a clear beginning, middle, and end using at least three temporal or causal words.

These goals are:

  • Functional
  • Contextualized
  • Measurable
  • Aligned with classroom expectations

They also make it much easier to track meaningful progress.

But What If a Student Really Struggles With Sequencing?

This is a common (and valid) concern. Contextualized does not mean unsupported.

We can scaffold by:

  • Using very short narratives
  • Co-creating quick visuals or pictography
  • Modeling language repeatedly
  • Gradually increasing complexity over time

Even with significant support, working within a meaningful context provides more value than random picture cards ever could.

Why This Approach Leads to Better Generalization

When sequencing is embedded in narrative-based therapy, we’re not just teaching order—we’re building comprehension.

Students are:

  • Organizing information meaningfully
  • Strengthening memory and attention
  • Practicing skills they’ll use across settings

This leads to better carryover, stronger academic support, and more confidence with real-world communication.

Learn More About Narrative-Based Therapy

If you want to see what this looks like in practice (with concrete examples, goals, and therapy activities), I share more inside my on-demand course at the SLP Summit.

References

Gillam, R. B., & Ukrainetz, T. M. (2006). Language intervention through literature-based units. In T. M. Ukrainetz (Ed.), Literate language intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 literacy achievement (pp. 59–94). Pro-Ed.

Petersen, D. B., Gillam, S. L., & Gillam, R. B. (2008). Emerging procedures in narrative assessment: The index of narrative complexity. Topics in Language Disorders, 28(2), 115–130.

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). (n.d.). Spoken language disorders: Evidence-based intervention.

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2006). Contextualized language intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 literacy achievement. Pro-Ed.

Transcript

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On today's episode, I want to chat about something that's a little controversial, but in a good way, and it's why I don't write sequencing goals, at least not in the way that many of us are used to. I am going to share what I do instead and why I believe that this leads to better generalization and improved outcomes for our students.
First let's chat a little bit about what we usually mean by sequencing goals and why that might be a problem. I've written these goals in the past, but they look like: "Student will sequence for picture cards or Student will follow three step directions. It's a lot with picture cards and following directions, and that kind of sequencing is very decontextualized, stripped down and uses isolated tasks.
And the problem is that these isolated tasks often don't generalize. So a student might be able to order four picture cards or follow three step directions, but what does that matter if they can't apply that into the classroom? The things that really matter are being able to tell stories, retell events, understanding sequences of events in real life. Sequencing in real life rarely exists in a vacuum, like real communication, like telling a story, telling what happened at recess, that involves vocabulary, grammar, memory, attention, story structure, which is way more than isolated ordering of some pictures. And the research supports this too. Targeting sequencing in isolation often taps only short-term memory, and it doesn't build the complex cognitive language skills needed for comprehension and expressive language. So if we're writing a sequencing goal, like: "Student will sequence four picture cards with 80% accuracy", and if we're only using those sequencing cards, that builds a narrow skillset that doesn't reflect real world language use and won't generalize outside of the classroom.
Then what does it actually look like? What do I do instead? So what I have found to help, and the research supports this as well, is that I contextualize sequencing within narrative based frameworks. And so we target sequencing goals within narrative based therapy and work with real stories.
Instead of picture cards or decontextualized routines, we use books, story retells, or personal narratives, and that way sequencing becomes part of a bigger picture. We're able to incorporate vocabulary, grammar, story grammar, comprehension, all of these different skills that provide a really meaningful context and are reflective of how students would be using this in the real world.
And then facilitate facilitating that generalization, because again it doesn't matter if they can sequence 10 images with a hundred percent accuracy if this isn't generalizing to the classroom. By using a narrative based approach, we're encouraging students to build a mental schema, and that helps them recall and organize information that frees up their working memory for comprehension and expressive language, and instead of just having to memorize.
By doing this, we're able to address underlying skills like working memory and attention. Sequencing isn't just about ordering events or pictures, it heavily relies on skills like working memory and attention. by targeting these skills in context rather than an isolated ordering of pictures, we're supporting comprehension, narrative retell, expressive language, following directions, all of those different types of skills, and planning for generalization from the start. We're building towards comprehension versus a very isolated skill.
And by embedding sequencing in this narrative context, we're giving students repeated opportunities to target additional skills like using temporal vocabulary, first, next, then last. They get to use causal language. They get to incorporate story grammar, and those are all really important for real world communication.
So what does this actually look like? Instead of writing a goal of "Student will sequence four picture cards with 80% accuracy", we might write goals about when given a short story, the Student will retell the story with temporal language. Or when asked to produce a personal narrative, the student will produce a coherent narrative with a beginning, middle, end structure and at least three temporal or causal words. Those are two examples of how this might come together. In the show notes, I'll give the full example of the goal . What this looks like in therapy is that we use real stories from books, familiar routines, personal experiences, and we use those to build vocabulary model, temporal and causal language, support working memory, and then gradually fade those scaffolds.
Some common things that SLPs might say are, I need a goal that's easy to measure. And these are perfectly measurable goals. Like the examples that I gave, you can develop a probe to easily measure progress towards that.
Another common thought that I've heard is my student really struggles with sequencing.
That is also valid. We can provide scaffolding and support in these contextualized activities. Maybe we can just use a really short personal narrative, but that is a lot more meaningful than random picture cards. We can create, we can use pictography and make quick pictures, and then gradually increase the complexity, but at least we're starting with a meaningful context.
So why this matters in terms of the big picture, we're helping students gain skills that they'll actually use, whether that's producing narratives, retelling narratives, comprehension, following multi-step directions. Targeting sequencing in this way will lead to really meaningful gains of some functional skills, and by teaching in this way, we're also helping students build cognitive skills like memory and attention, and we're more likely to see carryover and generalization when we're using this type of approach.
And if you're curious what this looks like in context with some concrete examples, I'd love to see you at the SLP Summit. My course is on demand. I'll include a link in the show notes. It'll be available until January 31st. I would love to see you there, and we are including some cool freebies as well.
Definitely check that out if you're wanting to learn more about what this could look like. That's a wrap for today. Thanks for hanging out and we'll see you next time.

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242: 6 Evidence-Based Strategies to Target Summarizing in Speech Therapy

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Summarizing is one of the most powerful skills we can teach in speech therapy. However, it’s also one that many students struggle with. Research consistently shows that summarizing improves overall comprehension, supports information recall, and boosts academic performance across content areas (National Reading Panel, 2000; Duke & Pearson, 2002).

In this post, we’ll explore six evidence-based strategies that help students understand what a summary is, identify key details, and generate their own summaries with confidence. These strategies align beautifully with structured literacy principles and are easy to implement using the materials inside the SLP Now Membership.

If you want to follow along with ready-made visuals, passages, sentence frames, and photo scenes, you can access the Summarizing Skill Pack inside the membership.

👉 Not a member yet? Grab your Summarizing Skill Pack (for free!) here!

How to Target Summarizing

1. Explicitly Teach What a Summary Is (and What It Isn’t)

Before students can summarize effectively, they need clear, student-friendly definitions of:
📖 Summary
📖 Main idea
📖 Key details

Students often rely on ineffective rules of thumb (e.g., “the main idea is the first sentence”), which can lead to inaccurate or incomplete responses. Research shows that explicit teaching of comprehension strategies, including summarizing, significantly improves reading outcomes (Duke & Pearson, 2002).

Try This:

Use a visual metaphor, like an umbrella, to show how the main idea “covers” or connects key details. This concrete, repeatable teaching point helps students internalize the concept.

The Summarizing Skill Pack inside the membership includes a teaching visual to help you break this down for students.

2. Use Graphic Organizers to Build Understanding

Graphic organizers make abstract concepts concrete, especially for students with language needs. Research supports their use for improving comprehension, recall, and organization of information (Kim et al., 2004).

Two helpful formats include:
📖 Main idea at the top → Key details below
📖 Graphic organizers with integrated sentence frames

These tools help students identify the structure of a text and prepare them for generating oral or written summaries.

The Summarizing Skill Pack inside the membership includes multiple graphic organizers.

3. Model Your Thinking (Metalinguistic Talk)

Students benefit from hearing an adult’s internal thought process, a strategy rooted in explicit thinking-aloud instruction (Pressley & Afflerbach, 1995).

This helps students understand:
📖 How to identify main ideas
📖 How to filter out non-essential information
📖 How to compare possible summaries

Using simple texts or picture scenes at first reduces cognitive load and makes the strategy more accessible.

4. Start With Pictures Before Moving to Text

Pictures remove the decoding barrier, allowing students to focus on idea-level comprehension. Visuals have strong research support in improving narrative and expository language skills (Ukrainetz, 2015).

You might:
📖 Show a photo scene
📖 Provide possible main ideas
📖 Discuss which key details support each option

This supports the gradual release process and sets students up for success with written passages.

The Summarizing Skill Pack inside the membership includes picture scenes to practice summarizing before diving into a text.

5. Use Sentence Frames to Teach Summary Structure

Sentence frames help students understand how to say a summary. They also reduce linguistic load so students can focus on content rather than syntax.

Examples might include:
📖 “The main idea is ___ because ___.”
📖 “The text is mostly about ___ and includes details such as ___, ___, and ___.”

Sentence frames are supported in literacy research as a way to scaffold academic language and improve expressive outcomes (Fisher & Frey, 2014).

In the Summarizing Skill Pack, these frames are already embedded into the graphic organizers so students can smoothly transition from identifying information to producing a summary.

6. Teach Text Structures Explicitly

Text structure instruction is one of the most evidence-supported ways to improve summarizing and comprehension (Williams et al., 2005).

Common nonfiction text structures include:
📖 Description
📖 Sequence
📖 Cause/Effect
📖 Problem/Solution
📖 Compare/Contrast

Knowing the structure helps students anticipate what matters most and what is simply “extra” information.
If a passage is cause/effect, for example, your graphic organizer and sentence frames will shift accordingly.

Bring It All Together

When we combine explicit instruction, visuals, modeling, graphic organizers, sentence frames, and instruction of text structure, students gain a comprehensive framework for summarizing. These strategies help them move from surface-level retellings to meaningful, efficient summaries that reflect deeper comprehension.
If you want ready-made materials to support these strategies (including photo scenes, student-friendly definitions, leveled passages, and scaffolded organizers) explore the Summarizing Skill Pack inside the SLP Now Membership.

👉 Get started with the Summary Skill Pack and 5 free material downloads!

References

Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective practices for developing reading comprehension.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2014). Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning.
Kim, A.-H., Vaughn, S., Wanzek, J., & Wei, S. (2004). Graphic organizers and their effects on the reading comprehension of students with LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities.
National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction.
Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading.
Ukrainetz, T. A. (2015). Contextualized Language Intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 Literacy Achievement.
Williams, J. P., Hall, K. M., & Lauer, K. D. (2005). Teaching expository text structure to young at-risk learners. Journal of Educational Psychology.

241: Morphology Made Simple: Easy Ways to Teach Affixes in Speech Therapy

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Did you know that just four prefixes account for 97% of all prefixed words students encounter in school texts? According to Honig et al. (2013), teaching a small set of high-frequency affixes can have an outsized impact on vocabulary growth, especially for students who struggle with decoding or deriving meaning from unfamiliar words.
For SLPs looking to work smarter (not harder), morphology instruction is a powerful way to boost comprehension, vocabulary, and language flexibility across grade levels.

In this post, we’ll walk through evidence-based, student-friendly strategies for teaching prefixes, suffixes, and root words in your speech therapy sessions.

Why Morphology Matters

Research consistently shows that explicit morphology instruction helps students:

✔️ Increase vocabulary knowledge
✔️ Improve decoding and spelling
✔️ Strengthen reading comprehension
✔️ Make meaning-based connections across content areas

Carlisle (2010) notes that teaching students how to analyze word structure equips them to infer meaning, even when encountering completely new words. This skill makes morphology one of the most efficient vocabulary interventions SLPs can deliver.

Step 1: Teach What Affixes Are and How They Change Meaning

Before diving into lists of words or graphic organizers, start by building conceptual awareness. Students benefit from clear, concrete examples of how affixes transform base words.
For example:

✔️ cat → cats (adding -s means more than one)
✔️ happy → unhappy (un- changes the meaning to its opposite)

This explicit comparison helps students understand that:

1️⃣ Words are made of meaningful parts
2️⃣ Those parts carry clues
3️⃣ We can use those clues to figure out meaning

This aligns with research indicating that metalinguistic awareness (thinking about how language works) supports later vocabulary growth (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2008).

Step 2: Explicitly Teach High-Value Prefixes and Suffixes

Rather than overwhelming students with dozens of affixes, focus on the ones they’ll encounter most often.

According to Honig et al. (2013), the most frequent prefixes include:

✔️ un-
✔️ re-
✔️ in-/im-
✔️ dis-

Introduce each prefix with:

✔️ A student-friendly definition
✔️ An icon or visual
✔️ A few high-frequency examples

If you’re an SLP Now member, you can use the Prefixes & Suffixes Skill Packs, which include definition cards, visuals, and examples that make instruction simple and consistent.
Not a member yet? Sign up for a free trial and download the skill packs!

Give students printed cards so they can collect, sort, and reference them across sessions, almost like vocabulary “trading cards.”

Step 3: Teach Students to Become Word Detectives

Once students understand common affixes, teach them a framework for analyzing words step-by-step. A simple graphic organizer can guide them through:

1️⃣ Identify
🔎 Prefix
🔎 Root
🔎 Suffix

2️⃣ Define
🔎 Meaning of the prefix
🔎 Meaning of the root
🔎 Meaning of the suffix

3️⃣ Combine
🔎  Put the meanings together to infer the meaning of the word

4️⃣ Check
🔎 Use the inferred meaning in a sentence
🔎 Confirm if it makes sense in context

For example:
In the word disagree

✔️  Prefix: dis- (“not” or “opposite of”)
✔️  Root: agree
✔️  Combined meaning: to not agree

This aligns with morphological problem-solving frameworks supported by research from Goodwin & Ahn (2013), who found that explicit analysis and repeated practice improve comprehension and morphological awareness.

Model the process first. Then work through examples with students. Gradually reduce support until they can analyze words independently.

Step 4: Reinforce Affixes Across Units and Contexts

One of the most effective ways to make morphology stick is to use it everywhere, not just during vocabulary drills.
As you move through literacy-based therapy activities, encourage students to:

✔️ Look for target prefixes and suffixes
✔️ Add new examples to their vocabulary journal
✔️ Highlight affixed words in stories, articles, or science experiments
✔️ Use the definition card as a reference tool

SLP Now members can search the library for books and articles that contain specific prefixes or suffixes. This makes it easy to find contextualized opportunities for practice.
You can also bring in book-specific or article-specific organizers, allowing students to collect multiple examples of the same affix throughout the year.

Not a member yet? Sign up for a free trial to access 400+ therapy plans!

 

Step 5: Build a Vocabulary Journal

A vocabulary journal helps students:

✔️ Track affixes
✔️ Write definitions
✔️ Record example words
✔️ See their progress over time
✔️ Add sentences and illustrations

This strategy supports deeper processing, described by Nagy, Berninger & Abbott (2006) as essential for moving new vocabulary from short-term exposure to long-term mastery.

Help students keep their affix cards, organizer examples, and unit-based words all in one place. I love creating student folders for this!

Putting It All Together

Morphology instruction doesn’t have to be complicated. By focusing on the most common affixes and embedding practice into everyday therapy, you can give students powerful tools for understanding and using new vocabulary.
These evidence-based strategies help students become confident, independent word learners, and help you make the most of your therapy time.

If you want ready-to-use materials for teaching prefixes, suffixes, and root words, you can download five activities for free and explore the full SLP Now membership. Sign up today!

References
Carlisle, J. F. (2010). Effects of instruction in morphological awareness on literacy achievement: An integrative review. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(4), 464–487.
Goodwin, A. P., & Ahn, S. (2013). A meta-analysis of morphological interventions: Effects on literacy achievement of children with literacy difficulties. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46(6), 635–646.
Honig, B., Diamond, L., & Gutlohn, L. (2013). Teaching Reading Sourcebook. Arena Press.
Kieffer, M. J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2008). The role of derivational morphology in the reading comprehension of Spanish-speaking English language learners. Reading and Writing, 21, 783–804.
Nagy, W., Berninger, V., & Abbott, R. (2006). Contributions of morphology beyond phonology to literacy outcomes of upper elementary and middle-school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 134–147.

240: Multiple Meaning Words: The SLP CLEAR Method Explained

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Teaching multiple meaning words can feel surprisingly hard.

Not because the concept is advanced, but because students often:

  • guess the wrong meaning
  • get stuck on one definition
  • struggle to apply the word correctly in reading or conversation

And for busy school-based SLPs, the real challenge usually isn’t instruction. 

It’s planning.

Creating:

  • clear examples
  • multiple contexts
  • visuals and organizers
  • and enough repetition for generalization

This takes time most SLPs simply don’t have.

That’s not just frustrating, it’s exhausting.

And it’s exactly why so many school-based SLPs struggle to stay consistent with skills like multiple meaning words.

Not because they don’t know what to teach. But because planning effective therapy takes more time than they have.

As a school-based SLP you should always be able to:

  • Leave work at work instead of planning at 9pm
  • Feel confident walking into every session
  • Actually have time for dinner with family or your favorite hobby

The good news?

There is a simple, practical way to teach multiple meaning words that builds clarity and flexibility. Without overwhelming students or adding hours to your prep.

We call it the CLEAR Method™.

It’s a planning-first, clarity-driven approach that reflects the systems and methods built into SLP Now. The ones designed to reduce prep time, support confidence, and make therapy easier to sustain.

Is the CLEAR Method™ for Teaching Multiple Meaning Words Right for You?

This approach works best for SLPs who:

  • Are currently spending hours planning and prepping materials each week
  • Want to maintain high-quality, evidence-based therapy
  • Need materials that support consistent repetition and generalization
  • Value time with family/life outside of work

If you’re already using a comprehensive therapy resource or prefer creating everything yourself, this may not be for you.

But if you’re spending hours planning sessions and want that time back, without compromising quality, keep reading.

Using structured, planning-first methods like these can lead to dramatic time savings and better student outcomes.

Just like the time Courtney saved with her 40 student caseload:

slp software case study multiple meaning words

“It’s been a one -stop shop for me. I’ve been able to gather my materials, collect my data live, and then have a graph to show how the students are making progress or what goals I didn’t target in a previous session.”

– Coutney Tomberlain, SLP at Cobb County School District (20 yrs experience)

These results didn’t come from working harder.
They came from using repeatable methods and ready-made supports instead of rebuilding lessons from scratch.

And that’s exactly what the CLEAR method for multiple meaning words is designed to help you do.

Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack

Ready-to-use materials that follow the CLEAR Method™ so you can teach multiple meaning words with confidence — without spending hours on prep.

  • CLEAR Method™ framework with step-by-step teaching guide
  • Pre-written sentences for context-first instruction
  • Parts of speech supports including student-friendly reference cards
  • Visual organizers to anchor meanings and reduce cognitive load
  • Leveled practice activities (K-4+) with built-in repetition across contexts

Everything you need to assess, teach, and generalize multiple meaning words — all in one place.

👉 Join to Download Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack preview

Why multiple meaning words matter for kids

Multiple meaning words are words that have more than one meaning, depending on how they’re used. Research indicates that approximately 50% of English words have multiple meanings! (Nagy & Anderson, 1984)

For example:

  • bat (an animal vs. sports equipment)
  • change (coins vs. doing something differently)

Many students — especially those with language impairments — have difficulty:

  • using context clues
  • thinking flexibly about word meanings
  • shifting from one meaning to another

This directly impacts:

  • vocabulary development
  • reading comprehension
  • overall language understanding

That’s why how we teach multiple meaning words matters just as much as what words we choose.

What Are Multiple Meaning Words?

Multiple meaning words are words that have more than one meaning, depending on how they’re used in a sentence or situation.

The key is this:
👉 The word itself doesn’t change, the context does.

Examples of Multiple Meaning Words in Sentences:

  • Bat
    • The bat flew out of the cave.
    • She hit the ball with a bat.
  • Change
    • I have change in my pocket.
    • It’s time to change your shoes.

For many students, especially those with language impairments, this flexibility doesn’t come naturally.

Instead, they may:

  • lock onto the first meaning they learned
  • ignore context clues
  • guess based on pictures or prior knowledge
  • struggle when the same word shows up in a new way

This is why multiple meaning words often become a bottleneck for:

  • vocabulary growth
  • reading comprehension
  • understanding grade-level texts

👉 Want Ready-to-Use Multiple Meaning Words Examples Like These?

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack includes pre-written sentences, visuals, and organizers so students can practice identifying meanings in context — without you creating everything from scratch.

➡️ Start a Free Trial to Access the Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words visual organizer example

Why Multiple Meaning Words Are Tricky for Kids

On the surface, multiple meaning words seem straightforward.

But for students, they require several skills working together at once:

  • understanding sentence meaning
  • using context clues
  • knowing parts of speech
  • thinking flexibly about language

If one of those pieces breaks down, students often:

  • choose the wrong meaning
  • get confused when meanings shift
  • struggle to explain why a meaning makes sense

types of multiple meaning words

That’s why simply giving students a list of multiple meaning words or a worksheet often isn’t enough.

They don’t need more words.
They need a clear way to think through meaning.

A Better Way: Teach the Process, Not Just the Words

Instead of asking students to memorize definitions, effective instruction teaches them how to figure out meaning.

That’s where the CLEAR Method™ comes in.

It gives students a repeatable process they can use whenever they encounter a word with more than one meaning — in therapy, in the classroom, and while reading independently.

In the next section, we’ll break down the CLEAR Method™ step by step, starting with the most important piece: context.

The CLEAR Method™ for Teaching Multiple Meaning Words

Over time, we’ve found that the most effective multiple meaning word instruction follows one clear pattern.

We call it the CLEAR Method™.

It’s a simple, practical process that helps students:

  • figure out the correct meaning
  • explain why it makes sense
  • and apply that thinking across new contexts

CLEAR stands for:

  • C — Context First
  • L — Label the Part of Speech
  • E — Explain the Meaning
  • A — Anchor With Visuals
  • R — Repeat Across Contexts

Instead of memorizing definitions, students learn a process for understanding meaning,which is what actually supports comprehension.

Let’s start with the most important step.

👉 Want Instant Access to Examples Like These?

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack includes:

  • Pre-written sentences for context
  • Student-friendly parts of speech guides
  • Visual supports that make meaning clearer

➡️ Start a Free Trial to Access This Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words visual support example

C — Context First

Context is the foundation of multiple meaning word instruction.

If students try to decide what a word means without context, they’re usually guessing.

That’s why the CLEAR Method™ always starts with a sentence or situation, not the word by itself.

What this looks like in practice

Instead of asking:

“What does the word bat mean?”

Start with:

  • The bat flew out of the cave.
  • He grabbed the bat before stepping up to the plate.

Then guide students to ask:

  • “What’s happening in this sentence?”
  • “What clues help us figure out the meaning?”

This shifts students from guessing to analyzing.

Why context-first instruction matters

When students consistently start with context, they:

  • rely less on memorized definitions
  • pay attention to surrounding words
  • become more flexible with meaning

Research shows that context clues significantly aid vocabulary learning and support students’ ability to derive word meanings independently (Baumann et al., 2003).

This directly supports:

  • reading comprehension
  • understanding unfamiliar vocabulary
  • independent problem-solving in texts

In the next section, we’ll look at how identifying the part of speech helps students narrow meaning quickly — especially when words can function in more than one way.

L — Label the Part of Speech

Once students understand the context, the next step is helping them narrow the meaning.

That’s where parts of speech come in.

Many multiple meaning words change meaning based on how they’re used in a sentence — not just the situation.

Helping students ask:

  • “Is this a thing (noun)?”
  • “Is it an action (verb)?”
  • “Is it describing something?”

can immediately eliminate the wrong meaning.

Simple sentence frames that build flexibility

Sentence frames make this step concrete and student-friendly.

👉 Want this step ready-to-go?

Resources like this student-friendly reference card come included in the skill pack, along with sentence frames and organizers that guide students through the process without you creating them yourself.

➡️ Start a free trial to access the Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words parts of speech reference card

For example:

  • Noun frame: I have a ___.
  • Verb frame: I am ___.

Using the word change:

  • I have change. → coins or money
  • I am changing. → doing something differently

These quick tests help students:

  • think more flexibly about word meanings
  • generate definitions more independently
  • explain why a meaning makes sense

Why this step matters

Labeling the part of speech:

  • reduces random guessing
  • builds metalinguistic awareness
  • supports students who struggle with abstract language

It also gives students a strategy they can reuse when they encounter unfamiliar words in reading.

👉 Want this step ready-to-go?

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack includes student-friendly parts-of-speech supports and organizers that guide students through this process, without you creating sentence frames or visuals yourself.

➡️ Start a free trial to access the Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words parts of speech reference card

E — Explain the Meaning (In Student-Friendly Language)

Once students have identified the correct meaning, the next step is making sure they truly understand it — not just recognize it.

That’s where student-friendly explanations come in.

Instead of repeating dictionary definitions, encourage students to:

  • explain the meaning in their own words
  • describe what’s happening in the sentence
  • talk through how they figured it out

This is where deeper language learning happens.

Using think-alouds to build metalinguistic awareness

Think-alouds are especially powerful with multiple meaning words.

Metalinguistic instruction (teaching students to reflect on and talk about language) has been shown to improve vocabulary and comprehension outcomes (Biemiller & Boote, 2006).

For students with language impairments, this type of awareness is particularly critical for reading comprehension (Zipke, 2007).”

Simple prompts like:

  • “How did you know which meaning it was?”
  • “What clues helped you?”
  • “Could this word mean something else here?”

help students reflect on their thinking — not just their answer.

Over time, students start to internalize these questions and apply them independently while reading or listening.

Why explaining meaning matters

When students explain meanings out loud, they:

  • strengthen vocabulary knowledge
  • build metalinguistic awareness
  • improve expressive language
  • become more confident explaining their thinking

This step is also incredibly effective in group therapy, because students benefit from hearing how others reason through meaning.

Next up is the step that helps everything stick: anchoring meanings with visuals.

A — Anchor With Visuals

Multiple meaning words are abstract by nature.

That’s why visual supports are such a powerful part of the CLEAR Method™.

When students can see the difference between meanings, they’re more likely to:

  • understand the word
  • remember it later
  • retrieve the correct meaning in new situations

How visuals support multiple meaning word instruction

Visuals help students:

  • break down abstract language
  • compare meanings side by side
  • reduce cognitive load

Effective visuals might include:

  • simple pictures for each meaning
  • graphic organizers that show multiple definitions
  • space to draw or sketch what each meaning looks like

Research on robust vocabulary instruction emphasizes the importance of explicit support for definitions, part of speech, example sentences, and imagery (Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2013).

For example, a graphic organizer might ask students to:

  • write the word
  • identify the part of speech
  • explain each meaning
  • draw a picture for each one

multiple-meaning-words-anchor-with-visuals multiple meaning words anchor with visuals

This anchors understanding and supports long-term retention.

Why anchoring with visuals matters

Students who struggle with language often need more than verbal explanation.

Visual supports:

  • give students another way to process information
  • support students with working memory challenges
  • make abstract concepts more concrete

Strong vocabulary instruction includes the use of multiple modalities to reinforce memory and comprehension (Snow, 2010)

This is especially helpful for:

  • younger students
  • students with language impairments
  • English learners

👉 Want Instant Access to the Multiple Meaning Words Anchor Chart?

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack includes ready-made graphic organizers and visual supports aligned to each step of the CLEAR Method™ so you don’t have to design or adapt materials yourself.

➡️ Start a free trial to access the Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words anchor chart example

We’re almost there. The final step is where generalization happens and where most instruction breaks down without the right materials.

R — Repeat Across Contexts (This Is Where Generalization Happens)

Most students don’t struggle with multiple meaning words because they never learned them.

They struggle because they only saw the word once.

Generalization doesn’t happen after a single sentence or activity.
It happens when students see the same word used again and again in different ways.

That’s why Repeat Across Contexts is a core part of the CLEAR Method™.

What repetition should look like (without busywork)

Effective repetition means practicing the same word across:

  • different sentences
  • different contexts
  • short passages or texts
  • student-generated examples

A simple progression might look like:

  1. Two clear sentences with different meanings
  2. A short paragraph or story using the word
  3. A new context (book, article, or classroom example)
  4. Student-created sentences or explanations

Each repetition reinforces flexibility, not memorization.

Why this step is often skipped (and why that’s a problem)

Repeat Across Contexts is the step that:

  • takes the most planning
  • requires the most materials
  • is hardest to sustain week after week

Without it, students may:

  • understand the word during therapy
  • struggle to apply it in reading
  • revert to guessing in new contexts

This is where even strong instruction can break down.

At this point, you’ve seen how the CLEAR Method™ works from start to finish.

Next, we’ll tie it all together with:

  • practical examples
  • grade-level considerations
  • and the strongest AI-Builder–style CTA on the page.

SLP Multiple Meaning Words Examples: Putting the CLEAR Method™ Into Practice

The CLEAR Method™ works across grade levels because the process stays the same — only the complexity of the words and contexts changes.

Below are examples of how multiple meaning word instruction can look from kindergarten through 4th grade, using the same CLEAR steps each time.

Multiple Meaning Words for Kindergarten

At this level, the goal is helping students understand that one word can have more than one meaning.

Focus on:

  • very concrete words
  • clear visuals
  • short, simple sentences

Example words:

Word Meaning 1 Meaning 2
bat an animal baseball bat
park a place to play to stop a car

Use CLEAR by:

  • starting with simple sentences (Context First)
  • naming the meaning out loud
  • anchoring each meaning with pictures

Multiple Meaning Words for 1st Grade

First-grade students are ready to compare meanings more intentionally — especially with support.

Focus on:

  • concrete + slightly abstract meanings
  • sentence-level context

Example words:

Word Meaning 1 Meaning 2
ring jewelry make a sound
light something you turn on not heavy

Use CLEAR by:

  • identifying what’s happening in each sentence
  • labeling whether the word is a noun or describing word
  • anchoring meanings with pictures or drawings

Multiple Meaning Words for 2nd Grade

In second grade, students benefit from learning how parts of speech help narrow meaning.

Focus on:

  • noun vs. verb meanings
  • explaining meanings in their own words

Example words:

Word Meaning 1 Meaning 2
change coins to do something differently
watch something you wear to look at

Use CLEAR by:

  • testing meanings with sentence frames
  • encouraging students to explain why a meaning fits

repeating words across different sentences

👉 Want sentence frames and ready-made examples that support flexible thinking?

Start a free trial to access the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack.

Start Your Free Trial →

Multiple Meaning Words for 3rd Grade

Third grade is where multiple meaning words start to affect reading comprehension more directly.

Focus on:

  • sentence-level ambiguity
  • short passages
  • context clues

Example words:

Word Meaning 1 Meaning 2
point a sharp end an idea
scale to climb a tool for measuring

Use CLEAR by:

  • analyzing context before guessing
  • explaining how clues lead to the correct meaning
  • repeating words across passages and discussions

👉 Want passages, visuals, and activities that build repetition without extra prep?

Start a free trial to access the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack.

Start Your Free Trial →

Multiple Meaning Words for 4th Grade

By fourth grade, many multiple meaning words become more abstract and academic.

Focus on:

  • abstract meanings
  • academic vocabulary
  • generalization across texts

Example words:

Word Meaning 1 Meaning 2
draft a rough version air movement
table furniture data chart

Use CLEAR by:

  • breaking down context in longer texts
  • labeling part of speech to narrow meaning
  • repeating words across subjects and settings

Why This Works Across Grades

What changes from kindergarten to fourth grade isn’t the method — it’s:

  • the type of words
  • the complexity of context
  • the level of explanation expected

The CLEAR Method™ gives students a consistent way to think about meaning, while the Skill Pack gives you the materials to apply it without rebuilding lessons every week.

“This consistency aligns with research on effective vocabulary instruction, which emphasizes the importance of systematic, repeated exposure across contexts (Baumann et al., 2003).”

👉 Want examples and activities already organized by level?

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack includes leveled activities, visual supports, and practice materials that make it easy to apply the CLEAR Method™ across grades — without sorting or adapting everything yourself.

➡️ Start a free trial to access the Skill Pack

Multiple Meaning Words activities organized by grade level

Using the CLEAR Method™ Without Spending Hours Planning

At this point, you might be thinking:

“This makes sense — but setting all of this up takes time.”

And you’d be right.

To use the CLEAR Method™ consistently, you need:

  • carefully chosen multiple meaning words
  • multiple sentences and contexts for each word
  • visuals and graphic organizers
  • materials that support repetition and generalization

You can create all of that yourself…

…but most school-based SLPs end up:

  • planning at night
  • recreating the same lesson week after week
  • or skipping repetition because of time constraints

“This sounds great, but…”

“I’m not sure if pre-made materials will work for my students”

The Skill Pack includes leveled materials (K-4+) and flexible activities you can adapt. You’re not locked into one approach.

“I’ve tried therapy resources before and they weren’t evidence-based”

Every activity in the CLEAR Method™ Skill Pack is grounded in research (Baumann et al., 2003; Beck, McKeown & Kucan, 2013; Snow, 2010) and aligned to best practices.

“What if I don’t like it?”

Start with a free trial. Use the materials in your actual sessions. If it doesn’t save you time or improve your therapy, you haven’t lost anything.

That’s exactly why we built the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack inside SLP Now.

The Skill Pack = The CLEAR Method™ (Already Built for You)

The Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack is the ready-to-use version of the CLEAR Method™.

Instead of planning from scratch, you can:

  • open a session
  • select a target word
  • use pre-written contexts and visuals
  • and guide students through each CLEAR step with confidence

Everything is designed to work together, so you’re not piecing resources together from multiple places.

👉 Want to try it in your next session?

You can access the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack with a free trial to SLP Now.

That means you can:

  • explore the materials
  • use them with your students
  • and see how CLEAR works in real therapy sessions

➡️ Start your free trial to access the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack

Final Thought

Multiple meaning words don’t have to feel confusing for you or your students.

With a simple framework and materials that support it, you can:

  • teach vocabulary more effectively
  • support reading comprehension
  • and protect your time and energy

The CLEAR Method™ gives you the structure.
The Skill Pack gives you the speed.

References

Baumann, J. F., Edwards, E. C., Boland, E., Olejnik, S., & Kame’enui, E. J. (2003). Vocabulary tricks: Effects of instruction in morphology and context on fifth-grade students’ ability to derive and infer word meanings. American Educational Research Journal.

Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & Kucan, L. (2013). Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Biemiller, A., & Boote, C. (2006). An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology.

Nagy, W., & Anderson, R. (1984). How many words are there in printed school English? Reading Research Quarterly.

Snow, C. (2010). Academic language and the challenge of reading for learning about science. Science.

Zipke, M. (2007). The role of metalinguistic awareness in reading comprehension for students with language impairments. Topics in Language Disorders.

Transcript

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Let's chat about strategies to target multiple meaning words, shall we? Before we dive into the practical strategies you can use in your next session, I want to lay some groundwork. When I started looking into the research almost a decade ago, I was surprised to learn that 50% of English words have multiple meanings.

Many of our students, especially those with language impairments, have difficulty inferring the meanings of those words. And that can really impact vocabulary development in general, but also comprehension, because if we are not able to analyze words and look at context to understand what they mean, then that can really impact our comprehension.

So we will dive into the strategies that we can use from introducing multiple meaning words to working towards generalization. The first thing I want to do is make sure students understand that words can have multiple meanings. We might just start off the discussion and say words can have multiple meanings, like one word can mean different things. The example I always start with is the animal that flies and the wooden stick used to hit a ball in baseball. That would be kind of my initial teaching so that we can wrap our heads around what we're working on.

Then the second step is having students practice identifying the meaning and looking at the context. In my initial teaching, we would've talked about like a bat the animal as well as the baseball bat. And I might give them some sentences. I like to have the pictures and start with really concrete examples and then we can get more complex.

But I first wanna make sure that they're really understanding the concept, so I might give them two sentences, like the bat flew into the cave, and we would look at that sentence and which bat is that talking about? And just having some specific examples and then using images to help.

Because we are building that imagery, that can be a way to get in some errorless learning and help students understand the context. For our third strategy, something we can do while completing that activity is to think out loud and help students build that meta linguistic awareness.

This is easier with concrete examples. we can ask questions like, how did you know which meaning it was, could it mean something else in that sentence, and kind of having some discussion around that.

And they could practice saying I knew it was the animal because bats live in caves, so that could be the example for the sentence we talked about. And if we're doing this as a group activity, this will be a beautiful language, rich activity. Even if not all of the students are working on multiple meaning words, they can be working on syntax, creating sentences, grammar, vocabulary, all of those things, in the context of these activities. So those are our first three strategies. The fourth strategy is to use a graphic organizer. We have lots of graphic organizers built into SLP Now, that help students kinda break down the meaning and give them robust vocabulary practice with these words.

We have blank graphic organizers in our skill pack for multiple meaning words. For our books and articles, we've identified multiple meaning words in the text. For each word, we give three sentences with the target word in it, and then the students find the word, work through the graphic organizer to identify the part of speech, the meaning, and draw a picture to help with imagery. That type of graphic organizer can be really helpful. One of the strategies that has helped my students the most is helping them understand how parts of speech work.

I have a graphic organizer that lists noun, verb, adjective, adverb, and it gives a student friendly definition of what a noun, verb, adjective, and adverb are. It also has some sentence frames that can help them understand what part of speech something is.

A noun is a person placer thing, and the sentence frames are, I have a blank and I see blank. I have a bat. I see a bat. For the example with bat, the animal and the wooden stick, those are both nouns so that strategy wouldn't help us differentiate the meaning.

We can use that to help students generate different definitions for words. They can use that as a strategy to help them understand what the word might mean. If we know it's a noun, that'll help narrow down how we are going to define that word.

And if we know it's a verb and an action. That'll help us narrow down the definition as well. We have a little cheat sheet that students can use. We can have them look at the context of the sentence and then put the word in their own sentence. For example, if we are looking at change, we can say, I have change.

And then that might spark, oh, change. That means like coins of money. And then if the verb is, I am changing, maybe they think, oh, that means putting on new clothes. And so that helps them generate definitions for this word. It helps them practice to think more flexibly because if you ask them what are two meanings for the word change?

They might only think of one and they have a hard time thinking flexibly of what else could change mean? I found that using those sentence frames can be really helpful and throughout the entire process we'll leverage the strategies of using visuals and graphic organizers and pictography or acting things out to help students build that picture in their heads.

Using the cheat sheet for parts of speech can help give them a framework to start thinking more flexibly about what words mean. So those are our strategies for today. If you want to check out the Multiple Meaning Words Skill Pack or any of the activity sheets for picture books, articles, and science experiments, we have lots of activities based on these evidence backed strategies that you can use in your sessions without having to reinvent the wheel.

You can literally just click. Into something as students are walking in the door and be ready to go. I hope these strategies were super helpful and we'll see you in the next one.

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239: How to Teach Describing: Evidence-Based Strategies SLPs Can Use Tomorrow

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In this post, we’ll explore two research-backed approaches for teaching describing, walk through practical therapy tools you can use right away, and share a simple way to bring these strategies together during your literacy-based sessions.

Why Teaching Describing Matters

Describing is foundational for writing, classroom discussions, and overall expressive language. Students who struggle with describing often benefit from explicit instruction in how to organize their ideas and select meaningful attributes (Ukrainetz, 2015). When students learn a predictable framework, they can more easily access and share what they know.

Evidence-Backed Strategies for Describing

Strategy #1: Explicitly Teach Attribute Categories

Research shows that teaching students to use consistent attribute categories (such as category, function, parts, size, shape, color, and location) helps them build organized semantic networks (Ebbels, 2014). When students internalize these categories, they gain a reliable structure for describing any object or concept.

How to Use This Strategy in Therapy

– Introduce each attribute category explicitly
– Model with real objects or storybook vocabulary
– Use visuals to support understanding
– Provide multiple, varied practice opportunities

SLP Now Tool to Support This Strategy

The Describing Helper includes visual supports for categories, colors, shapes, functions, locations, and more.
Sign up for a free trial to download the Describing Helper for free today!

Strategy #2: Teach Through Contrastive Examples

Contrastive learning is when we pair examples and non-examples). When students compare items that differ in one or more attributes, it strengthens their understanding of what the concept is and is not.

For example:
Is an apple a fruit? Yes.
Is a bee a fruit? No.

These comparisons promote deeper semantic processing and increase accuracy in categorization and description.

How to Use This Strategy in Therapy

– Present pairs or small sets of contrasting items
– Ask yes/no questions about category membership
– Highlight similarities and differences across attributes
– Embed practice across units or storybooks

SLP Now Tool to Support This Strategy

Our Vocabulary Pages for Categories and Object Functions include exemplars, non-exemplars, and sections for adding new examples across sessions and units.
Sign up for a free trial to download the vocabulary pages for free today!

Tools to Implement These Evidence-Backed Strategies

Use Visuals to Scaffold Describing Skills

Many students need visual anchors as they learn new vocabulary and practice describing. Visual supports can provide options for colors, shapes, locations, categories, and more—making it easier for students to access the language they need.

The Describing Helper inside SLP Now was designed for this exact purpose. Whether you’re targeting describing directly or building the underlying vocabulary skills that support describing, visuals give students the support they need to be successful.

Build Vocabulary With Journals for Long-Term Retention

Vocabulary journals are an effective way to deepen semantic knowledge over time, especially when tied to literacy-based therapy.

Each vocabulary page includes:
– A student-friendly definition
– Pictures of exemplars and non-exemplars
– A blank space to add new examples from books, activities, or classroom life

As students revisit the same category across books and real-life contexts, their semantic networks become richer and more flexible (Nagy & Townsend, 2012).

Support Generalization With Sentence Frames

Once students can identify and list attributes, the next step is helping them communicate descriptions in meaningful sentences. Sentence frames encourage generalization and align with classroom expectations for writing and discussion.

Examples include:
“It is a type of…” (category)
“We find it…” (location)
“It is used for…” (function)

The Describing Helper includes sentence frames for each attribute category, making it easy to support students during structured and unstructured tasks.

Try These Strategies in Your Next Session

Explicit teaching, contrastive examples, vocabulary journals, and visual supports work beautifully together, and they help students build describing skills that carry into storytelling, academic tasks, and real-life communication.

If you want to download the Describing Helper and access thousands of evidence-backed therapy materials, sign up for the free trial!

References

Ebbels, S. (2014). Effectiveness of intervention for grammar in school-aged children with primary language impairments: A review of the evidence. Child Language Teaching and Therapy.
Nagy, W., & Townsend, D. (2012). Words as tools: Learning academic vocabulary as language acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly.
Ukrainetz, T. (2015). Contextualized Language Intervention: Scaffolding PreK–12 Students to Promote Academic Success.

Transcript

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Hey there and welcome back to the podcast. Today we are diving into strategies related to describing. And this is an area that I think we all do pretty well with. We have a strong foundation on how to target describing, but I'm excited to share a couple strategies and then dive into some tools that we can use to make it easier to implement those strategies.

So there's two core strategies that emerge in the research. One is explicitly teaching attribute categories, like size, shape, function, location, parts, category, all of those things. Teaching those categories give students a clear framework and helps them organize their ideas.

And then we also want to make sure that we're systematically teaching those and helping students build that framework. The second strategy is teaching through contrastive examples. When we show pairs of examples that differ in one or more attributes, like an apple and a pear.

They're both fruits, sweet, and have stemsbut have different colors, shapes, and tastesContrasting can be really helpful. In practice, one tool that we all know about is the Expanding Expression Tool.

It is a visual and tactile way to teach those attribute categories. You can make a little song about the attributes and it's a tactile thing. If they're looking at the apple, they can be like, okay, green group, and do that.

Definitely look at the resources from Expanding Expression Tool. They have a bunch of amazing resources and handbooks so I'm not teaching how to use that. I wanted to give a nod to that tool because it can be very helpful. Some other tools that we can use. I personally use the Expanding Expression Tool.It's really helpful to teach them like, what group is it in?

But sometimes they don't have that vocabulary of like, oh, these are all the groups that I can think of. And these are all of the colors and shapes. Sometimes we need a little bit more visual support. So I created, it's called a Describing Helper.

and it has a page for the different attributes that we might use when describing. So it has pages for the different attribute categories, and then it has pictures of a bunch of examples. On the colors page it shows different colors. On the shape page, it shows different shapes.

And then we have a bunch of locations and categories and all of that. I find that if we are doing a describing activity, it's really helpful to have those visual choices. even as a scaffolding tool, if we ask a student what category it's in, we can pull up the Describing Helper and be like, is it a fruit or a toy?

And have that be a way to scaffold. This can give us some practice with a contrastive examples If we're looking at the apple, we can say, is the apple a person? No. An apple is not a person. And so that gives us that contrast. Is an apple a place? No. That helps give us practice opportunities, with one simple visual. Another thing that's really helpful, 'cause sometimes teaching the attribute categories is really helpful, like size, shape, color, all of that. Sometimes our students are missing the vocabulary for those. I have a bunch of activities in my library to help teach categories, object functions, and basic concepts

Sometimes we need to break it down and maybe describing is a good longer term goal, but we really need to focus on building vocabulary in the subcategories, and the Describing Helper helps with that. we can also do it more systematically. For categories and object functions, I like to build vocabulary journals for students.

So we have vocabulary journal pages attached to all of the therapy plans in SLP Now, So let's say we're using Apple Trouble, 'cause I'm fixating on apples today. But if we're reading Apple Trouble, we can go to the Targets section in the Therapy Plan for Apple Trouble.

We'll go to the targets tab and see all of the categories and object functions identified in the story. You can click on that and download the vocabulary page. It's just a one pager and it has the title, so it would be like fruit.

First we come up with a definition of what a fruit is .It would have like 10 pictures of exemplars and non exemplars and we can go through. Is a bee a fruit?

A bee is not a fruit. We cross that one out. And then is a grape of fruit. Oh yeah, grape is a fruit and we can circle that. We get lots of repetition and lots of practice. The first section is a quick definition of what a category or what the fruit is. Then we have little pictures to go through what's an exemplar and a non exemplar.

And then the third section on the page is blank. And then we get to add exemplars from the books and the activities that we're doing. So as we're going through Apple Trouble, we can add the apple and the pear. I don't remember if there's any other fruits in that story. But then let's say the next month we read the book about the Hungry Bear and the Strawberry.

We can add a strawberry to the page and then let's say during lunch, they're eating like they have different fruits, then we can add that to their page.We can continue to build on that journal.

And so they'll always have that quick definition, the reminders of the exemplars and non exemplars, and then they get to continue adding their own. And as we're doing the virtual field trip, we continue to add examples and it'll build over units and units. And that just helps them build that vocabulary organize that information and get some really meaningful practice. So we talked about, in terms of the tools that we've covered so far, the Expanding Expression Tool. I'll include a link in the show notes, but if you Google it, you'll find all the resources around that.

In SLP Now we have a Describing Helper, which includes visual choices for different attribute categories. That just came from a need of my students. They knew they needed to give me a group but they needed some foundational support, so having that is a good starting point.

We also want to provide explicit instruction on the attributes within each attribute category. Because sometimes they don't have that vocabulary of like the colors and the shapes and the categories and the functions and all of that. And so we wanna make sure that we're doing some explicit practice there.

And then another thing that has been really helpful. This is in the Describing Helper as well. The first page has sentence frames that we can use to help students. They can give us a list of attributes, but we want them

to create sentences to describe something. That's what they're gonna have to do in the classroom when they're writing and having discussions. There are sentence frames for each of the attribute categories, to help them do that describing activity.

So that's what that looks like. An example for location, the sentence frame would be we find it and it could be like inside, at the store, whatever it might be. Those are the tools that I use to help me in my describing intervention and link to a quick review of some of the research, that helped me decide how I want to do that. So yeah, there's lots of tools that we can use to help us, whether it is EET, the Describing Helper, the categories and object functions vocabulary pages. These are evidence-based activities for basic concepts as well. We have those to help fill in that vocabulary.

Andit's based on the units that we have for those also embed the contrastive examples So if students are struggling with those, like the location words, the sizes, and all of that, the basic concepts, units can really help too. The last thing we talked about was sentence frames in helping students with generalization, so that they're not just listing, we're embedding it into real sentences. That's a quick recap of my strategies and the tools that we use. If you're interested in accessing the tools in SLP Now, I'll include a link in the show notes so you can check out all of the things. Thanks for joining me.

I hope this was helpful, and we'll see you in the next one.

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Basic Concepts in Speech Therapy: 5 Research Backed Tips

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Why Basic Concepts Matter

These foundational concepts help students follow directions, understand stories, and access academic content—especially in math and reading.

In this post, I’m sharing five evidence-based strategies for targeting basic concepts that actually stick. We’ll walk through research, practical examples, and how to bring it all together using one of my favorite books, Zoe Gets Ready.

1. Keep Instruction Clear and Focused

When targeting basic concepts, clarity is everything.

Work on one concept at a time and make sure a student masters it before adding more. This helps reduce confusion and cognitive overload—especially for students with language delays.

💡 In Practice
If you’re working on under, stick with that target until the student can identify and use it consistently. Once mastered, move to the next concept.

📘 What the Research Says
Seifert & Schwartz (1991) found that preschoolers learned basic concepts best when clinicians used direct instruction combined with interactive and incidental teaching. This blend supports generalization and retention while keeping instruction focused.

Seifert, K. L., & Schwartz, S. E. (1991). An instructional approach to teaching basic concepts. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6(2), 143–158.

2. Embed Concepts in Meaningful Contexts

Once a student can identify a concept during structured tasks, bring it to life!

Embedding learning in context helps students apply and retain new concepts more effectively than drill alone.

💡 In Practice
→ During storybook reading: “She put the hat on her head.”
→ In play: “Put the shoes on the doll.”
→ During routines: “Put your folder in your backpack.”

📘 What the Research Says
Bracken (1982) emphasized that teaching basic concepts in natural, meaningful settings, like play and routines, improves both comprehension and generalization. Contextualized learning builds stronger conceptual frameworks than decontextualized drills.

Bracken, B. A. (1982). The importance of basic concepts for preschool children: An assessment of conceptual development. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 1(1), 3–20.

3. Use Multiple Exemplars—Strategically

Using varied examples helps students generalize new concepts, but timing matters.

Start small to establish understanding, then increase variety gradually.

💡 In Practice
Begin with a few consistent items (e.g., “Put the apple on the plate,” “Put the cup on the table”).
Once students grasp the concept, vary the context, setting, and materials.

📘 What the Research Says
Nicholas et al. (2019) suggest that limiting variability early in instruction can improve conceptual learning for children with language delays. Gradual expansion of exemplars ensures solid understanding before introducing new forms.

Nicholas, E., Light, J., & Romski, M. (2019). Teaching basic concepts to young children with developmental delays: Effects of variability in exemplars. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(4), 1120–1133.

4. Pair Words with Gestures or Visuals

Pairing verbal labels with visuals or gestures helps anchor abstract ideas.
Gestures act as visual cues, supporting comprehension and memory.

💡 In Practice
→ On: one hand placed on top of the other
→ Under: one hand slides beneath a fist
→ Big: hands spread apart
→ Little: fingers pinched close together

📘 What the Research Says
Vogt & Kauschke (2017) found that iconic gestures (i.e., gestures that visually represent meaning) enhance children’s learning of new words and concepts. Using consistent gestures alongside verbal cues leads to stronger recall and faster understanding.

Vogt, S., & Kauschke, C. (2017). Observing iconic gestures enhances word learning in typically developing children and children with language impairment. Journal of Child Language, 44(6), 1458–1476.

5. Collaborate Whenever You Can

When SLPs work with classroom teachers, PE teachers, or paraprofessionals, students see and hear consistent models across environments, which boosts carryover.

💡 In Practice
→ In PE: Practice over, under, and through during obstacle courses.
→ In art: Discuss on top of or next to while creating collages.
→ In class: Coordinate with teachers to reinforce concepts in daily routines.

📘 What the Research Says
Lund et al. (2019) found that preschoolers learned more concepts when SLPs collaborated with PE teachers. The combination of movement, meaningful context, and language repetition supported stronger outcomes.

Lund, E., Douglas, S. N., & McNaughton, D. (2019). Collaboration between speech-language pathologists and physical educators: Effects on preschoolers’ concept learning. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50(2), 214–228.

Bringing It All Together with Zoe Gets Ready

Now, let’s put it into practice using one of my favorite books, Zoe Gets Ready by Bethanie Murguia.

This story is perfect for targeting spatial and descriptive concepts (on, under, next to, big, small).

Here’s a quick literacy-based therapy flow:
– Direct Teaching: Use a structured activity for your target concept (e.g., “on”).
– Vocabulary Pracitce: Use dress-up play—“Put the tiara on the doll.”
– Model During Reading: Emphasize the target as you narrate the story.
– Comprehension Check: Ask, “Where are her shoes?” → On her feet.
– Parallel Story: Act out Zoe’s routine and have students use gestures as they retell.

This mix of explicit teaching + contextualized play supports both understanding and generalization.

Key Takeaways

→ Teach one concept at a time for clarity.
→ Embed practice in meaningful contexts.
→ Use multiple exemplars strategically.
→ Pair gestures and visuals with verbal models.
→ Collaborate across environments for consistency.

Each of these steps is grounded in research—and when combined, they make concept learning more natural, effective, and fun.

Ready to Save Time and Teach Smarter?

If you’d like ready-to-go materials for these strategies, check out the Basic Concepts Skill Pack and Literacy-Based Therapy Plans inside the SLP Now® Membership.

You’ll get structured lessons, play-based extensions, and built-in visuals—so you can spend less time planning and more time connecting with your students.

👉 Start your free trial today

References

Bracken, B. A. (1982). The importance of basic concepts for preschool children: An assessment of conceptual development. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 1(1), 3–20.

Lund, E., Douglas, S. N., & McNaughton, D. (2019). Collaboration between speech-language pathologists and physical educators: Effects on preschoolers’ concept learning. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 50(2), 214–228.

Nicholas, E., Light, J., & Romski, M. (2019). Teaching basic concepts to young children with developmental delays: Effects of variability in exemplars. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 62(4), 1120–1133.

Seifert, K. L., & Schwartz, S. E. (1991). An instructional approach to teaching basic concepts. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6(2), 143–158.

Vogt, S., & Kauschke, C. (2017). Observing iconic gestures enhances word learning in typically developing children and children with language impairment. Journal of Child Language, 44(6), 1458–1476.*

Transcript

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Hey there. Today we are chatting about strategies that we can use when targeting basic concepts. So these small but meaningful words like ""on under before"" are the foundation for understanding classroom directions, understanding stories. They're embedded in the curriculum, especially when it comes to math.

We are going to be reviewing some practical evidence-backed strategies that we can useand then we're going to tie it all together with a book, Zoe Gets Ready. So we'll talk about how we can embed this into our literacy based therapy units. First up we have a few strategies that we can use when breaking down concepts for students.

I'll share all the citations in the show notes, but one strategy involves keeping it clear in focus and working on one concept at a time,making sure that a student masters a concept before we add in more concepts. And this helps reduce confusion, especially for, students with language delays.

If we have vocabulary goals, it might make sense, to keep our instruction more focused for these students. There's a study by Seifert and Schwartz, 1991,and they inspired how I set up all of our basic concepts units in SLP Now. They talk about combining direct instruction, with interactive and incidental teaching.

And they did this with preschoolers and found that this direct instruction plus embedded practice, resulted in meaningful gains in preschoolers' understanding of basic concepts. We get really good results when we do that explicit teaching and then give students the opportunity to practice and see these concepts in action in meaningful contexts, like when reading a story or during play or during their routines.

and like I said, I'll share that research study in the show notes. It's a great practical read. All of the basic concepts unitsin SLP Now help implement the evidence back strategies for that direct instruction, and then when it comes to embedding concepts in meaningful context, we don't want to just drill. As we're reading stories, we can emphasize the concepts in the reading and through all of our literacy based therapy activities like our virtual field trip, for example.

And then if we're doing play-based activities, our early language books include tons of play-based activities, and we can practice our concepts and model and recast them during our play and routines as well. There's a lot of ways that we can embed those.

Then strategy three is interesting and nuanced depending on our student, but, we want to use multiple exemplars, but we want to be strategic with how we're doing that. We want to expose students to the concept. Let's say our focus for our next therapy session is on the basic concept.

We want to expose students to that concept in different contexts. whether it's play-based or during their daily routines. and with different items. So put the apple on the table, put the toy on the floor.However, Nicholas et al 2019, suggests limiting the variety of objects early on. And so this kind of goes along with that, starting with direct instruction. So maybe this is a way to kind of reconcile that research. So when we are doing our direct instruction, we wanna just have a few exemplars. Start really simple and then expand as students start to understand the concept, keeping it consistent at first. And the activities in SLP Now help you do that, so that's great. And then the fourth strategy is to pair verbal labels with iconic gestures or visuals. We can use gestures that look like what they mean. For the example with on, we can hold up our fist and put the other hand on the fist. That could be our iconic gesture for on, or put our hand under our fist for under.

Or like spreading our hands apart for big, or just sitting with a little pinch for little. We can use those gestures or icon cards to represent the concept. There is the Vogt & Kauschke, sorry if I butcher any of these names from 2017, is the study that talks about iconic gestures supporting concept learning.

We can use those gestures or other visuals to help support students. Keeping that gesture or icon consistent can help with understanding.

And our fifth strategy is to collaborate when you can.

A study by Lund et al in 2019 found that students learn more concepts when an SLP collaborated with the PE teacher. Pairing concept teaching with those movement activities might be part of what was happening. But it's also practicing those concepts in a meaningful activity.

So again, bringing us back to strategy number two, but that's another really good one. So those are our five strategies and now we'll take a quick minute to chat about what this could look like. The book that I picked to demonstrate how we can target basic concepts using literacy based therapy is Zoe Gets Ready.

And so let's say we're focusing on on, so we'll use that iconic gesture throughout. If the on is a totally new concept, we might want to start with that structured teaching activity. If you are a member of SLP Now, you can go to the therapy plans tab and type in Zoe Gets Ready ,and then go to the Targets tab and you'll see all of the basic concepts there. If you click on on, it'll launch the structured teaching activity for on, and this will give the student different exemplars, and it'll use the evidence backed strategies that were pulled from the Seifert and Schwartz article,and help you do that direct instruction.

So before we dive into the thematic unit, we can do that structured practice. Once we've gotten exposure to that target, we might wanna revisit that activity multiple times, depending on how helpful it is for the student. Once we do that, we can dive into the actual contextualized activities.

So what those can look like throughout the unit is pre-story knowledge activation. We might do a virtual field trip, like a YouTube video of different outfits.

And so that can be something that we can do for the virtual field trip, or we can look through the pictures of the book and talk about what we know about clothing and dress up. Throughout those activities, we can model and recast, examples like she's putting on the tiara and she's putting on the boots.

And then we can use our iconic gestures or our visual icon to emphasize that. We can do activities too. If you have a doll set with different clothing items, that can be a way to introduce the vocabulary that's going to be in the story.

We could also use that for phase four of the unit. For step two, when we're actually reading the book, we can model the concepts naturally and maybe just put a slight emphasis on them and talk about the things that are happening, like using, emphasizing the on as it's happening on the story pages.

Then for story comprehension, we can ask questions that embed that concept as well. So like, where are her shoes? And they can say on her feet if we're at that level, if that's appropriate. We can use visual supports and all of that as we're giving that exposure. Then for step four, this is where we can revisit the unit. We can do some more of those play-based activities. In the early language unit, we have tons of play-based activity suggestions, like the dress up activity Check out the unit for even more ideas. And then for step five, this is typically the parallel story, so we can act out the story as a comprehension type of activity. This is a great meaningful context to target whatever basic concepts we're focusing on throughout the unit. They can create their own version of the story, and act it out and then we can emphasize those concepts and yeah, that's super fun.

Our takeaways here. Teach one concept at a time. Embed those concepts in meaningful context, after direct instruction. Use multiple exemplars. Starting with just one exemplar in the beginning might work better for some of our students. Using iconic gestures or visuals. And then collaborate when we can, embedding these concepts in the classroom, in PE, during snack time, all of that. So that is a recap of our strategies for basic concepts. I'd love to hear how you are using these and check out the show notes for the research articles and all of that good stuff.

If you are not a member of SLP Now yet, you can sign up for a free trial to check out the therapy plan and all of the activities I mentioned. The link will be in the show notes, but just head to slpnow.com/trial. You can sign up for free, no strings attached.

And you can access the therapy plans, like I said, all of those basic concepts, activities, we'll hope to see you soon and we'll see you in the next episode too.

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237: 5 Evidence-Based Strategies to Boost MLU (That You Can Use Tomorrow!)

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Why MLU Goals Matter

Mean Length of Utterance (MLU) is one of the most reliable and widely used measures for tracking expressive language development (Brown, 1973; Miller & Chapman, 1981). It helps SLPs identify where a student is, monitor progress, and plan therapy that supports steady, functional growth.

In this post (and the SLP Now Podcast episode), we’ll walk through five evidence-based strategies for boosting MLU in a way that’s fun, functional, and easy to monitor—plus an example from a Little Blue Truck therapy plan.

1️⃣ Identify Targets Using a Language Sample

Before starting intervention, collect a language sample to get an authentic picture of your student’s communication.

Language sampling provides:
– An accurate baseline for MLU (Brown, 1973; Miller & Chapman, 1981)
– Insight into which structures and parts of speech are missing
– Data for ongoing progress monitoring

Many SLPs find language sampling intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be!

💡 Try This: Use the Language Sample Freebie to automatically calculate MLU and extract metrics for reports. The spreadsheet even helps you organize utterances and visualize growth over time.

2️⃣ Embed Targets in Play, Books, Songs, and Routines

Once you know your student’s targets, embed them in natural contexts, like play, shared book reading, songs, and daily routines. Research consistently supports that language learning is strongest when embedded in meaningful, interactive experiences (Fey, 1986; Justice & Ezell, 2002).

Why it works:
– Encourages spontaneous use of new language
– Supports generalization across settings
– Keeps therapy fun and functional

Try this:
– Reenact story scenes (“Truck stuck!” “Push truck!”)
– Sing songs like The Wheels on the Bus
– Incorporate targets into daily routines (“Open door”)

✨ Explore SLP Now’s Play-Based Units for ready-made activities designed to build MLU through storybooks and play.

3️⃣ Model Just Above the Child’s Level

Modeling slightly longer utterances (about one morpheme above a child’s current level) is the core of MLU intervention.

This approach, supported by decades of research, helps children expand expressive language naturally (Brown, 1973; Fey, 1986; Camarata, Nelson, & Camarata, 1994).

Here are some potential strategies:

Expansions: Add grammatical elements while maintaining the child’s meaning.
Child: “Dog jump.” → SLP: “The dog is jumping!”

Extensions: Add related, new information.
Child: “The dog is jumping.” → SLP: “The brown dog is jumping!”

Recasts: Reformulate the child’s utterance using correct syntax.
Child: “Him run.” → SLP: “He is running!”

Focused Stimulation: Model the target without requiring imitation.

📏 The Rule of Thumb: Model just one step above what the student currently produces.

4️⃣ Use Sentence Frames and Visual Supports

For students who benefit from more structure, sentence frames and visuals can make language more accessible and concrete.

The SLP Now Sentence Pack includes:
– Movable icons for core parts of speech
– Sentence strips organized by MLU level
– Visual scaffolds for building utterances

Example:

Child: “Truck.”
SLP: (adds icon) “Truck stuck!”
Next: “Truck stuck in mud.”

Visual modeling helps students connect words with meaning, supports working memory, and facilitates sentence expansion—especially for early language learners or students with ASD (Kaiser & Roberts, 2013).

5️⃣ Use Contingent Responses and Time Delay

Last but not least: pause and wait.

Time delay and contingent responding encourage children to initiate and elaborate on their own utterances (Kaiser & Roberts, 2013).

How to implement:
– Utilize expectant pauses in play.
– Give processing time before asking another question.
– Use contingent comments (“You see the truck!”) to maintain interaction.

This small shift gives students processing space and often leads to longer, more complex utterances.

🛻 Therapy Plan in Action: Little Blue Truck

Here’s how all five strategies can fit into a single literacy-based therapy plan using Little Blue Truck (Schertle, 2008):

Before diving into the unit, we want to make sure we know where the student is at. Review the student’s language sample to determine what the “+1 Approach” might look like.

We can use expansions, extensions, recasts, and/or focused stimulation throughout all of the unit activities.

If a student needs additional support, we can use the Sentence Pack visuals and sentence frames to scaffold responses.

And we don’t wait to forget about wait time!

Here are a few quick examples of what the unit might include:
– Pre-Story Knowledge Activation: Take a virtual farm field trip.
– Shared Reading: Read the story.
– Comprehension: Ask WH-questions.
– Focused Skill Practice: Reenact the story using toys. (This is a fun context to target MLU, but also support early narrative skills!)
– Parallel Story: Help students create their own version of the story.

This aligns beautifully with Dr. Ukrainetz’s (2015) Literacy-Based Therapy Framework, which emphasizes meaningful language practice across reading, listening, and play.

✨ Final Takeaways

To help students grow their MLU naturally and confidently:
1️⃣ Start with a language sample to identify a baseline.
2️⃣ Embed targets in meaningful, play-based contexts.
3️⃣ Model one level above using expansions, extensions, and recasts.
4️⃣ Support with visuals and sentence frames.
5️⃣ Pause, wait, and respond contingently.

Each strategy builds on the next, supporting both language growth and engagement.

🔗 Resources Mentioned

Language Sample Freebie

Sentence Pack

🧠 References

Brown, R. (1973). A First Language: The Early Stages. Harvard University Press.

Camarata, S. M., Nelson, K. E., & Camarata, M. N. (1994). Comparison of conversational‐recasting and imitative procedures for training grammatical structures in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 37(6), 1414–1423.

Fey, M. E. (1986). Language intervention with young children. Allyn & Bacon.

Justice, L. M., & Ezell, H. K. (2002). Use of storybook reading to increase print awareness in at-risk children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11(1), 17–29.

Kaiser, A. P., & Roberts, M. Y. (2013). Parent-implemented enhanced milieu teaching with preschool children with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56(1), 295–309.

Miller, J. F., & Chapman, R. S. (1981). The relation between age and mean length of utterance in morphemes. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 24(2), 154–161.

Schertle, A. (2008). Little Blue Truck. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2015). School-age language intervention: Evidence-based practices. Pro-Ed.

Transcript

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Today we're going to chat about five evidence based strategies that we can use to boost students' mean length of utterance or MLU, in a way that's fun, functional, and easy to keep track of. I'm really excited that we'll be sharing some strategies that you can use in your very next session.

And then we will tie it all together, and show you what it would actually look like in context when you're applying these strategies. Our first strategy is to identify the baseline, using a language sample. Language samples can be a really helpful way to calculate the student's current MLU, and also see what types of utterances they're using and tracking that progress over time.

Regular language sampling helps us ensure that we're modeling at the right level. I love language samples, but a lot of times when I mention them to SLPs, I get a little bit of an eye roll, because they feel really time consuming and difficult.

I put together a, spreadsheet, maybe a decade old at this point, but it still works really well. it helps you calculate. So you just use it to type in your transcript, and then you separate it out by utterances, and then it automatically calculates the MLU and it helps you grab some other metrics so you can write a really fancy report based on the data or include it in your evaluation area or progress monitoring. It makes it really easy to grab the data that we need,for easy progress monitoring. I'll add the link to the language sample sheet that I made in the show notes. It includes a video and walks you through how to set it up.

That is a really helpful starting point, because we'll use this data as we go through. Our second strategy is to make sure that we're embedding targets in meaningful contexts, like, play, books, songs, routines.

And I'll share some specific strategies, of what we actually do in those functional contexts, but if we are embedding our strategies in those types of activities, we are thinking about generalization from the start and setting our students up for success and making sure that the targets are very meaningful.So that brings us to strategy number three. Different research articles will share different strategies, but there's a lot of overlap between the strategies and, I just wanna share the names of the strategies and what they are, and you'll see that there's some overlap.

I'll wrap up with a general takeaway of what we can do with these strategies. Expansions are where we add grammar while keeping the child's meaning. If the child says, "dog jump," you can say "the dog jumped," or "the dog is jumping."

An extension is adding new information. If the child says "the dog is jumping," we can say "the brown dog is jumping."We can do an extension where we add new information, but that's still related.

And then focused stimulation is when we're providing models and recasts without requiring imitation. It's just strategically using, those strategies. a recast is when we restate the child's utterance, but maybe do a correction, which is really similar to an expansion.

There's also research talking about modeling one level above the child's MLU, which expansions and extensions kind of naturally do. If the student says "dog run," and then if we suddenly go, "the excited dog is running quickly."

We're expanding and adding the grammar and we're adding multiple new pieces of information. It's helpful to think about just going one level above the child's MLU and not having a whole, massive expansion.

So if the child says "truck stuck," we can say, "yeah, the truck is stuck." Or we can say "stuck in the mud." We get to use our clinical judgment to decide if that is appropriate because if they just say "truck stuck," but their MLU is five, then I think "The blue truck stuck in the mud" might be okay.

That's why we collect that MLU to know what might be appropriate for the student.

Strategy four is to use sentence frames. In SLP Now, we have a Sentence Pack. It's a booklet based on the modified Fitzgerald key. It has nouns verbs prepositions and all the components we use to build a sentence.

And it also includes sentence strips based on Brown's research of all the different utterance types. So you have tons of utterances that you can go with . We also have sentence frames with just like for one MLU, and two, and three, and four, and five. And so you can build sentences with any of the components.

If I notice that the student is only using nouns, or if there's a part of speech that's completely missing, I might strategically try to include that more and expand the utterances in that way. That's, a visual that I really like to use. We grab the icons to create sentences. It's really nice because the pieces are movable, It's a tactile experience too, and the students can build it and then you can point to it as you're modeling.

If the student just says truck, truck, truck, and we're trying to expand from one MLU to two MLU. We have like an icon for truck, and then we have one for stuck, and then we would just build the sentence using those icons. Once the truck is out, we can say truck out or truck in if it's in the mud.

Having those icons is really helpful. Verbal strategies help the majority of my students, but there are those who need something extra.

And including those visuals is something that has worked for a lot of the students. So that's how the Sentence Pack came to be. I also use it for different grammar goals. If they are dropping the auxiliary verbs or if they're having trouble understanding that pronouns replace a noun.

So there's lots of ways that I use that, but it's especially helpful for those MLU goals and for those students who need those extra visuals. And then the fifth strategy, which is just too provide contingent responses and time delay. So we really just wanna give our students space to respond and give them some processing time.

And we don't have to fill every second. It's okay if we have some silence in the session. If a student starts to say something, if they say truck, we can just pause a second and see if they say anything else first.

Or if we turn the page and give them some time to look before we really jump in and start talking at them. So that is just a reminder for myself because I sometimes go a little too fast. In terms of what this would look like actually applied. Let's say we're using the therapy plan an SLP Now for a Little Blue Truck, which is a super sweet story about a truck who gets stuck in the mud.

We like to use literacy based therapy units based on Dr. Ukrainetz's research. The first step is pre-story knowledge activation. We might do a virtual field trip of a farm, and we're gonna be doing a lot of talking during that activity. And we can target the MLU goals during that conversation.

As we're reading, we can model expansions and recasts. The third step is comprehension. We can ask simple WH questions and use those sentence starters in the sentence frames to support the student. And then, the fourth step is focused skill practice.

We often have mixed groups, so we're targeting multiple goals with students. We might have some play-based activities related to little Blue Track. We might be reenacting the story or whatnot. This is a early language unit, so it has play-based activity suggestions and all of that.

So that's how that would work. That's just a peek at how we might incorporate this in a literacy based therapy unit.

And then, a quick recap. We wanna start with a language sample. So we know the students' baseline and we can easily see like, oh, they're only using nouns.

Seeing it on paper helps us come up with a good plan.We want to make sure that we're embedding our practice in meaningful context, whether it's play stories, routines. And we want to model just above the child's level and use those verbal strategies. once I set up parents and teachers with that strategy of modeling one level above and then how to do that, it skyrockets from there. If our students need more support using the Sentence Pack and those sentence frames can be really helpful.

And then also just giving them time to respond using some of that wait time. So those are our strategies that will hopefully help you see meaningful growth in your students when it comes to communicating and building beautiful sentences. Head to the show notes to check out the Sentence Pack and the Therapy Plans. If you're new to SLP now, you can do it for free. if you're a member, type in Sentence Pack to find that download or go to the Therapy Plans to check out Little Blue Truck. I hope this was helpful and we'll see you real soon.

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236: Making Syntax Simple: Strategies for Passive Voice and Clauses

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Why Syntax Matters (Even for Kindergarteners)

Syntax isn’t just for older students! Research shows that even five-year-olds produce subordinate and coordinate clauses.

A 2024 study by Owens, Pavelko, and Hahs-Vaughn analyzed conversational samples from 196 children ages 5 to 10 years, 11 months.

Five-year-olds used an average of 1.25 subordinate clauses and 2.05 coordinate clauses, and that number increased steadily with age.

If your students are only producing simple sentences, they may need support with syntax. Limited syntax can affect comprehension, writing, and overall language performance.

Owens (2016) found that about half of five-year-olds understand reversible passive sentences (e.g., “The dog was chased by the cat”), and by age 8, 90% can comprehend them.

This means that targeting syntax — even with kindergarteners — helps build comprehension and expressive language skills that impact reading and writing success.
👉 Prefer to listen? Check out the full podcast episode above for a quick blitz through all five strategies.

Step 1: Start With a Thorough Syntax Assessment

Syntax varies across contexts, so assessment should too. Guo & Schneider (2016) demonstrated that tense and grammaticality measures from narrative tasks can help differentiate students with and without language impairments. Nippold et al. (2005) also found that children use more complex syntax in expository tasks than in conversation.

Here’s how to assess syntax comprehensively:

– Collect multiple language samples (e.g., conversational, narrative, persuasive, and expository).
– Observe in the classroom to capture naturalistic syntax use.
– Review writing samples to see syntax in an academic context.
– Include structured assessments targeting comprehension and production.
– Gather teacher and parent input to identify functional impacts.

💡 SLP Now Tip: Use our Language Sample Analysis Tools to streamline your syntax assessments.

Step 2: Make Syntax Explicit, Then Contextualize It

Explicit teaching sets the stage for understanding.

According to Zipoli (2017), lessons should begin with a clear explanation of the sentence structure and its purpose, followed by modeling and guided practice.

Best practices for explicit syntax instruction:
– Use clear, concise, and consistent explanations.
– Provide multiple examples with visual and auditory cues (color coding, sentence frames, etc.).
– Gradually fade supports as students gain independence.

Once students understand the structure, transition to contextualized practice. As Ukrainetz (2015) emphasizes, students learn syntax best when it’s embedded in meaningful activities like narratives, classroom discussions, or writing tasks.

💡 Try This: Incorporate syntax instruction into your literacy-based therapy sessions using storybooks or nonfiction passages that naturally include target structures. SLP Now has skill packs and therapy plans to make this super easy to implement!

Step 3: Evidence-Based Syntax Intervention Strategies

Let’s look at a few proven techniques you can implement right away.

1. Focused Stimulation

Provide frequent models and recasts in natural conversation.

Student: “The boy ran.”
SLP: “Yes! The boy ran after the dog that escaped.”

This implicit modeling approach exposes students to variability, which strengthens learning (Plante et al., 2014).

2. Directed Questioning

Use scaffolded questions to build comprehension of complex structures, like the passive voice:

Sentence: “Diego was found by Rebecca.”
Ask: “Who was found?” “Who did the finding?”

Pair this with pictorial supports to make abstract syntax more concrete.

3. Visual Supports and Picture Sequencing

Visuals clarify sentence meaning. In SLP Now, you’ll find syntax visuals, icon cards, and structured activities for passive voice, relative clauses, and adverbial clauses.

Try using picture sequencing to teach adverbial clauses:

“Before I take the test, I will study.”
Students can arrange icons representing each clause to show temporal order.

4. Sentence Combining

Help students merge simple sentences into complex ones to develop flexibility:

“The dog barked. The mailman came.” → “The dog barked when the mailman came.”

Use conjunction cards or sentence starters to scaffold learning.

5. Sentence Decomposition

Break down complex sentences to promote comprehension:

“The dog that barked at the mailman ran away.” → “The dog barked at the mailman. The dog ran away.”

This strategy pairs well with sentence combining to support both understanding and production.

Step 4: Embed Syntax in Meaningful Contexts

Syntax intervention works best when it’s functional and engaging. Move beyond isolated drills and integrate targets into authentic communication: storytelling, retelling, explaining science experiments, or writing persuasive paragraphs.

SLP Now’s skill packs and literacy-based therapy units are designed for exactly this, giving you ready-made materials that embed syntax goals into real contexts. You can model and recast complex sentences, scaffold comprehension with visuals, and collect data effortlessly.

Bringing It All Together

Syntax development is a critical skill for every school-age student. By assessing across contexts, teaching explicitly, and applying evidence-based strategies, you can help students grow from simple sentence users to confident communicators.

If you’re ready to simplify syntax intervention, explore the SLP Now Membership for therapy materials, sentence-level visuals, and built-in supports for your literacy-based lessons.

References

Guo, L.-Y. & Schneider, P. (2016). Differentiating School-Aged Children With and Without Language Impairment Using Tense and Grammaticality Measures From a Narrative Task. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.

Nippold, M. A., Hesketh, L. J., Duthie, J. K., & Mansfield, T. C. (2005). Conversational versus expository discourse: A study of syntactic development in children, adolescents, and adults. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48(5), 1048–1064.

Owens, R. E., Jr., Pavelko, S. L., & Hahs-Vaughn, D. (2024). Growth of complex syntax: Coordinate and subordinate clause use in elementary school–aged children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.

Plante, E., Ogilvie, T., Vance, R., Aguilar, J. M., Dailey, N. S., Meyers, C., … Burton, R. (2014). Variability in the language input to children enhances learning in a treatment context. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology.

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2006). Contextualized language intervention: Scaffolding preK-12 literacy achievement. Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc.

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2015). School-age language intervention: Evidence-based practices. Austin, TX: PRO-ED, Inc.

Zipoli, R. P. (2017). Unraveling difficult sentences: Strategies to support reading comprehension. Intervention in School and Clinic, 52, 218–227.

Transcript

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Hello there, and I hope you are in the mood for some talk about syntax. Last week, we talked about compound sentences and I wanted to continue the conversation with more types of syntax, like passive voice and relative clauses. Before you hit pause because you're like, well, I work with kindergartners or I work with second grade,this is still a relevant thing to target with our students. There was a study by Owens et al in 2024. They reviewed conversational language samples for 196 children, ages five to 10 years, 11 months, They found that five year olds are using an average of 1.25 subordinate clauses and 2.05 coordinate clauses, so even five year olds are using complex syntax and the number continues to increase with age. So if we are seeing our students only use simple sentences, that is a sign that they may need support with syntax and we might want to look into it a little bit for further. It's easy to hear if they're using simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and all types of clauses.

If we're not seeing this in their communication, they may be struggling to comprehend that complex syntax as well. And that is an absolutely age appropriate skill for our school age students. Approximately half of five year olds are able to comprehend reversible passive sentences, and that's from Owen's 2016.

And 90% of children between the ages of seven and a half and eight are able to comprehend reversible passives. So very early on in the school age years, this is something that's typical and something that we might want to support if our students are struggling with it.

So hopefully you're still intrigued. I am going to be sharing strategies that we can use in our assessment and intervention when targeting these types of goals. The first strategy, and this has been a common theme, but we want to start with a thorough assessment. Collect language samples and consider multiple contexts because we use different types of syntax when generating narratives, retelling narratives, describing a picture, summarizing a text, explaining how to do something, trying to persuade someone.

So all of those types of samples will elicit different syntax. We want to consider different language samples. We will also want to observe in the classroom because the language that we're hearing in the classroom will be a little bit different. We can look at work samples and look at their writing.

And we can also collect parent and teacher report. And then we can also do a more structured assessment of the comprehension and production of syntax.

In terms of actual treatment strategies, I'm pulling a lot of these from Zipoli 2017. I'll share the citation in the show notes. Lessons should begin with clear explanations of the target sentence structure and give the purpose of the lesson so we can model comprehension and production of sentence structures. We'll want to use clear, concise, and consistent language as we're doing that.

When we're providing demonstrations, we'll give multiple examples and use visual and auditory cues to make the syntactic features more explicit. There's a lot we can do to support the teaching of that. One strategy is focused stimulation.

This is one that applies to all grammar goals and that I have found to be incredibly impactful. This is a little bit more implicit, but this is when we provide frequent models and recasts in a variety of activities. So, when we're modeling the passive voice or a relative clause, we highlight that naturally in conversation. When we recast, we might correct what the child says or modify it. If they produce a simple sentence in our literacy based therapy activity, I can recast the student's sentence and add in that relative class.

Using those models and recasts is what they call focused stimulation in the research and we can incorporate that in all of our therapy activities. That is a great way to implicitly target some of these skills.

Other strategies we might use for passive voice are using directed questions to enhance and scaffold comprehension. So if we have a sentence like Diego was found by Rebecca. We can say who was found and who did the finding, and ask some questions about that statement.

And we can use pictorial support as well and asking students to draw pictures to represent those sentences. The example I gave was with the passive, but we can also do this with a active voice. So instead of Diego was found by Rebecca, we can do Diego found Rebecca. And in SLP Now we have syntax activities attached to the majority of our literacy based units. We embed these strategies in the activities for passive voice, for example. So we have a sentence, with pictures and visual choices to help the students.

We have pictorial support as well, and we give you statements and questions so that you have support as you're implementing these types of strategies. For verbal clauses, which is another type of syntax we might want to target, we can use sentence starters.

This is an effective technique for helping students understand and write more elaborate sentences. If we give them a starter, they can fill in the sentence and create more. We also have picture sequencing. If we have pictures of the different items, for example, before I take the test, I will study. You can have a icon representing studying and taking the test, and you can do that practice using those adverbial clauses. In SLP Now we have icon cards for the conjunctions that you would use with the sentence starters.

We also have pictures to practice and support that understanding. We give you tools for sentence starters and picture sequencing. In terms of relative clauses, two more evidence backed strategies are to use sentence combining, which we talked about last week.

This is where we're combining two or more simple sentences. You can use simple sentences from whatever book or article you're reading and then use our conjunction cards to help students combine those. The other strategy we talked about last week is sentence decomposition, where you take a complex sentence and break it down into simpler sentences.

All you need is the book or article you're reading and identifying those simple, complex, and compound sentences. That is a quick blitz of some strategies we can use for our syntax goals. Check out the show notes for references and more detail about the resources if you want help implementing this.

I hope that this was a helpful review for you and we'll see you in the next one.

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