For years I had a secret about my reading I never told anyone - I always read the ending of any novel first. It's my favorite way to preview a book. This habit has always seemed like a form of cheating (or the mark of a truly controlling, impatient person).

Last year I was chatting with a group of friends, all avid readers. Karen mentioned she always reads the ends of novels first. Everyone except me was surprised, even shocked. She explained, "I like knowing the ending first - even if it doesn't make sense to me, I can always tell from the ending if it's going to be a book worth reading." Exactly - we all do what works for us as readers.

Early in the school year, the biggest secret some teachers have is that they haven't started small-group instruction yet. Many teachers have an ingrained image of what "good" reading instruction looks like, going back to the days some of us spent in Dick and Jane texts. The rush at the start of the year in many schools is to get children assessed, so that they can be assigned to reading groups as soon as possible.

Lately, more and more teachers have been quietly challenging the push to get students in reading groups by September, or even October. The reasoning is that groups that are truly flexible require more observation, chatting, and building of the class community before they can be launched. But like my reading secret, it just seems wrong if you're walking by the classrooms of colleagues in September, glimpsing group after group happily reading with their teachers. If yours is the only class without reading groups up and running, it takes a lot of confidence to go against the norms in your school.

This week, Debbie Miller talks about the importance of holding off on grouping too early in the year. We've also got some other takes on flexible grouping, plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy
www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

Part II of our interview with Debbie Miller includes advice on the importance of waiting before grouping early in the year, especially if you are using criteria beyond levels for groups. We've included a transcript:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/678.cfm

Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn's blog A Year of Reading solicited photos from readers of classroom libraries and book displays at the start of the year. You can view the "Trading Spaces" examples from a range of classrooms at this link:

http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2008/09/trading-our-favorite-spaces-round-up.html

Wordle is a fun tool for word study - you copy and paste in any text, and it makes "clouds" of key words. You can choose from a variety of colorful options for displaying the words. This would be an interesting tool for use in content studies to display key words in a nonfiction text, and talk through main ideas or concepts:

http://wordle.net/

Looking for ideas on mentoring colleagues through study groups, in-class observations and collaboration? We still have room in our Literacy Coaching Jumpstart Workshop with Jennifer Allen on October 18th at the beautiful Samoset Resort Rockland, Maine. You can access more information about content and costs at this link:

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

For Members Only

Shari Frost writes about the "Level A Purgatory" many kindergartners and young students endure when teachers assign reading groups too early. Her feature includes other instructional options beyond small groups for early in the year that may be more appropriate for your youngest learners:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/676.cfm

As the site has grown to over 500 features, we realize a pressing need is to find ways to reorganize materials so that our members can better access them for self-study or professional development meetings around themes. With that goal in mind, we're developing a new feature we think you might enjoy - Choice Literacy Clusters. Each cluster includes four to six sessions with a mix of readings and video for in-depth exploration of a topic. Study groups might try a session once a week, once a month... or members might choose to go it alone and explore all sessions on a rainy Saturday. Our first cluster is on Flexible Grouping, and features articles and videos from Max Brand, Aimee Buckner, Katie DiCesare, and The Sisters:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/679.cfm

Finally, Franki Sibberson writes about the importance of sharing our lives as readers with students early in the year. Her article includes examples of how she demonstrates her reading process and history with students through minilessons and informal book chats:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/677.cfm

That's all for this week!