Making It Work With Expository Text (for Upper Elementary + Secondary)

Show Notes: slpnow.com/277Billing, progress notes, IEPs, and evaluations. A lot of us finish them at night, on weekends, and over school breaks. It's become normal. It doesn't have to be.This episode kicks off our paperwork series. I share the two types of paperwork overwhelm, volume and process. Then I walk through a simple schedule audit that shows your heavy months before they hit.You'll also learn how to set up a 15-minute monthly review. It keeps you ahead, and it gives you real data to bring to your admin when you need more support.Want to make paperwork easier? Sign up for a free trial at slpnow.com/pod

Show Notes: slpnow.com/276Planning gets so much easier when your materials have a home.In this episode, I share how I sort my therapy materials into two groups: core materials and unit materials. Core materials are the tools you use every session. That means goal cards, probes, and visuals. Set them up once, and most of your planning for the year is done. Unit materials are the activities tied to the book, article, or video you're using that month.I also share how I use student folders to tie it all together, plus my page number trick for the probe binder.Want the probe binder, visuals, and therapy plans ready to go? Start your free trial at slpnow.com/pod.

Show Notes: slpnow.com/275You can plan a whole month of therapy in just a few clicks.In this episode, I walk you through what my monthly planning routine looks like inside SLP Now.You'll hear how the Therapy Plan Assistant suggests caseload segments and the top three units for each one. Every unit is already analyzed for common targets, with activities linked to each step of the literacy-based therapy framework.I also share why the best planning happens inside your sessions, and how one quick note helps your future self pick up right where you left off.Want to try it? Start your free trial at slpnow.com/pod.

Show Notes: slpnow.com/274Planning for every student or every group can eat up your whole week. In this episode, I walk through the caseload segmentation strategy. You split your caseload into a few segments, and each segment gets one unit. You plan it once and use it with every group in that segment for the whole month.I share what this looks like for a preschool through 5th grade caseload and for a 6th through 12th grade caseload. We also talk about how to keep your segments flexible and why using the same text across groups makes your clinical thinking sharper.

Show Notes: slpnow.com/273Therapy planning can take over nights and weekends when every session starts from scratch. In this episode, Marisha explains how large caseloads, session by session planning, and missing systems can lead to inconsistent sessions, decision fatigue, and reactive therapy.She shares a better approach: plan by units that cover a full month. For most SLPs, three to four units can cover an entire caseload, while a streamlined data system and the right teaching tools make it easier to individualize instruction and bring your clinical magic into the mix. Sign up for a free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod!

Show Notes: slpnow.com/272 How do I make literacy-based therapy work with expository text for older students? In this episode, I walk through the simple swaps I make to keep the framework relevant for upper elementary and secondary students.I share how I adapt the five steps of Dr. Ukrainetz's framework, and how I use structure-matched graphic organizers to help students organize what they read. We also talk about repurposing the text through newscasts, debates, and other age-appropriate activities, plus how clinical judgment helps us choose the best fit for each group.Sign up for a free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod!

Show Notes: slpnow.com/271In this episode, I break down how I use one book or article to target every goal in a mixed group. Every activity in a literacy-based therapy framework is language-rich, so I do not need a different activity for every student. One activity can work for everyone.I walk through a real example of using WH question cards to target articulation, past tense verbs, and categories in the same session. I also share how I choose texts for different age bands so therapy planning feels simpler and more sustainable.Sign up for a free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod!

Show Notes: slpnow.com/270What does literacy-based therapy actually look like in a real session? In this episode, I walk through Dr. Ukrainetz's five-step framework and share how I use it across about a month of therapy. We cover Pre-Story Knowledge Activation, Shared Reading, Post-Story Comprehension, Focused Skill Activities, and the Parallel Story. I also share a real example from my work with sixth graders and explain why background knowledge can make or break comprehension. If you want a simple, practical way to plan mixed groups, this framework can help you work smarter, not harder.Sign up for a free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod!

Show Notes: slpnow.com/269In this episode, I break down what literacy-based therapy actually is. I share how I use one text, like a picture book, article, or reading passage, to anchor a full unit of therapy. That gives students meaningful, language-rich practice instead of isolated drills.I also talk about why this approach works. We look at Dr. Ukrainetz's framework, repeated exposure, background knowledge, and one study showing stronger gains in comprehension and story retell with contextualized intervention. I also share how this helped me plan for a triple-digit caseload while still individualizing sessions.Resources mentioned:Dr. Ukrainetz's literacy-based therapy frameworkGillam, Gillam, and Reese (2012)Sign up for a free trial of SLP Now at slpnow.com/pod

Show Notes: slpnow.com/268When a session goes sideways, I do not assume I did something wrong. In this episode, I walk through how I use my five-step session structure, Check-in, Assess, Teach, Practice, and Wrap Up, as a flexible guide and a reflection tool.I share how to spot where a session got stuck, what to adjust next time, and why backtracking is a normal part of clinical decision-making. We also talk about using documentation to remember what worked, so we can keep working smarter, not harder.Resources:SLP Now goal bankProbes tied to goalsTeaching visualsEvidence-based strategy cheat sheetsListen in: slpnow.com/pod