Educators everywhere are stressing about excessive screen time and distracting technology.
But clinicians using the Ultimate Guide to Syntax aren't.
The Ultimate Guide to Syntax gives you over 300 sentence probes and tutorials to assess, teach, and document sentence-level language skills that support comprehension and written expression.
No frills. No gamification. Just the essentials.
Materials are getting more complicated, more animated, and (supposedly) "more engaging".
But if you've worked with kids with neurodevelopmental disorders or other conditions that impact language and cognition...
You know all that clutter is distracting AF.
The more your students get used to all that stimulation...
The less they're able to tolerate things that don't offer immediate gratification and constant dopamine hits.
It's a never-ending battle to keep one-upping yourself in an attempt to increase "engagement" and "motivation".
But the best way to improve motivation is to build skills that support automaticity and help kids experience success.
That's why I never turned this product in to an app.
Not because I couldn’t. Because I didn’t see the point.
The Ultimate Guide to Syntax is plain. It's ugly. That's why it works.
When students struggle with syntax, they're having constant cognitive load issues.
They use so much energy processing individual sentences that there's little bandwidth to think anything about else.
They struggle with inferencing and stating the main idea...
Their sentences are disorganized, with grammatical errors...
Answers to questions are be off-topic or not quite what you asked...
Comprehending "the gist" of messages and retelling past events is difficult...
They repeat the same simple sentence structures over and over again or use lots of run-on sentences...
And they won't be making progress on that "will follow 2-step directions with 80% accuracy goal".
They need to focus on the most relevant parts of sentences so language makes sense to them.
They don't need another distraction.
That's why I've kept my "boring" syntax templates pretty much the same since I developed them years ago during my doctoral work.
It's also why some people refer to me as "the syntax queen".
Over the past 10+ years, I've been helping thousands of clinicians develop "no fluff" language therapy protocols focused on the essentials.
I also started talking about the science of reading principles before it was cool :)
Like how important language skills (like syntax ) are in supporting literacy.
Hi, I'm Dr. Karen, and I’m a speech-language pathologist by training with a doctorate in special education.
I spent 14 years in the schools supporting students with language, literacy, and executive functioning needs and helping teams develop systems.
In 2015, I started my online education company.
Now I help therapists and educators develop systems that help them be better leaders lead in their sessions and classrooms.
I also help clinicians create "containers" to help them develop streamlined, repeatable, language therapy protocols.
The concept of a "clinical container" is simple.
In order to amplify your results, you narrow your focus to the highest priority language skills most likely to result in skill transfer.
These areas define your "containers", which include protocols you can:
...Implement easily, without starting from scratch every time you plan a session.
...Explain to others without confusing them, so they can reinforce language skills outside your sessions.
...Establish a clear, consistent routine for students, so they get the intensity and practice they need.
Syntax is one of the most valuable "containers" you can build.
You know many students struggle with reading, even though they're working on comprehension strategies.
Students don't respond to general comprehension instruction when foundational language skills are weak (Eberhardt, 2013; Scott, 2009; Scott & Koonce, 2014; Nippold, 2017).
Decades of research show that complex syntax supports reading comprehension and the development of more advanced language skills (Loban, 1976; Zipoli, 2017).
"I viewed how you teach passive voice. I used powerpoint to do that online and he had his first understanding! His mother and I were ecstatic! With enormous gratitude for your expertise! Thank you."
-SHARON BARDY, CALIFORNIA
While people understand the importance of language skills, syntax is often discounted because of several misconceptions:
MYTH 1: Sentence level work isn't functional.
If students struggle to connect clauses to formulate ideas, they may need more intensive work focused on directly studying complex sentence types.
Often people do less structured comprehension work in an attempt to work on syntax in a way that appears more "functional". This might include work on the main idea, inferencing, or even narratives.
While this work services purpose, it doesn't address syntax in a way that's specific and intensive enough to give students the practice at the sentence level that they need.
Students with language impairments who don't get explicit work on syntax continue to struggle with reading comprehension without targeted work in this area, even when they get practice with "comprehension strategies" (Nippold, 2017).
MYTH 2: Syntax is a skill for "older" students.
Students begin to use subordinate conjunctions such as "because", or "before/after" in early elementary school.
This is why even young children are able to answer "why" and "when" questions or connect clauses in oral language.
Skills like conjunctions form a foundation that allow us to think critically, reflect internally, and express our thoughts.
While kids might not be composing detailed paragraphs in Kindergarten, the language skills they use for oral language and internal self-talk are already developing.
Building these skills in the early years will enable more advanced cognitive skills to develop through young adulthood.
MYTH 3: Syntax isn't a useful life skill.
Take a look at some medical forms, job applications, or even articles from common media sources.
Observe the language your coworkers use when you 're at your next work-related meeting. Look at the questions in the drivers' test, the Miranda rights, or disciplinary and employee handbooks.
All of these things are loaded with complex syntax, and students will need to be able to comprehend many of them.
Syntax isn't just a skill we need to write papers in school. It's is needed to succeed many jobs-even those that aren't considered "academic" roles, such as trades or the service industry. Many jobs require use of written documents or sophisticated oral language.
Syntax skills are LIFE SKILLS.
The good news is you can support students' syntax in a way that:
...Doesn't require complicated materials.
...Doesn't introduce distractions that take away from learning.
...Doesn't require you to continuously start over.
And instead narrows your focus to the most important syntactic skills that will support comprehension and expression.
That's why I'm offering you a "container" with a large inventory of high-quality language probes to help you make that happen.
Inside, you'll get activities you could do with a pencil and paper.
Or a dry erase board and a marker.
Once you get good at using them, a lot of this will live in your head.
I'm laying the groundwork for a repeatable system. A set of dependable, research-supported tools in your syntax container.
It's called the Ultimate Guide to Syntax.
The Ultimate Guide to Syntax is a complete bundle + tutorials with three separate guides, goal banks, assessment probes, over 300 sentence probes, and step-by-step guides for targeting challenging sentences.
"I have been very impressed with the progress I am seeing in my clients as I incorporate your suggestions. Confidence, comprehension, and participation (as well as grades) are all going up. Thank you for all that you do for our profession.”
-SKYLEE NEFF, UTAH
What's inside the Ultimate Guide to Syntax?
VOLUME 1: How to Teach Passive Voice
This guide will show you how to define observable behaviors for goals and data collection, how elicit difficult sentence types, and how to assess comprehension when standardized tests don't tell the whole story.
VOLUME 2: Using Sentence Combining for Complex Syntax
This guide will show you how to write goals for compound and complex sentences, how to encourage kids to use conjunctions and multiple clauses, and how to do dynamic assessment using picture cues.
VOLUME 3: Deconstructing Challenging Sentences
This guide will show you how to help kids identify the key message in complex sentences, use a commonly overlooked data collection strategy to gather rich assessment of comprehension, and boost linguistic reasoning skills.
In addition the downloadable guides, you also get access to video trainings to walk you through implementation.
TRAINING #1: Intro + Syntax Development Guide
In this video training, I walk you through an overview of how to use these syntax guides, research on syntax development across the school-age years, and how to work on sentence types that facilitate more sophisticated language use.
TRAINING #2: Reflective and Directive Questions
In this video, I share how to elicit challenging sentences and scaffold to help students expand their thoughts and pay attention to important linguistic information.
Get the Ultimate Guide to Syntax Tutorials today and get over 300 sentence probes to help boost student's comprehension and processing.
- Volume 1: Teaching Passive Voice: Define observable behaviors, elicit difficult sentences, supplement standardized tests.
- Volume 2: Sentence Combining: Streamline goal-writing, encourage sophisticated language use, and get rich, meaningful data from sessions and assessments.
- Volume 3: Deconstructing Sentences: Identify relevant information, improve linguistic reasoning skills, boost comprehension.
- Training 1: Intro + Syntax Development Guide: Learn the research on syntax development across the school-age years and use it to facilitate more sophisticated language use.
- Training 2: Reflective and Directive Questions: Learn how to help students expand their thoughts, and pay attention to important linguistic information.
Give student's the skills they need to thrive for $67.
You can sign up for the Ultimate Guide to Syntax Tutorials risk-free.
If you still don’t feel confident and focused with your intervention…
… Then all you need to do is email me within 60 days your purchase at talktome@drkarenspeech.com and I’ll give you a full refund — no hassle.
Syntax intervention needs to happen SOONER, not later.
Most kids start using complex sentences in oral language in early elementary school.
When we assume that syntax is just a skill for "older" students, we miss opportunities to build a foundation.
This foundation is NECESSARY for students to fully participate in their education, benefit from instruction focused on comprehension, and practice critical thinking.
Without the skills to support sentence-level comprehension, students won't have the language skills needed to learn from written texts, in-depth discussions, or tasks that require complex problem-solving...
These are things that happen across their entire day!
But the good news is you are perfectly equipped to help students build the skills they need to thrive in all of these situations.
"My heart bursts with pride when I see these intelligent, amazing kiddos learn how to more effectively express themselves. I didn't think I could possibly love my profession any more than I do, but you came along and made me love it even more. I feel competent and effective--and I now know that I am capable of changing the world, one child at a time.”
-JENNIFER SMITH, TENNESSEE
Get the Ultimate Guide to Syntax Tutorials today and get over 300 sentence probes to help boost student's comprehension and processing.
- Volume 1: Teaching Passive Voice: Define observable behaviors, elicit difficult sentences, supplement standardized tests.
- Volume 2: Sentence Combining: Streamline goal-writing, encourage sophisticated language use, and get rich, meaningful data from sessions and assessments.
- Volume 3: Deconstructing Sentences: Identify relevant information, improve linguistic reasoning skills, boost comprehension.
- Training 1: Intro + Syntax Development Guide: Learn the research on syntax development across the school-age years and use it to facilitate more sophisticated language use.
- Training 2: Reflective and Directive Questions: Learn how to help students expand their thoughts, and pay attention to important linguistic information.
Build the language skills kids need to thrive for just $67.
Students don’t need complicated activities.
They need SIMPLE tools that help them build automaticity and confidence.
What changes outcomes is having a clear, repeatable syntax protocol, that clarifies which sentence structures to target and how to respond when things break down.
A scalable approach that leads to generalization across sessions and beyond.
In a container filled with tools that are:
• Evidence-based
• Explicit
• Focused on the sentence structures that matter most
• Simple enough to use across sessions without constant rework
That’s why this approach is "boring" by design.
No apps.
No distractions.
No “engagement” features pretending to be instruction.
Just a well-organized container of syntax probes and protocols you can use, reuse, and streamline.
See what others are saying about Dr. Karen's resources:
"Dr. Karen leaves out the fluff and gets straight to the facts...She brings a much-needed element of simplicity to an otherwise very broad area of language therapy.”
-RACHEL SMITH, UTAH
"Language can be sooooo complex and overwhelming and she organizes it in a way that makes sense.”
-WENDY EINHORN, CALIFORNIA
"I had a great session with one of my struggling 3rd graders...I told him how grown up his long sentences sounded. He loved it!"
-JESSICA HARMON-JOHNSTONEAUX
Get the Ultimate Guide to Syntax Tutorials today and get over 300 sentence probes to help boost student's comprehension and processing.
- Volume 1: Teaching Passive Voice: Define observable behaviors, elicit difficult sentences, supplement standardized tests.
- Volume 2: Sentence Combining: Streamline goal-writing, encourage sophisticated language use, and get rich, meaningful data from sessions and assessments.
- Volume 3: Deconstructing Sentences: Identify relevant information, improve linguistic reasoning skills, boost comprehension.
- Training 1: Intro + Syntax Development Guide: Learn the research on syntax development across the school-age years and use it to facilitate more sophisticated language use.
- Training 2: Reflective and Directive Questions: Learn how to help students expand their thoughts, and pay attention to important linguistic information.
Turn things around for your students for just $67.
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