Everyone has a story to tell. My goal as a writing teacher is to help my students tell their stories. The help each writer needs depends on where he is on the writing continuum. I have taught kindergarten to college so I have worked with writers in all six stages of writing.

1. Imitation (preschool to first grade)
2. Graphic Presentation (first and second grade)
3. Progressive Incorporation (late second to fourth grade)
4. Automatization (fourth to seventh grade)
5. Elaboration (seventh to ninth grade)
6. Personalization-Diversification (ninth grade and beyond)

Although the mastery of the mechanics of language varies greatly from stage to stage, one thing remains the same: writers want to share their stories.