Designing effective therapy sessions for students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) requires leveraging evidence-based, contextualized approaches (Rinaldi et al, 2021). By focusing on expository and fictional grade-level texts, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can help students develop the skills needed to succeed academically and communicate effectively (Ward-Lonergan & Duthie, 2016). This post provides a practical framework for creating therapy sessions that integrate reading fluency and comprehension, as well as written expression, using meaningful grade-level materials.
As mention in two previous posts (Here and Here) contextualized language intervention (CLI) ties therapy goals to meaningful, connected tasks. Expository and fictional grade-level texts offer opportunities to address reading and writing skills in ways that align with classroom demands and prepare students for academic success.
Foundation: Assessment-Based Goal Setting
Therapy goals should target reading fluency, comprehension, and writing deficits identified in compressive assessments previously performed on the student:
- Fluency: Focus on reading connected text with appropriate rate, expression, pacing, and accuracy.
- Comprehension: Emphasize inferencing, vocabulary development, and understanding text structure.
- Writing: Address sentence structure, organization, and the ability to respond to text in written form.
1. Text Selection: Choose grade-level (or below grade-level) expository and fictional texts that align with the student’s reading abilities and are based on the academic curriculum or interests. Examples include:
- Expository texts: Informational articles about science, history, or current events (e.g., the water cycle, the civil rights movement).
- Fictional texts: Short stories from Common Lit that feature rich character development, conflict, and resolution.
2. Fluency Practice: Have students read selected passages aloud.
- Provide feedback on:
- Phrasing: Encourage pauses at punctuation marks.
- Expression: Match intonation to the tone of the text.
- Accuracy: Focus on correctly reading grade-level vocabulary.
- Rate: Engage in repeated reading to improve speed
3. Vocabulary and Comprehension: Embed vocabulary and comprehension strategies in each session:
- Teach Tier II vocabulary words (e.g., analyze, explain, persuade for expository texts; resolve, interpret, infer for fictional texts).
- Use graphic organizers to explore text structures:
- Expository texts: Compare/contrast charts, cause-and-effect maps.
- Fictional texts: Story maps outlining characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.
- Facilitate inferencing and critical thinking through targeted questions:
- Expository example: “What evidence supports the author’s main point?”
- Fictional example: “Why do you think the character made this choice?”
4. Written Expression: Connect writing activities to the selected text:
- Expository texts:
- Write summaries focusing on main ideas and supporting details.
- Develop arguments or explanations based on the text.
- Fictional texts:
- Write character analyses as well as text summaries.
- Explore themes through short reflective essays.
Use Visual Supports: Provide graphic organizers and templates to scaffold comprehension and writing. For example:
- Use a Venn diagram to compare two characters in a fictional text.
- Create an outline for summarizing an expository article.
Integrate Narrative and Expository Writing Goals
- Narrative tasks: Focus on storytelling elements like sequence, dialogue, etc.
- Expository tasks: Emphasize structure, clarity, and evidence-based reasoning.
Build Metalinguistic Awareness
- Examine how authors use transitional phrases (e.g., however, in contrast) in expository texts.
- Discuss the use of dialogue and descriptive language in fictional texts.
Multi Session Plan Using Expository and Fictional Texts
Session 1: Reading
- Introduce the text (e.g., “Adaptations in Nature” for expository texts, or “Popularity by Adam Bagdasarian” for fictional texts).
- Preview key vocabulary and discuss the structure of the selected texts.
- Read a passage aloud from the selected text, emphasizing phrasing and intonation.
- Practice rereading difficult sentences for accuracy and expression.
- Discuss targeted questions to deepen understanding.
Session 2: Writing
- Use a graphic organizer to map out the text structure:
- Expository: Identify the main idea and supporting details.
- Fictional: Outline characters, plot, and resolution.
- Guide students in writing a response to the text:
- Expository: Summarize the article or explain a concept in their own words.
- Fictional: Write a short narrative from another character’s perspective.
Session 3: Integration and Review
- Reflect on learning by combining comprehension and writing tasks, such as editing written responses to include more detail or elaborating on text-based ideas.
Evidence-Based Rationale
Integrating reading and writing within thematic, text-based therapy sessions yields better academic outcomes. Research supports using expository and fictional texts to develop interconnected reading and writing skills that generalize to classroom settings (Ukrainetz, 2006).
By focusing on expository and fictional texts in therapy sessions, SLPs can create meaningful, engaging learning experiences that address reading and writing. These sessions help students connect therapy gains to their academic and personal lives, setting them up for long-term success.
References
- Elleseff, T (2023). Contextualized Academic Language and Literacy Interventions in Speech Language Pathology. Webinar for the New York City Board of Education, New York, NY
- Rinaldi S, Caselli MC, Cofelice V, D’Amico S, De Cagno AG, Della Corte G, Di Martino MV, Di Costanzo B, Levorato MC, Penge R, Rossetto T, Sansavini A, Vecchi S, Zoccolotti P. (2021) Efficacy of the Treatment of Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic Review. Brain Sci. 23;11(3):407.
- Ukrainetz, T. A. (2006). Contextualized language intervention: Scaffolding preK-12 literacy achievement(pp. 195-246). Pro-Ed, Inc.
- Ward-Lonergan, J. M., & Duthie, J. K. (2016). Intervention to improve expository reading comprehension skills in older children and adolescents with language disorders. Topics in Language Disorders, 36(1), 52–64.