Stephen Covey writes about how any change or innovation begins first in the mind:

All things are created twice. . . . there's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things.

There may be three steps for teachers when it comes to making changes that endure - that mental or first creation, followed by the physical or second creation. And then the students come in, and there is a third phase, a revision of the original plan as based on student reactions to our lessons and structures.

In late July many of us are moving into the mental work of rethinking our classroom spaces before we begin to set up our classrooms or rearrange learning spaces. This week we've got a feature to help you reconsider your word work program, with suggestions for notebooks and materials to get your creative juices flowing.

We've also got a link this week to a terrific web resource for first day of school celebration ideas, a makeover of a meeting area, and practical strategies to help students take on more responsibility for their learning. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

***Free for All***

Franki Sibberson is revamping her word study program this summer, compiling envelopes for each student that contain various tools and notebooks for building word knowledge. She explains how she is revising her word study plans and the contents of the word work envelopes here:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/396.cfm

Did you know there is a foundation dedicated to building community involvement in the launch of the school year? If you haven't been able to muster enthusiasm yet for the start of the year, visit this site and you'll find their cheerfulness is contagious. The First Day Foundation, based in Vermont, has free planning kits, as well as suggestions for first day celebrations that range from simple to elaborate:

http://www.firstday.org/

The "Becoming a Literacy Coach" October workshop in Rockland, Maine is now sold out. Space remains in the "Literacy Coach Jumpstart Workshop" on September 30th in Portland, Maine. The Jumpstart is a streamlined version of our two-day workshop. For further information, including registration forms, visit this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/383.cfm

***For Members Only***

Perhaps no research has had more impact on literacy instruction in schools in the last decade than the "gradual release of responsibility" model. This week, Debbie Miller writes about some of the practical, concrete activities like "turn and talk" or partner work she uses routinely in her teaching to release responsibility to students:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/397.cfm

Has there ever been a teacher who is perfectly happy with the arrangement of the class meeting area? I've yet to meet her or him. This is the time of year when many teachers are trolling through the office supply areas of department stores looking for containers, reconsidering how and where they store materials. In this two-part video, The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) help new teacher Christine think through how literacy materials and storage bins can be rearranged in her class meeting area to foster better attention from students and more independence at the same time:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/399.cfm

What do an electric toothbrush, a window washer, and standardized tests have in common? They all show up in Jan Miller Burkins' latest installment in her Connections series of literacy coach reflections linked to photographies. "Things Are Not Always as They Appear" is available at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/398.cfm

That's all for this week!