Chapter 1: Simplify the Teaching of Writing

In this chapter, I felt a sense of relief and encouragement as Regie Routman explains that her purpose for writing the book was to "make writing easier, more manageable, and more fun." I think that it is important for teachers to seriously explore how writing is taught in their classrooms. How much time DOES get wasted during writing time and are the students truly enjoying what they are writing? Within the text titled "12 Writing Essentials for All Grade Levels" on page 13, I was very encouraged by the fifth essential called embrace language. In my classroom, I have enjoyed playing with words by using various nouns, verbs and adjectives in activities and working with descriptive language such as similes to make writing more intriguing and interesting.

I like the idea of simplifying my writing instruction and concentrating on the pure enjoyment of writing!