Writing is always the subject at the top of my list of things to improve on.  Teaching writing is tricky to little people.  Another area that I struggle with is remembering to keep track of writing samples through the year.  Honest to Pete! I think I have finally hit on a system that works for me and just might work for you too.  WEEKEND WRITING!!  The kiddos love to talk about their weekend activities so it is a high interest topic.   I have the students write about their weekends every Monday morning.  It is the perfect way to start a sleepy Monday.  The kids write down 3 things they did over the weekend on their graphic organizer.  At the beginning of second grade I have them choose 1 thing to write about.  This prevents them from making a list of everything they did over the weekend and develop details that support a topic sentence.   I usually print mine for the whole year and bind them with the combing machine.  I always have them on hand for mini-lessons, work samples, conferences and data.  Boom!