Five or six others wander aimlessly around the room. I lean down to help a child with her writing and she doesn't even know this is writing time. This is one of my recurring bad dreams. I have it about once a month, even though I am retired from the classroom. I suspect this is a common dream for anyone working in our profession.
Most teachers struggle with classroom organization throughout their professional lives.
Because during writing children choose writing topics, confer with each other, and are constantly starting new pieces, more structure is required than in other subject areas. Writing brings out the itch in most of us. Think back to that last course paper you wrote. Putting words on a blank page is like looking in the mirror. You face yourself and you may not like what you see, especially if you are not used to writing regularly.