My state recommends that speech and language therapy be integrated with the classroom curriculum whenever possible. What does that look and sound like in a pull-out setting?

I use this approach with upper elementary school students. First, I lay the groundwork by consulting with the classroom teacher and assuring her that I will support the general education objectives. I use classroom materials to address speech and language goals. For example, I find out which science unit the students are working on and have them bring their textbook, study guide, library books and other relevant materials to speech.

A typical individualized education plan (IEP) goal for my students might be "After listening to or reading a passage at grade level, Brandon will orally summarize the selection, identifying the main idea and three details using correct grammar and specific vocabulary with no more than two errors per summary over three successive speech sessions. Note cards will be supplied by the therapist."

The goal can be individualized to meet the student's specific needs. For example, goals can be structured to address pragmatic issues, such as poor eye contact or immature vocal intonation, or issues with articulation or written language.

During our walk to the speech room, I try to smooth the transition by asking the students what they have been studying in class. Once we're in the room, we begin by activating existing knowledge. For instance, I ask everyone to tell me one fact about the rain forest. If a student says, "I don't like snakes," we can discuss the difference between fact and opinion. Another topic may be fiction vs. nonfiction.

Visual aids such as a globe, a map of South America, or photographs of the rain forest in textbooks or library books help the students get oriented.

By this point I have identified a target paragraph. We discuss any difficult vocabulary words, such as "habitat" or "climate." The student is now ready to read the paragraph.

After the student has read the paragraph once or twice, I begin to make notes that the student will use during the oral summary. Talking through the process, we identify the main idea and three details. For example, if the main idea is the Amazon, the details might be "80 degrees," "40 to 175 inches of rain," and "four times as much rain as New York City."

I then give my own version, which might sound like the following: "The Amazon rain forest of South America is warm and wet. The average temperature is 80 degrees. The rain forest gets 40 to 175 inches of rain per year. That's four times as much as New York City." I tell the students that they can use their own words and that the notes just help them remember what they want to say.

It typically takes four or five attempts before the students are successful. During the first few attempts, they usually need verbal prompts when they get stuck. The prompts are faded as the students become more confident.

Now the oral language goal of the session has been met. During the remaining time, I might have them write a paragraph using the same material. This can provide an additional opportunity for the therapist to address language goals such as noun-verb agreement or specific vocabulary.

If the students have articulation issues, we can use the last five or seven minutes to play an articulation game. If a student has /r/ problems, we drill on target words taken from the paragraph, such as "rain," "forest," "warm," "year" and "temperature." This makes speech therapy more relevant to school than simply using lists of words from articulation books.

Back in the classroom, if students fall back on long-established habits and continue to misarticulate a word they are capable of saying correctly, they might see a subtle hand signal from the teacher. I discuss each student's articulation goals with the teacher and show her a silent signal that only the student will recognize. The student then will say the word correctly, strengthening the mental connection between speech therapy and the classroom.

This pull-out lesson model is not the only way to provide services. However, it is an appropriate way of addressing language and articulation goals using the classroom curriculum and is workable in a public school setting where schedules are tight and joint planning time with classroom teachers is limited.

Randolph Walker is on staff at Willis Elementary School in Floyd County, VA. He can be contacted at walkerr@floyd.k12.va.us.