Have you ever had a situation that bothered you for weeks at school, an issue you couldn't seem to resolve, only to find the solution came to you when you least expected it? I've sometimes joked to friends that I should spend all my time driving around in my car doing errands, because that's where I seem to solve all my problems.

The late psychologist Wolfgang Kohler called this the "bus, bath, and bed" phenomenon:

After periods during which one has actively tried to solve a problem, but has not succeeded, the sudden right orientation of the situation, and with it the solution, tend to occur at moments of extreme mental passivity...A well-known physicist in Scotland once told me that this kind of thing is generally recognized by physicists in Britain. "We often talk about the Three Bs," he said. "The Bus, the Bath, and the Bed. That's where the great discoveries are made in our science."

Wolfgang Kohler, quoted in Stephen Nachmanovitch's Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art. New York: Tarcher Books.

Anyone can harness the power of the "Three B's" for problem solving in a few practical ways. You might keep a small notepad and pen at bedside or on your car's armrest console for when those solutions emerge suddenly in traffic or almost out of a dream. (No one has invented a waterproof post-it yet, so I'm still looking for a bath equivalent.)

And in schools, the lesson for literacy leaders is often patience. Our norm is to present a problem at a meeting, with a goal of brainstorming a solution together by the end of the hour. If you can resist that urge, and present the issue with a goal of discussing possible solutions at a meeting the next day or week, your colleagues will have their own flashes of insight while sitting in traffic, or dashing through their rote morning routines.

Plant a seed, and give your colleagues time to mull it over. You're almost assured of getting more interesting and inspired suggestions by way of the bed, bath, or bus.

This week we've got an eclectic mix of original posts, including some new picks in nonfiction. Plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

Franki Sibberson realized her students were rarely choosing nonfiction for independent reading time, in part because much of her nonfiction library was tied to content curriculum themes. This week, she shares her strategy of establishing a morning nonfiction reading time, and a booklist for moving nonfiction library choices beyond curriculum themes:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/452.cfm

This summer Franki fielded an interesting question from a participant in a Choice Literacy workshop - how in the world can someone new to a grade level begin to catch up on all the great children's or YA literature geared to that age level? Franki's short answer - don't even try, since it's an impossible goal. It's far more reasonable if you're new to a grade level to read through recent top releases, as well as pay attention to books the kids are interested in and talking about. With that in mind, if you're looking for a list of recent quality releases in children's or YA lit, you might want to check out the CYBILS award nominations (or make a nomination yourself, since it's an open process). This is the second year of this award program from the online "kidlitosphere," and the organizers welcome your input. The link below takes you to the nomination thread for this year, as well as last year's winners:

http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/

An ongoing frustration for teachers and literacy specialists is how quickly many quality children's books go out of print. Book Closeouts specializes in out of print and remaindered editions of books, and they've created a section at their website highlighting award-winning children's and adult books at 30-80% off list prices. If you're looking for an out-of-print finalist for a recent award, you may be able to find it here:
http://tinyurl.com/338ekh

We heard from a few subscribers last week who were unable to access the team meeting article "I Finally Drank the Koolaid." The long link was truncated in Outlook and two other email client software programs. We apologize for any inconvenience, and are reposting a Tiny URL link that should work in most browsers. If it's not "clickable" for you, just copy and paste the link below in your browser:

http://tinyurl.com/yvf26a

Jennifer Allen and The Sisters (Gail Boushey and Joan Moser) are headed to Clearwater, Florida for workshops at the beautiful Sand Key Resort on January 27th. The workshop topics are Literacy Coaching and CAFE Assessment. If you were shut of their sold-out workshops this summer (or are looking for a really good excuse to hit the beach for a weekend in January), please join us. These will be our last workshop offerings before next summer's full slate. Details and registration forms are available at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/454.cfm

For Members Only

"More Icebreakers!" is a request we get a lot from members. This week, Ruth Shagoury shares the "Collecting Stories" Icebreaker. While her example was created and used in a group of teachers exploring instruction of English language learners, the activity is easily adapted to any topic:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/453.cfm

Gail Boushey has reorganized her Coaching Conferring Notebook. In this four-minute video, she explains the different sections and highlights how they are used:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/455.cfm

Are you responsible for newsletters that go out to parents, community members or colleagues? "Time-Saving Tips and Free Web Resources for Writing Literacy Newsletters" is a resource round-up from the Choice Literacy Archives that you may find helpful:

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

Attention New Members: Speaking of archives, if you recently joined Choice Literacy, you may want to take a look at the Big Fresh Archives. New members often find it's the easiest way into exploring the almost 400 features and videos available at the site:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department62.cfm

That's all for this week!