Leap, and the net will appear.

This year, why not ditch those tired old New Year's resolutions and make a real leap. Is there something you've wanted to do for years, personally or professionally? Have you told yourself you can't afford it, or it's too risky, or it couldn't possibly work?

If a dream or goal instantly springs to mind when you read these words, then maybe 2007 needs to be your personal leap year. You'll never know till you try. Trust your heart's desire, and the net will appear.

Light posting this week till the new year - then we're back in 2007 with new features, including two new print download categories, new contributors, and our first contest. Happy Leaping!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

***Free for All***

But enough about our newsletter - how about yours? This week we start a two-part series on low-cost, easy strategies for publicizing literacy events and ongoing curriculum work. This week's feature article on starting a literacy newsletter for parents, colleagues or kids includes time-saving tips for keeping the task manageable. And if you already have a print newsletter but are looking to make the shift this year to a web-based format on your school's website or your own, there are links to nifty free tools on the web to get you started with html formats and posting photos:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/235.cfm

One free web tool mentioned in the above article is positively addictive. "Image Chef" allows you to personalize photos of post-its, alphabet soup, or book spines for use in newsletters, memos, email....oh, it's too hard to explain without viewing the photo samples. Just click the link. Once you see how fun it is, you'll think of a zillion uses in your school correspondence about literacy. Best of all, the program requires no tech competence to use:

http://www.imagechef.com

***For Members Only***

A couple weeks ago we shared a video of Franki Sibberson helping students move into writing revision through a lesson on fonts. This week we present a new video of Franki working with a small group of grades 3 and 4 students who have identified fonts as something they will revise in their writing. This six-minute video includes the launch of the group, independent work, and Franki's discussion of how and why she pulls writing groups together:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/234.cfm
The "Opinion Exchange" activity for workshops presented last month received such a positive response on the site we've expanded it into an eGuide format. The guide includes one-page quote collections on six topics - content literacy instruction with adolescents, school change, assessment, phonics, grammar, and the 4th grade slump. One of these collections is sure to jumpstart an upcoming study group or faculty meeting:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/237.cfm

Finally, more from The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) on CAFE from their audio interview with transcript. CAFE is an acronym for Comprehension, Assessment, Fluency and Expanding Vocabulary, and it is their system for linking reading assessment, individual conferences, student reflection, and group instruction. This week they talk about moving from guided reading to flexible groups using CAFE:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/236.cfm

Next week we'll move into videos of one-on-one conferences, so you can see the CAFE system in action.

That's all for this week!