The demands of the program are such that you need to maximize every minute of your teaching.

I have been asked frequently how I am able to fit in Independent Work Time, Writer’s Workshop, all of OCR, and other curricular areas. I think the answer is moving quickly through the program components. You cannot do this early in the year but by Christmas blending doesn’t take forty minutes any more, we can do it in fifteen. All the things that used to take forever go much quicker.

Inner City Teacher has posted an excellent article on getting started in the morning. This is a vital element of pacing success.