"To tell you the truth, it wasn't the greatest."

I was chatting with my friend Sean, comparing notes on our experiences in graduate school. He has a doctorate in physics, and we were discussing a seminar he had during his last year of coursework. He was explaining how through a quirk in scheduling and enrollments, he was the only student in a required class. There was no possibility it wouldn't be offered, and the professor was one of best known researchers in the field. I was marveling at his luck, but Sean explained it wasn't as ideal as it sounded. "The classroom was a small lecture hall, so I still had to sit on a riser. He still gave his regular presentation each week using the projector and chalkboard."

I was amazed. "You were the only student, and he still had you sitting in a lecture hall? Same notes, same presentation he used when he taught the course for dozens?"

"Yep. I even had to raise my hand whenever I had a question."

I still chuckle at that image in my head of the lone student in a lecture hall raising his hand to get the attention of his professor. What could be more ideal for a teacher than the chance to sit at a table or in a comfortable office, sharing your knowledge with only one student? Isn't that the teaching situation we all dream of?

Sean's story is a funny and sad reminder to me of how we get locked into routines, so much so that we have trouble adjusting to new circumstances even when our situation has changed dramatically for the better. We all live the reality of making adjustments when situations deteriorate - when there are budget cuts, we're forced to adjust, reallocate, and make do. For just a moment, think about the opposite reality. Sometimes our situation actually improves - slowly, incrementally, so much so that we're hardly even aware that these big, good changes mean we're ready for some drastic adjustments to our routines.

For example, my friend Jennifer Allen was planning a day-long inservice for her teachers last fall. These programs are built upon the premise that teachers need to learn new things from new people, or someone designated as an "expert" from outside the school community. It's one of Jen's jobs as a literacy specialist to take a lead role in putting these programs together. When she began to take the pulse of the district to figure out needs, Jen quickly realized that the best practices she had been advocating for years had become the norm in most classrooms. If anything, there were so many fine creative variations of these practices in place that it was impossible for teachers to find the time to share all the excellent activities in their classrooms with their colleagues.

Once Jen realized how much instruction had changed over the past few years in the district, she knew it was time for a new inservice routine. She enlisted teachers to present miniworkshops on innovations of their choice from their classrooms, and came up with a schedule for quick rotations so participants could try out and experience as many of these miniworkshops as possible. The result? Teachers said it was the best inservice offered by the district in years - they had never learned or enjoyed their colleagues more than they did that day.

While it's encouraging and essential to take a moment and celebrate success, it's probably more important to take more than a moment to ponder how those successes need to change your classroom and school routines. Are students more independent during workshops? Maybe it's time to eliminate a few of those check-in routines or process minilessons you've used since the start of the year. Is there a routine or lesson you could put in their place that fosters even more independence, or a greater sense of community? That lonely professor with his lone student missed an opportunity of a lifetime for a connection with a student. Don't get so locked into routines you've had for years that you miss yours.

This week, we've got some terrific resources for planning Thanksgiving literacy connections, plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

Free for All

If you're preparing for parent conferences, you'll enjoy the next installment in Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan's two-part series on talking with families about book selection. This week Clare and Tammy provide some sports analogies to share with families when talking about reading growth. The article includes a handout of prompts parents can use to spark discussions about books with their children:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/729.cfm

From the Choice Literacy Archives, Jennifer Allen's explanation of how she enlisted teachers to lead a day-long inservice:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/496.cfm

With Thanksgiving coming up in less than a month, the American Indians in Children's Literature Blog is a fantastic resource for thinking through readings, activities, and classroom celebrations:

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/

ReadWriteThink from the International Reading Association has a terrific assortment of Thanksgiving activities and web resources in their "Myth or Truth" collection. Scroll down the page for many weblinks to other literature-rich Thanksgiving sites:

http://tinyurl.com/8mf5n

If you've ever mumbled your way through the pronunciation of an author's name, you'll want to bookmark this website - it's a blog focused solely on the correct pronunciation of authors' names. And it's the authors themselves reading their names, so you know it's accurate:

http://www.teachingbooks.net/pronunciations.cgi

It's the last week to participate in our new monthly survey - this month's topic is "How Literacy Leaders Find Support." Take five minutes to answer our quick survey questions online, and you're automatically entered in a random drawing with a chance to win 8 Choice Literacy videos you select (a gift valued at over $1000). Three runners-up also receive a free DVD (a $229 value). We'll be sharing the results with our readers in a couple weeks:

http://tinyurl.com/59476e

Our new Choice Literacy DVD, the K-6 Word Work Sampler, is available for purchase. The 90 minute sampler includes examples of a range of word learning strategies in kindergarten through sixth grade classrooms, featuring everything from small group lessons to individual conferences with English language learners, to whole-class discussions of expectations for word work stations and word sorting activities. There is a $30 discount off the retail price for Choice Literacy members:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item22.cfm

For Members Only

[Not yet a Choice Literacy member? Click here for information on subscription plans that can give you access to members-only content.]

Continuing with the theme of matching books to readers, Franki Sibberson shares a new booklist on books to read aloud over and over again. These are kid favorites that build fluency and delight in language:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/728.cfm

In this week's video, Aimee Buckner uses a mentor text to demonstrate the questioning strategy for generating topics in writer's notebooks:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/731.cfm

Finally, the new Choice Literacy Cluster focuses on best practices for working with the youngest readers and writers. Contributors include Ruth Shagoury, Joan Moser, Katie DiCesare, and Shari Frost:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/730.cfm

That's all for this week!