This is our third in a series of hints for streamlining your blocks as timing has become an issue. These hints might help you get control of the block and feel more comfortable with your daily schedule. By the way, it's one of the two blocks in which I like to go beyond 30 minutes if I can.

1. Use a timer! It can help you with pacing. When the timer goes off, it doesn't mean you have to stop automatically, but it should be a reminder to wrap it up. Reset your timer for each segment of this block.
2. Write shorter pieces each day or "chunk" your writing into smaller segments or paragraphs over multiple days. Your entire mini-lesson should fit into a 10 minute timeframe. That means you must plan to stop earlier than that to include your Editor's Checklist and your mini-lesson focus.
3. Don't feel that your mini-lesson must be interactive! These 10 minutes belong to YOU for modeling and direct instruction. Students will have THEIR time to write after you've finished.
4. In your think-aloud, you don't have to elaborate on everything you do. For example, saying aloud, "I'm starting a new sentence, so I'll need to start this word with a capital letter," is usually sufficient, rather than including the entire litany of when capital letters are used in writing.
5. Be direct, explicit, and brief in your mini-lesson. Show students a good example in the context of your real writing and explain why this makes your writing better or clearer. Keep it simple.
6. Have students' supplies ready after your mini-lesson. Keep movement in the room to a minimum. You might have a cart alongside each cooperative table with notebooks and other writing supplies. Perhaps the student of the day (the Monday/Tuesday/Wed., etc. kid) will pass out the folders and help to sharpen pencils.
7. If you're not at the point for formal conferences, move quickly around the room, stopping at desks of students who need to be motivated. Give as many pats on the back as possible. Just be a cheerleader!
8. Once conferences have started, have a system in place for which kids will conference with you daily. Have them ready and waiting for their turn with you. Also, you don't have to see every student every week for these formal conferences.
9. You can occasionally have group conferences, but try to give students some individual help during this group session. Your goal is to grow each student individually.
10. Give students a one minute warning to wrap up their writing. If you like to give them time each day to check over their work using the Editor's Checklist, give them extra warning time.
11. Keep the sharing time to a minimum. Most of the time during this block needs to be spent with students writing.
12. Find quick ways for students to share daily. Sharing doesn't have to be done with a student(s) in the share chair. If you want all students to share, just set your timer for 5 minutes and tell them to turn to a table buddy and share what they've been working on that day.
13. If sharing is done in the share chair, encourage children to discuss their writing rather than always to read it to their friends. The reading is often not audible and isn't done with fluency. Have them share something specific and focused to save time, such as sharing how they came up with their idea, what they might write about next, whether they've ever read anything like what they've written about, their favorite part, etc.
14. Have a system in place for how students will put away their writing materials at the end of this block. Have them practice this if it hasn't been working efficiently.

Hope this helps a bit in tightening up your time frame! Have a great May as you count down the days till school's out! -----Cheryl

Check out the handouts at my website at www.cherylsigmon.com. Hope you'll find the information and handouts helpful.

Grant Support: If your school is submitting a grant, I'll be happy to submit a letter to support your training. Often, grant readers are impressed that you've secured someone with credentials to assist with training and implementation. Contact me at cmsigmon@aol.com if I can help you.

Training Opportunities:

Below are seminars that I have coming up in the future. Hope to see you at one!

Cheryl Sigmon's Four-Blocks Seminars:

October 21, 2003	Indianapolis, IL	SDR Advanced Four-Blocks
October 22, 2003	Chicago, IL	SDR Advanced Four-Blocks
October 28, 2003	Charlotte, NC	SDR Upper Grades
October 29,2003	Atlanta, GA	SDR Upper Grades
November 18, 2003	Cincinnati, OH	SDR Upper Grades
November 19, 2003	Cleveland, OH	SDR Upper Grades
December 2, 2003	St. Louis, MO	SDR Advanced Four-Blocks
December 3, 2003	Kansas City, MO	SDR Advanced Four-Blocks

For SDR workshops, call 800-678-8908 or go to
www.SDResources.org or www.ceea.org (CA seminars).

Personal Journal:

For a printable version of this article click here.

Gazette Articles by Cheryl M. Sigmon:

• The Little Things that Count in Our Schools: Doing Something Different, Simple and Powerful (May 2009)
• Words—Are We Teaching the Right Ones? (Nov. 2008)
• Change Isn’t Just for Politics (Oct. 2008)
• More Tools for Classroom Fun and Success (Sept. 2008)
• Tools for the Coming School Year (Aug. 2008)
• Teaching through Summer TV Viewing (July 2008)
• Textmapping: Where Old Becomes New (June 2008)
• Differentiated Instruction and Ability Grouping (May 2008)
• Are We Demanding Enough of Our Students? (April 2008)
• What Writing Isn’t (Mar. 2008)
• Creative Sources for Below Grade Level Reading Materials (Feb. 2008)
• Validating Writers to Motivate Them (Jan. 2008)
• A "To Do" List for the New School Year (Aug. 2003)
• It's Riveting! (July 2003)
• Publishing Pressures (June 2003)
• Streamlining the Writing Block (May 2003)
• Considering a Reading Basal Series? (Apr. 2003)
• My Poor Teacher Can't Spell! (Mar. 2003)
• Streamlining Your Self-Selected Reading Block (Feb. 2003)
• Why Didn't We Think of That? (Jan. 2003)
• A Little Stress Relief with Timing Issues (Dec. 2002)
• Thinking About Your Curriculum (Nov. 2002)
• That's Novel! (Oct. 2002)
• Active Classroom Support: Early in the Year (Sept. 2002)
• The Perfect Guided Reading Lesson (Aug. 2002)
• Choice: Fountas and Pinnell or 4-Blocks? (July 2002)
• Why Are You Doing That? (June 2002)
• It's All About Transfer! (May 2002)
• A Faculty Meeting Experiment: Modeling SSR Block (April 2002)
• Challenging Four Blocks (Mar. 2002)
• Troubleshooting in the Words Block at Upper Grades (Feb. 2002)
• Troubleshooting: Help with Writing Scores (Jan. 2002)
• Are Journals a Part of Four Blocks? (Dec. 2001)
• A Look At A Multi-Age Four-Blocks Classroom (Nov. 2001)
• Process Teaching: What Four Blocks Is All About! (Sept. 2001)
• Speaking the Same Language: Blocktalk (May 2001)
• The Media Center as the Hub of Four Blocks (April 2001)
• Drawing and Quartering the 4-Blocks (Mar. 2001)
• Upper Grades: Tackling Longer Text During Guided Reading (Feb. 2001)
• Publishing Too Fast (Jan. 2001)
• What's Up at the Upper Grades? (Dec. 2000)
• Are We Demanding Enough of Our Students? (Nov. 2000)
• Kids Who Call the Words (Oct. 2000)
• What Will I Do With All Those Leveled Books? (Sept. 2000)
• SSR Sharing: "Hey, Teacher, What Do I Say?" (Aug. 2000)
• Way Too Picky! (July 2000)
• Looking Back: A Salute to 4-Blocks Teachers (June 2000)
• Ready for a Block Party? (May 2000)
• A More Effective Writing Block (April 2000)
• I've Been Trained! (part 1) (Mar. 2000)
• More Articles by Cheryl M. Sigmon (Sifting and Sorting Through the 4-Blocks Literacy Model)

• Licensed Qualified Teachers Needed, various K12 Teaching JOB, 11/20/09, by dave.
• 4 Blocks and AR, 11/17/09, by Jill.
• Re: marcy cook math, 11/12/09, by Emily.
• 4 Blocks for after-school reading enrichment club?, 10/22/09, by PK.
• Re: Oops! I see thread below. Thanks! nfm, 10/19/09, by Alta .
• 4 blocks activities on smart board?, 10/19/09, by Alta Rose.
• Materials for Guided Reading Block?, 10/09/09, by Katherine.
• Presenters: Beware of Powerpoint pandemic, 9/15/09, by Teachers.Net.
• Re: Monthly Chants, 9/10/09, by Corinne .
• New balanced literacy items, 9/02/09, by eileen.
• Success For All Reading Program, 8/26/09, by BJ.
• Re: America's Choice Lang. Arts, 8/18/09, by Deb Renner Smith.
• Re: 2nd Edition Phonics Books here, 8/18/09, by Deb Renner Smith.
• Re: thank you Brad for the kind words about my site, 8/18/09, by Deb Renner Smith.
• Re: Tell me something positive about R Sitton, 8/18/09, by deb.
• Re: I have no idea why they are hard to find , 8/18/09, by deb.
• Re: visit elem. schools in the clemmon/greenboro NC using 4 , 8/18/09, by Deb Renner Smith.
• Re: Student Binder - 4 Blocks, 8/17/09, by rhonda retired now.
• Re: Some Responses, 8/06/09, by Barbara .
• visit elem. schools in the clemmon/greenboro NC using 4 bloc, 8/05/09, by Denis Chasse'.
• Re: Student Binder - 4 Blocks, 8/04/09, by granny j.
• Student Binder - 4 Blocks, 8/03/09, by Chuck.
• Re: my district adopted R Sitton two years ago..., 7/27/09, by cc.
• Traffic school, 7/22/09, by Michel.
• Tell me something positive about R Sitton, 7/21/09, by Jen.
• Re: latest MxM Phonics editions, 7/20/09, by new new cover -- what's this???.
• Re: yes available--toys and games section???!!!, 7/15/09, by eileen.
• America's Choice Lang. Arts, 7/13/09, by teach.
• new edition of M by M Phonics, 7/08/09, by JenSue/2.
• Defensive Driving | Defensive Driving Course, 7/06/09, by stevensjohn.
• moving to 2nd after 11 years in K-help! worksheets?, 7/01/09, by Lisa IL.
• Re: my district adopted R Sitton two years ago..., 6/30/09, by Mark Pennington.
• Re: Grade level or lexile level, 6/29/09, by Derry C..
• Re: my district adopted R Sitton two years ago..., 6/25/09, by JAM, with a whopper of a response.
• Sequence for Word Wall words--Jenny/2/OH, 6/21/09, by annie.