We're two weeks into the new year - did you resolve to lose weight or exercise more? How is that working out for you? In The Daily 5, Gail Boushey shares the story of meeting with a trainer for the first time after the birth of her daughter in order to lose weight and get into better shape. The trainer immediately put Gail on a treadmill at a fast pace and left Gail alone. After 10 minutes, Gail found herself gasping for breath, unable to continue. She quietly exited the gym, never to return again to meet with that trainer.

How I can relate to Gail's experience! I have my own stories of failure with diet and exercise - it's a constant challenge. I used to believe we learn most from our failures, because failure provides so many lessons for teachers about what doesn't work when we're trying to learn something new. But Gail hasn't really failed in her quest for good health - if you've ever met her, you know she is trim and vibrant. I now think literacy leaders can learn most from our struggles, not our failures, when it comes to understanding others.

There are many activities in life that are optional, and so we can allow ourselves to fail at them - for example, it isn't required that anyone learn how to knit, or qualify for the Olympic bobsled team. Yet there are also pursuits that are essential, like developing a healthy lifestyle. It's not optional for most of us to avoid exercising or watching our diets if we want to live long, active lives. And it also isn't easy to make lifestyle changes, which is why we constantly have the opportunity to learn from our struggles.

For any student, it's not optional for them to go through their days unable to read and write - their life outside of school would lose so much meaning without literacy as a part of it. As teachers and literacy coaches, we spend much of our time trying to understand what goes on in the minds of struggling readers and writers.

This week, we've got a wonderful article by Franki Sibberson about how we can translate our own struggles into a deeper understanding of struggling readers and writers. Franki is spending one hour each morning in a fitness bootcamp - making connections between her coping strategies, new behaviors, and attitudes and those of the students she works with throughout the day. If you've ever found yourself gasping for breath in an exercise class and plotting an escape route, you'll be able to relate to her experience. Plus more on classroom design, study group activities, and coaching over time. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

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Franki Sibberson finishes 29th out of 30 participants in her fitness bootcamp mile run. In the process, she learns many lessons about herself and the needs of struggling learners in her classroom:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/520.cfm

Anyone who has ever dreamed of having their children's book published will love reading about Laura Amy Schlitz. She is an elementary school librarian whose manuscript Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village was plucked from the "slush pile" at Candlewick Press a year ago, and went on to win the Newbery Medal this week. Her desire to tap her students' enthusiasm inspired her to write the book - it's the fairytale publishing story of the decade:

http://tinyurl.com/2txscc

The Caldecott and a slew of other book awards were also announced this week by the American Library Association. You can look at the entire list of winners and honor books at their site:

http://tinyurl.com/2dsmvj

Is decluttering and cleaning up your classroom library, student storage, and meeting area something you find challenging? You might enjoy Simply Organized, the newest 60 minute DVD from The Sisters. It features quick changes in two classrooms with time-lapse videography. You can preview footage from the video at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item17.cfm

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Ruth Shagoury finds some of the best learning in her study groups comes when participants share the new things they are trying in their classrooms. She develops a nifty one-page notetaking form to help everyone keep track of ideas they want to test out with students in "Team Sharing of Writing Curriculum Innovations":

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/518.cfm

The Sisters share the last video of their three-part series on a middle school classroom makeover. This week, they help Erin think through organizing her 7th grade classroom, which has NO storage closets:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/522.cfm

Finally, Jennifer Allen observes the scaffolds her daughter's gymnastics teacher uses and gradually abandons over time in "Cartwheels, Backward Rolls, and Literacy Coaching." These observations make her think about how she is gradually releasing new teachers from different kinds of support as they enter their second, third, and fourth years of teaching:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/519.cfm

That's all for this week!