All of us talk about demands on our time. The focus of this chapter is just what the title says - don't waste time on activities with little or no payoff for students and learning. I loved the suggestion to practice with sentences the students suggest rather than using canned programs like DOL. Practice with sentences that have meaning for students and are relevant to their lives is more likely to stick with the students and transfer to their own writing.
I had started a chart called "Good Writers ..." to build on with my students, and I smiled when I came across the author's list of Secrets of Good Writers in this chapter. Her items on the list are on the money, and I plan to post such a list with my classes and revise or add to over the course of the year. I am wondering, do I use the same one for each class section (probably 4 different language arts classes each day), or take down and put up different lists in progress for each hour? That doesn't seem practical.
I loved Routman's admonition to look into students' eyes and connect with them. I think this is more important than any words we can say. As that old adage goes, they won't care what you know until they know you care. Judicious sharing about your own life encourages students to share about their own and to feel you, their teacher, care about them and believe in them. This will lead to greater effort and enthusiasm on their part!
Specific timesavers I liked: write every day, teach skills in context, integrate test prep, revise and edit as we go (and model how to do that,), and expect legible handwriting. Besides saving time, teaching this way is more interesting, engaging, and meaningful to both students and teachers.
