In today's episode I’m going to address the elephant in the room, which is the fact that teaching literacy is hard. There, I said it! In my personal experience, I found that compared to all other subjects, reading and writing were without a doubt the most difficult for my students. If you’re anything like me and refuse to let your students fail because something is difficult, this episode is for you!   Last week I recommended that you start the new year off by asking your students questions to get an idea of what was and wasn’t working in your classroom. Now, I have questions for you! In order to make sure your lessons are effective for those struggling readers, I have questions and tips for you to consider. I talk about topics such as when to remove graphic organizers and how to create an environment that elicits creative writing no matter the grade. Most importantly, I hope you take these tips to your classroom and make writing fun!   In this episode I share: -5 questions you should ask yourself about your literacy lessons -Reasons you don’t want to skip your writing block -Why you shouldn’t rush to take away writing supports and scaffolding -What to focus on when helping your students set their goals -Tips for making the writing process fun for your students SHOW NOTES: theliteracydive.com/podcast-episode65 Resources Mentioned: -Primary and Upper Elementary Writing Office -Writing Reference Sheets -Descriptive Writing Anchor Charts -Writing Prompts -Writing Process Sticky Note Checklists -Literacy Choice Boards freebie -Episode 32, Setting Up Effective Writing Centers -Episode 23, Using Centers for Upper Elementary Kids -Episode 9, Using Quick Writes to Strengthen Student Writing -Episode 2, 5 Components of a Mini Lesson Connect with me: -Check out my TpT Store -Subscribe to my E-mail list -Instagram Posts -Blog Posts -Facebook Posts -Watch my YouTube channel  If you are enjoying The Literacy Dive Podcast, please follow, leave a rating, and a helpful review! It is much appreciated and thank you for listening!