Episode Details

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie tackles the real reason your middle and high school students check out the moment you explain the session goal — and it’s not the goal itself. She walks through five signs your explanation isn’t clicking and how to flip each one so students actually get it. If your students would rather do anything but be in your session, this one’s for you.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Bullet Points to Discuss: 

• Sign #1: Your goal explanation is landing like broccoli — relevant to school, irrelevant to them
• Sign #2: Your worksheets disappear after session and connect to nothing real
• Sign #3: You’re drilling a skill your student thinks they already have
• Sign #4: Your reading passages feel like homework 2.0 with zero payoff
• Sign #5: You’re collecting data the whole session instead of actually teaching​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Here’s what we learned: 

• Don’t lead with school. Lead with what they already care about — gaming, streaming, social media.
• Relevance doesn’t require new materials. A 30-second framing conversation changes everything.
• Students aren’t resistant to learning. They’re resistant to pointless practice.
• Data without teaching is just numbers. Slow down, teach first, collect at the end.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:  

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

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📘✨ Grab your copy of The Secondary SLP Roadmap here! https://www.speechtimefunpd.com/stf-book

Subscribe today and get access to my secret podcast filled with my juicy secrets for planning with ease for secondary speech students. 6 quick episodes that you can quickly listen to and feel refreshed and inspired! https://speechtimefun.com/secondarysecrets