The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy July 9, 2011 Dream Job


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The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
July 9, 2011
Dream Job

It's my pleasure to introduce Heather Rader, the new senior editor at Choice Literacy. Many of you already know Heather from her wonderful contributions over the years to the site, writing about her experiences as a teacher, literacy coach, and professional development coordinator. She will be sharing newsletter writing duties with me. Welcome Heather!

Brenda Power
Founder, Choice Literacy

Dream Job

I'm always doing things I can't do. That is how I get to do them.

Pablo Picasso

My new writing and editing work for Choice Literacy began at the end of June. Brenda Power and I sat together, laptops side-by-side. We talked about our strengths, clarified our expectations, and at one point she said to me, "I want this to be your dream job." My first thought was: me too! And my second thought was, what a great thing for a boss to say. I was looking forward to my next day of work and the day after that and. . .

It reminded me of a time when I was teaching fifth grade. A boy named Damian walked into my class with a scowl on his face the first day of school. During the activity of making a positive descriptor and alliteration nametag Damian wrote, "Destructive Damian."

Damian," I began, "Let's figure out something positive you could write that would begin with a 'D'."

"Haven't you heard about me?" he responded through slit eyes. "I'm a bad kid."

One of the kids next to him nodded in agreement.

"Haven't you heard about me?" I asked. I bent down right next to him and whispered, "I don't believe in bad kids and you are going to have a magical year. I can tell already."

"Yeah, right," he muttered, but I could tell he'd been surprised by my response.
Damian wasn't an angel, but at the end of the year he wrote to me and told me it had been his best year ever. I firmly believe we all rise to expectations.

Thank you, Brenda, for giving me the chance to create my dream job and bring another voice to the Big Fresh. Here we go. . .

This week we've posted a slew of features to help you dream big and organize for the fall - everything from sorting through mentor texts, to reorganizing student supplies. Enjoy!

Heather Rader
Senior Editor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

What will you learn next year? From the Choice Literacy Archives, Above the Fold: Creating Individual Professional Development Plans is a terrific summer tool for planning, reflecting and organizing your learning goals for next year:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/145.cfm

If you're spending some time sifting through new books and thinking about teaching with them in the fall, you'll enjoy our new podcast with Ralph Fletcher on Mentor Texts:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1561.cfm

One of the issues teachers grapple with over the summer is student supplies. Should students be responsible for individual stashes of pens, pencils and paper, or would community supplies work best? This brief article from Responsive Classroom makes the case for community supplies, and gives some tips for helping students work well with shared materials:

http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/classroom-connections

There are scores of ways to organize community supplies and individual materials. In this short video, Gail Boushey and Joan Moser ("The Sisters") help a teacher move from all individual supplies to a mix of community and personal materials:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/1440.cfm

Join us for Choice Literacy Workshops in Ann Arbor, Michigan (just outside Detroit) on July 25 - 27, for presentations on literacy coaching, book choice, the principal's role, minilesson design, and middle school workshops. Presenters include Jennifer Allen, Katie Doherty, Karen Szymusiak, Franki Sibberson, Katie DiCesare, Karen Terlecky, and Mary Lee Hahn. Participants will leave with a wealth of new ideas, materials, and a DVD of examples from classrooms. Click on the link below for a full description and registration information:

http://bit.ly/qwjHzq

For Members Only

What boy can resist a book titled How They Croaked? If you're looking for some books to fascinate and delight the boys in your classroom, Tony Keefer has some terrific suggestions of recent nonfiction titles in a new booklist:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1560.cfm

Our newest cluster on Literacy Coaching Rapport and Collaboration features Jennifer Allen, Shari Frost, and Heather Rader:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1558.cfm

If you've ever experienced that disequilibrium of feeling completely organized in your professional life, and hopelessly scattered during your personal time, you'll enjoy Melanie Quinn's article Best Practices All Day Long:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1559.cfm

We're continuing to highlight videos on design and reorganization, to help in your planning for next year.

Katie DiCesare explains how she arranges materials and uses wall space to maximize literacy learning in a room tour video:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1564.cfm

Another video upgrade this week is an all-time favorite of subscribers. Joan Moser and Gail Boushey ("The Sisters") help new teacher Carrie declutter her storage area, and find all sorts of treasures. The video is now available with a full-screen option:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/1563.cfm

That's all for this week!