Have you ever attended a social gathering where you know almost no one, but everyone else seems to know each other well? I remember almost a year ago attending a community potluck, hosted by a service organization I admire. It was a cold December night, and I can still recall my nerves as I walked up to the front door, snow crunching under my feet, clutching a plate of homemade shortbread. Once the door flew open and someone grabbed my coat, I was enveloped in light, noise, the sights and sounds of over a hundred people mingling, laughing, and crowding together in the large space. I felt totally overwhelmed. I had a fierce urge to step quickly back out the door into the calm quiet of the night, even though that meant I would have to leave my coat behind. It seemed a small price to pay for getting away from all those people.

But I didn't really have that option, because within moments a kind older woman grasped my hand with a firm shake and started taking me around the room, introducing me to some of her friends. Once she'd left 20 minutes later, I sat down in one of the half dozen or so areas of the room arranged with couches and chairs, and immediately was invited into a conversation about an environmental project the group was taking on.

I think back on that event, and I know many of the things that stressed me out at the start probably were counted as pluses by the event organizers -the large turnout, the open format, the absence of any agenda. In classrooms, some of the things we highlight as positives early in the year in building our classroom communities can overwhelm the more shy or socially awkward students.

Human nature does have some built-in mechanisms for welcoming new members into communities. Anthropologists talk about the "stranger handler" in any culture - someone in any environment will designate themselves as the person to greet new people and give them an informal tour. Look up when someone new enters your classroom during an unstructured time, and you'll immediately see who your stranger handler is - the child who takes it upon himself or herself to walk right up and start making the new person comfortable.

But it takes more than a good stranger handler to build a classroom community around literacy. Students who struggle with reading can be overwhelmed or discouraged by the hundreds of books we've arranged so carefully in bins and on shelves. We see all these colorful texts and displays as inviting; they may see it as far too much to take in and absorb all at once. We provide less structured times to allow students to connect and make independent choices for reading...but for some students, it's still too much noise, light, and crowds.

Heading into later September, it's always a good time to take the pulse of your classroom community. Who is the stranger handler? Who is thriving? Who is overwhelmed by the choices of books and literacy activities? This week, we've got a terrific community building "jackdaw" project, plus more on parent relationships and matching kids to books. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy
www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

"School is not summer camp" - this quote reminds Mandy Robek that there are many challenges to building a strong classroom community in the midst of demands for achievement and accountability early in the year. Her "literacy jackdaw" project is a terrific vehicle early in the year for classmates to learn about each other, and hone their listening, speaking, and writing skills in the process:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/691.cfm

I'm still getting the hang of using Stixy, a virtual bulletin board tool, but I'm already seeing the possibilities for literacy leaders are almost endless. If space is tight in your school, and your staff is weighted down by too much email, this is a wonderful resource for posting links to professional development articles, short graphic organizers and protocols, even photos from Open House or projects on the web for your teaching community. Stixy is free and the interface is simple to use. There are lots of uses for classroom projects, too:

http://www.stixy.com/

The Princeton Vocabulary Minute is great goofy fun - catchy quick tunes which teach words related to different themes. The "minutes" are sorted according to age-appropriateness (from K-12), and the downloads are free:

http://www.princetonreview.com/podcasts.aspx?uidbadge=

Our new DVD, Two Workshops, was inspired by a phone call a year ago from a Choice Literacy member in Illinois. "How come no one ever publishes a DVD that shows a reading and writing workshop from start to finish, instead of just minilessons or conferences in isolation?" We answered her challenge by filming start to finish workshops in Karen Terlecky's 5th Grade Classroom and Katie DiCesare's 1st Grade Classroom. The DVD is useful for professional learning communities looking to get on the same page when it comes to strategies, principles, and activities in workshops, without compelling everyone to follow the exact same routines. Members receive a $30 discount off the purchase price. You can view sample footage and more details at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item21.cfm

For Members Only

Franki Sibberson tries to imagine what school and classroom libraries look like to struggling readers who are gazing at scores of books beyond their reading levels. "How Can School and Classroom Libraries Support Struggling Readers?" takes on the challenge of rearranging book displays and tweaking instruction through a series of 10 questions you can ask yourself to assess how inviting your library is to struggling readers:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/690.cfm

This week's video demonstrates how Franki helps students make wise choices of books for independent reading in conferences. Her "next-book stack" conference with Hailey includes talk about the student's preferences, new books available in the classroom, and skills Hailey is working on:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/692.cfm

Cheerleader? Shepherd? Rock Star? Coach? Andrea Smith considers her changing reading "roles" early in the school year as she tries to build a classroom community that shares her passion for literacy:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/686.cfm

Kelly Petrin's meditation phrase for the day - Do not fret, it only leads to evil - guides her through a home visit with a parent who worries about her daughter's literacy skills. "On Not Fretting" is a terrific short read for thinking through how to make encounters with parents less stressful. (And who needs advice on the evils of fretting more than teachers?) You can read about Kelly's home visit and learning from it at this link:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/687.cfm

Finally, this week's Choice Literacy Cluster is on Matching Students to Books:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/689.cfm

That's all for this week!

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