How to Scaffold Skills in Curriculum-Based Therapy (Structural + Interactive Scaffolds)

I know what you’re thinking. We already struggle to make drill-based activities feel meaningful. So how are we supposed to help our students succeed in context, too?

The answer is scaffolding.

Scaffolding means giving students the exact amount of support they need to succeed, then pulling that support back over time. Instead of picking activities students can already do on their own, we pick activities that stretch them a little, and we provide as much support as they need to get there. The goal is always to decrease that support as the student gets stronger.

This approach works so well because it starts in a purposeful context. We’re not just building a skill in isolation. We’re preparing students to actually use that skill in the classroom.

So how do we do this? There are two main types of scaffolds: structural and interactive (Ukrainetz, 2006).

Structural Scaffolds

Structural scaffolds happen before the session starts. We plan ahead and make purposeful decisions about the context and materials we’ll use. This might look like:

• Setting up predictable routines within a session or unit
• Choosing treatment materials with intention (like pulling content straight from the classroom)
• Using tools such as visuals, pictographic sketching, semantic webbing, or audio recordings
• Changing the order you present tasks (for example, starting with a complex activity, moving into focused skill practice, then closing with a complex activity that pulls it all together)
• Adjusting the environment (a quieter room, a smaller group, compensatory tools in the classroom)
• Bringing in peer support

Structural scaffolds are the foundation. They set the stage before a student ever walks in the door. If you’re building out curriculum-based therapy sessions, this guide to curriculum-based therapy planning walks through exactly how to set that foundation.

Interactive Scaffolds

Interactive scaffolds are more reactive. Instead of planning them ahead of time, we respond to what’s actually happening in the moment to support our students.

Ukrainetz (2006) breaks interactive scaffolds into three categories: regulatory, response, and linguistic.

Here’s what that looks like in a session with a group of 6th graders working on language skills in the context of a reading passage.

Regulatory Scaffolds

Regulatory scaffolds keep students engaged in the task.

• I start the session by reviewing the students’ goals and building awareness of why we’re working on them.
• If we’re starting a new unit, we talk about what students already know, connecting new content to prior knowledge.
• Throughout the session, I comment on how students are doing.
• If a student is distracted or struggling to stay on task, I step in with redirection.
• We close the session by reviewing how the student performed.

Response Scaffolds

Response scaffolds help students actually produce a response.

Depending on where a student is at, I might model the response, provide part of the answer, ask a leading question, or point to a visual. Repeating and emphasizing key points can also nudge a student toward the answer without giving it away completely.

Linguistic Scaffolds

Linguistic scaffolds support accuracy with the specific language target, like grammar or sentence structure. Modeling, recasting a student’s response with the correct grammar, and using directed questions all fall into this category. For a deeper dive into specific linguistic scaffolding strategies, this breakdown of syntax strategies shows exactly how to model and recast in real sessions.

Why Scaffolding Actually Works

Scaffolding isn’t just an SLP-specific idea. It’s backed by decades of research across education and language development. A large research review found that scaffolding is effective when it’s contingent (matched to what the student needs in the moment), fades over time, and gradually shifts responsibility to the student (Van de Pol, Volman, & Beishuizen, 2010). That’s exactly what structural and interactive scaffolds do together: structural scaffolds set up the right context, and interactive scaffolds adjust in real time as the student shows you what they need.

Putting It Into Practice

You don’t need a fancy system to start scaffolding well. Start small:

1. Pick one skill you’re targeting this week.
2. Choose one structural scaffold to set up ahead of time (a visual, a routine, a material choice).
3. Pick one interactive scaffold from each category (regulatory, response, linguistic) to have ready in your back pocket during the session.

Then watch what happens. You’ll likely notice students engaging more, producing more accurate responses, and generalizing skills faster because the support was built right into the session instead of bolted on after the fact.

If you want more structure around planning sessions like this, this guide to getting started with curriculum-based therapy is a great next step.

Which scaffolds are you using in your therapy sessions? I’d love to hear which ones feel most natural to you and which ones you want to build into your routine.

External References

Ukrainetz, T. A. (2006). Contextualized Language Intervention: Scaffolding PreK-12 Literacy Achievement. Pro-Ed.

Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in Teacher-Student Interaction: A Decade of Research. Educational Psychology Review, 22, 271-296. Open access: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6