All Hands On Deck: A Zone Defense Approach to Literacy Instruction
I was recently talking to a parent who had just welcomed her third child. With a look of fear and overwhelm in her eyes, she whispered what I’ve heard many parents of three or more children say:
“We’re outnumbered!!!”
As we talked more, she reflected that the man-to-man defense strategy that she and her husband had successfully employed with their first two children would need to shift to zone defense in order for them to be successful with a third child addition to their household.
A few months later, I checked back in, asking how the new family of five was doing. The mom proudly shared that they had called a number of people in their network “into service” and were doing much better.
Their five year old had learned to empty the dishwasher.
The children’s grandparents had taken on carpooling shifts and meal support.
Even neighbors were pitching in by offering to mow the lawn during “the summer of the infant”.
The parents of three were able to keep their heads above water by calling in reinforcements to help manage some of the household tasks of the growing family.
The literacy challenge: outnumbered and overwhelmed
As educators, we are always outnumbered. In an elementary school classroom, there are typically 20 or more students with just one teacher, which makes the situation of the family going from a 2:2 adult to children ratio to 2:3 seem nearly comical by comparison!
However, when teachers learn that there are over 300 foundational literacy skills that make up the Science of Reading, the feeling of being outnumbered by small humans and big educational expectations grows and grows. Man-to-man defense is not the most effective educational approach; zone defense is the key.
Schools that succeed with the science of reading take an approach much like the family of three that called in the reinforcements. They decide, “If we want to win at literacy, we will have to invite more people to join our team.”
Inviting more people to join the literacy team doesn’t necessarily mean hiring additional teachers. Don’t get me wrong; if you have funding for additional teachers and literacy specialists, hire them!
However, most school budgets are already at their capacity. If that’s your situation, don’t fret. Like the 5 year old who empties the dishwasher, the grandparent who assists with the carpool, and the neighbor who cuts the grass, small shifts in roles and responsibilities from willing participants can make all the difference.
Shifting to all hands on deck for literacy
Below are some strategies that one high performing school, The Compass School, has adopted in their “all hands on deck” approach to literacy transformation:
Compass offered its teacher assistants the opportunity to participate in Science of Reading training and coaching. These skilled individuals, who already knew the students well, were then able to lead routine-based activities that didn’t require outside of school preparation. By offering higher specialization within already existing staff members, the school added 25% more literacy power to their team.
Then, they trained the art, PE, music and health teachers in the science of reading, creating opportunities to weave literacy skills into co-curriculars. Additionally, the art teacher even leads small foundational literacy focused intervention groups. When students hear the same message and strategies applied in all corners of the school, they have the opportunity for the additional exposure they need to process and apply the new skills.
Finally, Compass created a team called “The Lit Squad”, which focused on alignment across the grade levels, parent education, whole school literacy events, and more.
In this high performing school, the teachers are not alone in the overwhelming challenge of being outnumbered by students and expectations. Instead, they are part of a team where everyone is pulling together toward a united literacy goal.
This was all carefully orchestrated in advance; everyone’s role in literacy was clearly outlined in the school’s Literacy Roles & Responsibilities document.
Teaching, like parenting, can feel like a lonely endeavour if the school’s approach involves an “every man for themselves” vision. However, when a school is able to combine the forces of community, skill development, and clarity of roles/responsibilities, transformation is born.
If the “pull together” concept within your school is still in development, you may benefit from joining the Root Literacy Design Peer Mentorship Network. There are pathways for both coaches and school leaders. Visit our website today to learn more.
