I have a student that really digs in when it comes to independent writing. I see a lot of defiant behavior come out when it comes time to write, not because the student can't do it on his own, but because he would rather have someone do it for him to copy. He explained that he doesn't always know how to start a sentence and then by the time he gets a thought, he is too tired to write it on his own. We decided that we would come up with some ideas together. I would get his introduction sentence down with his ideas. From there, we agreed that he would write his detail sentences with a quick break in between so that he felt refreshed to get it done. It took a few practices like this with a little extra guidance in order for him to really become independent.
