Teaching writing is one of the most rewarding, but also most time-consuming parts of being a teacher. Between planning engaging lessons, differentiating for different abilities, marking work, and keeping students motivated, it’s no wonder that writing lessons can often feel overwhelming.
The good news? You don’t have to do it all alone. With the right tools and strategies, you can save valuable time while delivering engaging, impactful writing lessons.
In this guide, we’ll share practical, time-saving tips and introduce you to ready-made resources that can help you bring out the best in your young writers—without spending every evening and weekend planning.
1. Ditch the ‘blank page fear’ with ready-made writing prompts
One of the biggest challenges teachers face is getting students to start writing. “I don’t know what to write” is a phrase heard in classrooms everywhere.
Instead of spending hours searching for the perfect stimulus, let ready-made writing prompts do the hard work for you. Pobble 365 provides a free, thought-provoking image every single day, along with story starters, sentence challenges, and vocabulary activities, so you can get your students writing right away.
💡 Try this: Use Pobble 365 as a morning starter or a quick-write activity to build writing stamina. With a Pobble subscription, the prompts are already differentiated, so all students can access them at their level.
2. Cut down on planning with ready-made writing lessons
Planning high-quality writing lessons takes time, especially if you’re constantly reinventing the wheel. Instead of starting from scratch, why not use lessons that are already created for you?
Pobble’s curriculum-aligned writing lessons include:
- Engaging topics that spark creativity
- Clear structure to guide students step by step
- Editable slides so you can tweak them to fit your class
- Word banks, checklists, and model texts—all in one place
Simply find a lesson, edit if needed, and share. It’s that easy.
👉 Learn more about Pobble's ready-to-use writing lessons
3. Work smarter, not harder: Use model texts and WAGOLLs
Ever felt pressure to write an example text from scratch? You don’t have to!
Model texts—also known as What A Good One Looks Like (WAGOLLs)—help students understand what great writing looks like. A Pobble subscription also gives you access to thousands of real children’s writing examples so you can showcase great writing without spending hours crafting your own.
💡 Time-saving tip: Instead of modelling a piece of writing on the spot, pull up an example from Pobble and analyse it with your class. Ask students:
- What makes this a strong piece of writing?
- What could be improved?
- Can we edit it together to make it even better?
👉 Read more about using real student writing examples
4. Save hours on marking and feedback
Marking and giving feedback on writing is one of the most time-consuming tasks for teachers. Instead of marking everything at the end, try giving feedback during lessons.
💡 Try this:
- Live marking: Walk around and check work as students write. Offer instant feedback so they can improve on the spot.
- Peer review: Teach students to review each other’s work using simple strategies like two stars and a wish (two positives, one area for improvement) or focusing on one key skill at a time. This encourages independent editing and reduces your marking workload.
- Self-assessment checklists: Pobble allows you to add success criteria to writing lessons so students can check their own work before submitting it—saving you time later.
5. Make writing more engaging with an audience
When students know their writing is only going in their exercise books, motivation can drop. But when they write for a real audience, their enthusiasm soars!
💡 Boost engagement by:
- Publishing student writing on Pobble: Giving them an authentic global audience. Find out more.
- Creating a class writing wall: Showcase their best work.
- Sending persuasive letters to real decision-makers: Headteachers, local MPs, or authors.
- Running a school-wide writing competition: Make it exciting with themes, prizes, and student judges to encourage participation.
Students write better and more enthusiastically when their words matter to someone else.
6. Keep writing lessons fresh and fun
Writing doesn’t have to feel like hard work—for you or your students! Keep it engaging with:
- Drama and role-play: Develop ideas before putting them to paper.
- Images and video clips: Inspire creativity.
- Linking writing to their favourite books or topics: motivate them with what they love.
- Gamifying writing tasks: Challenges and competitions.
💡 Try this:
- Use Pobble’s sentence challenges: Inject fun into writing.
- Introduce ‘Free Writing Friday’: Students choose their own topic and write for enjoyment.
👉 Learn more about Free Writing Friday
7. Structure Writing Lessons for Maximum Impact
A well-structured writing lesson helps students stay focused, build stamina, and make tangible progress—all while making the most of your teaching time.
💡 Try this approach:
- Start with a short, focused input (10 minutes max). Teach one clear writing skill, such as using dialogue effectively, building suspense, or adding sensory details. Keep it concise and interactive.
- Give students dedicated writing time. Set a clear expectation that this is uninterrupted, independent writing time where they apply the skill you’ve just taught. Timed 'quick writes' can help build fluency and stamina.
- Wrap up with purposeful reflection. Instead of rushing to the next lesson, finish with a short peer discussion or self-reflection. Students can swap work, share their favourite sentence, or identify where they applied the focus skill.
By keeping lessons structured and predictable, students gain confidence in their writing process, and you save time reteaching the same concepts.
8. Use a bank of go-to writing activities
Sometimes, students need a change of pace to stay engaged in writing. Having a collection of fun, go-to writing activities can keep lessons fresh.
💡 Try this:
- Quick writes: Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and give students an open-ended prompt to respond to.
- Writing stations: Rotate between different writing challenges—one station for descriptive writing, another for persuasive arguments, etc.
- Story dice or cards: Use visual prompts or word dice to generate new and unexpected story ideas.
- Reverse writing: Give students a completed piece of writing with mistakes and challenge them to improve it.
These activities make writing less intimidating and keep students engaged.
9. Teaching writing doesn’t have to be overwhelming
We know how hard teachers work. That’s why Pobble exists—to save you time, reduce planning stress, and make writing lessons more enjoyable.
With free daily prompts, ready-made writing lessons, and tools to support assessment and publishing, Pobble gives you everything you need to teach writing with ease.
✨ Try it for free today and take the stress out of writing lessons.
👉 Sign up and explore Pobble
Final thought: Reclaim your time and enjoy teaching writing again
Teaching writing doesn’t have to mean long evenings planning, marking, and reinventing resources. By using the right tools, you can:
✅ Engage your students with exciting prompts and lessons
✅ Save hours on planning and feedback
✅ Help students feel confident and excited about writing
Pobble makes writing easier—for you and your students.
📩 Join thousands of teachers worldwide and start using Pobble today.
👉 Get started for free
