The 3 Biggest Factors to Your Literacy Intervention Success

Hi friend,

When we think about doing anything, there are three main components we need to be successful. Literacy intervention is no different.  We refer to these key pieces as the “3 Ms” - Motivation, Method, and Mindset. In order to be truly effective, you need all three. 

Let’s talk about motivation. 

The good news - we KNOW that you already embody this “M.”

We know because, without it, you wouldn’t be here, reading a blog about literacy intervention.

Motivation is key because, without it, we are never driven to do better. We will settle for results that are “decent” and we don’t go that extra mile.  

Now, we know that motivation can ebb and flow. Things happen in our lives that make it hard to find the same level of motivation as the day we started. To help combat this in our practice and program, we made our lessons as EASY to PREP and DELIVER as possible so that on days when our drive is low, we can still deliver a kick-butt lesson.

To help make sure our STUDENTS stay motivated, we use games and interactive activities. These are great ways to “sneak learning” into your lessons without your students knowing that they are practicing their literacy skills.  

Let’s talk about methods -

To be effective at ANYTHING, you need to have the methods.

The 3 step process we always use is Assess - Design - Implement. 

Assess - In this step, we will use data to determine what students need from their intervention. If you have the ability to give standardized assessments we always recommend doing that. If not, we HIGHLY recommend using a placement screener and baseline assessment to see where your student needs to begin, AND what holes or gaps they have. 

Design - Once you have data, you should use it to inform your lessons. If your student is struggling with orthography, be sure to hit on orthography tasks. If they are struggling to rhyme, maybe focus on that more than nonsense words. This is where you have the autonomy, as the instructor, to make decisions that are best for the student sitting in front of you. YOU know this student best (in terms of their literacy skills) so trust your gut and do what you know is right. If you aren’t totally comfortable picking and choosing where to focus (it will come with time!) then we encourage you to look for research-based lessons that hit on EVERYTHING you could need. If you give all of the activities, you can trust that your student is getting what they need from their literacy intervention. 

Implement - Once you have the data and have designed your lessons, it is time to start implementing! As you jump in, you will make mistakes - and that's okay. We all do! What if we reframed these "mistakes" as lessons? These are teaching us what works and what doesn't so we know for the next lesson or a different student and that really is a beautiful thing. 

The final M (and arguably the most important) is mindset.

When we say “mindset” we mean the beliefs that you are carrying with you into your intervention every day.  It is more than just “I have a positive outlook” or “I have a negative outlook.”  It is more than just the growth vs. fixed mindsets that we tell our students about. 

Now, stay with us because this is important. If you haven’t heard us say this before, one of our core values is radical candor and we are about to get real. 

Mindset is critical in this field because as we're sure you're familiar - we are stuck in this time of "the Reading War" in which heart-centered and well-meaning professionals get stuck arguing over which approach is best. We get stuck between “whole language vs. phonics-based” or “fidelity versus individualization” approaches.

Interventionists, educators, and SLPs are made to feel that if they don’t do everything perfectly, their students are doomed.  So often, we see brilliant interventionists question every move they make because for so long they have been told they needed approval. They are told that some publisher somewhere knows more about “what is best” for their students than they do. They are told that until they have been "certified" they are not to practice independently. 

Excuse the language, but screw that. 

You are brilliant and a critical asset to your students. 

Yes, there is research to support certain methods over others, but that does not mean that within evidence-based methods there isn’t room for differentiation. That doesn't mean that you can't start where you are and grow into an even more incredible interventionist.

You DO NOT need permission from anyone to make a difference for your students.

When we talk about mindset, we are jumping into the subconscious thoughts that have been eating away at your potential to help students. Thoughts that are based on beliefs that stem from a divisive “I need to do more” and "I am not enough" culture. 

These beliefs have created barriers to us really making the impact that we want to.  As soon as we realized the baggage that we carried around with us from years of witnessing this culture we were finally able to put that baggage down and move forward. 

Today, right now, we invite you to take those bags that are weighing you down and set them down. Put them down, and leave them behind. They aren’t serving you. Say goodbye to self-doubt. Say goodbye to the nagging thoughts.  

You are exactly what your students need. Believe that. 

No lesson is ever going to be perfect. You WILL make mistakes, so stop worrying about making them! It’s going to happen and when it does, your students will see you pick up the pieces and move forward - just like we want them to do.  

Action brings clarity. Take imperfect action.

So what is my next step?

If you are looking for a program that gives you lessons that will keep your students motivated, easy-to-use progress monitoring trackers that will keep YOU motivated, a training program to give you the methods, and a community that lifts you up and encourages a positive mindset - then we’d love to invite you into our Delivering SMARTER Intervention Program.

This program has been a game-changer for so many interventionists, SLPs, and educators around the world - including our team. We can’t wait to see you in the program.