time saver

Over the years I encountered several dilemmas when teaching young students to write. First, there was the issue of time.  There was never enough time:

• To gather all of the materials I needed
• To teach a complete lesson
• For students to practice writing

Second, there was the issue of motivating all of my students. Some students were difficult to motivate, especially for writing.  I fought the battle for years.  I’d run through hoops to create some kind of excitement when it came to teaching writing skills. I tried mentor texts, dressing up in costumes, and more. They worked, but wow, they took up a lot of time. I’d give the lesson and find that there was very little time left for actual writing practice. As the years went by, I tried new teaching strategies to build successful writers.