The MUST-HAVE Speech Therapy Grammar Program

It all started in an IEP meeting

I realized just how important grammar and syntax really is

I can’t even tell you how many times I’d heard it- but one particular meeting, it really got me thinking. And I’m sure as a school SLP, you’ve heard it too: “he’s really struggling with reading comprehension.”

But what, exactly, was my role?

Our IEP team was telling concerned parents well-meaning advice, like- read, read, read with your child. Ask him questions about the story. Discuss the vocabulary in the story. Talk about the characters, the plot.

Important things to do, of course.

But I began to wonder: was there a missing piece? And what could I specifically do – as an SLP– to support the process?

You, as an SLP, are a valuable team member

And I’m going to give you a little shortcut

So for months and months following this meeting, I began to delve into the nerdy world of SLP research. I’ll save you loads of time.

The two best research articles I found:

• The Case for the Sentence in Reading Comprehension (Cheryl M. Scott, 2009)
• Reading Comprehension Deficits in Adolescents: Addressing Underlying Language Abilities (Nippold, 2017).

What I learned:

Every word, phrase, and clause in a sentence affects meaning (and therefore, comprehension). Sentences in a passage WORK TOGETHER to create meaning. Sooo, grammar and sentence structure are basically non-negotiable in the comprehension game. We need to be targeting this in therapy. Sigh.

Pssssssst. In case you’re interested: in this blog post, I share more basics on teaching grammar and sentence structure in speech therapy.

This resulted in a huge headache for me though, because there’s QUITE a bit to cover in the areas of grammar and sentence structure. I studied, researched, and reviewed many, many nerdy corners of the internet. I even opened up old grammar textbooks. And I took a few courses on Udemy.

You don’t need to stress out over how to teach grammar and sentence structure in speech therapy though. And you don’t need to dust off your old grammar textbooks. If you even kept them, which I hope you didn’t.

I’ve completely got you covered – all the way from simple sentences to complex sentences.

Today I want to tell you about the Entire Year of Grammar and Sentence Structure for SLPs (the elementary version, for grades 2-3)- it’s a program that literally walks you through the steps needed to teach grammar and sentence structure in speech therapy. It’s a grab ‘n go solution to all of your grammar woes.

I’ll be sharing the grammar and sentence structure areas covered (the topics), what each lesson contains (the tasks), and how you can write grammar objectives that pair with this approach (the targets).

The Topics, Tasks, and Targets

First, I’m excited to share all of the grammar and sentence structure “topics” that this program covers. Because wow, it’s a lot! Here’s a complete breakdown of all the areas covered:

• Simple Sentences (subjects and action verbs)
• Compound Subjects
• Compound Verbs
• Adjectives
• Adverbs
• More Modifiers (Possessive Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns)
• Predicate Adjectives
• Direct Objects
• Prepositional Phrases
• Indirect Objects
• Complex Sentences (subordinating conjunctions)

Second, I’d like to share the ‘tasks’ that EACH lesson in this program provides:

• a teaching sheet to review or teach grammar and various parts of speech / sentence parts (I TOLD you I had you covered!)
• Sentence Scramble Worksheet (practice arranging scrambled up words into meaningful sentences)
• Identifying Parts of Speech or Sentence Parts Worksheet
• Sentence Fill-In Worksheet
• Sentence Diagram Printables

I’ve also included 2 sorting mats (so your student can practice sorting by parts of speech) and vocabulary picture cards (so you can provide picture supports as needed for sentence diagramming tasks). I should probably add that you DO NOT need to know how to diagram sentences to use this resource. I’ll walk you through it, I promise.

Third, I’d like to share some objectives that I wrote for my students when using this program. You’d absolutely want to modify as you see fit, but I did want to provide you with some basic ideas to get you started. I I typically target grammar objectives such as 1) identifying parts of speech and sentence parts within sentences, 2) arranging scrambled words into meaningful sentences, and 3) completing sentence fill-in tasks using targeted parts of speech and / or sentence parts.

Let’s sum things up…

Now, I’d love to summarize everything so far (because I know this has been a ton of info).

First, the Entire Year of Grammar and Sentence Structure for SLPs – Grades 2-3 (elementary version) will cover a HUGE variety of grammar and sentence structure areas. In fact, there are 11 lessons provided! It addresses topics like simple sentences (What’s a noun? What’s a verb?), compound subjects, compound verbs, adjectives, adverbs, other modifiers (such as possessive pronouns), predicate adjectives, direct objects, prepositional phrases, indirect objects, and complex sentences. I’d like to add that YES, you will cover topics like conjunctions in many included lessons (I feel like SLPs love conjunctions).

Second, you don’t need to stress, because each lesson includes a ready-to-go teaching sheet. There are also worksheets to target a variety of other tasks, like sentence fill-in (for example, your student would need to provide an adjective to fill-in the blank on a worksheet), identifying parts of speech or sentence parts worksheet (for example, your student would need to find the noun / subject in the sentence), arranging scrambled words into meaningful sentences, and, the secret sauce: sentence diagramming. There is NO BETTER TEACHING TOOL. Seriously. I am OBSESSED with sentence diagramming.

Third, this program makes it EASY to target grammar objectives in speech therapy. You can work on goals such as identifying parts of speech and sentence parts within sentences, 2) arranging scrambled words into meaningful sentences, and 3) completing sentence fill-in tasks using targeted parts of speech and / or sentence parts.

What other SLPs said about this grammar program

“Thank you for such a wonderful resource! I am so happy with my purchase! This was built with love! Thank you!” -A.V.

“This is such a great, step by step, resource to target grammar. I never feel comfortable teaching grammar, so this is going to be a huge lifesaver for me!” – Marney S.

“I love the middle school version so was extremely happy to start my school year with the elementary edition. Well organized and motivating! Thank you.” -Doyle Speech Works

What to do now:

The Entire Year of Grammar and Sentence Structure for SLPs is a program that walks you through the steps needed to teach grammar and syntax in speech therapy. If you follow the program, you will feel comfortable teaching grammar using this step-by-step hierarchy that fills in any “missing gaps” of knowledge- and your students will gain a MUCH deeper understanding of why we build sentences the way we do.

Buy your copy today, and see what a difference this resource will make in your therapy room.

*Please note, this resource is also available in the Grammar and Sentence Structure Bundle.