writing to read

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Writing to Read

Developed and Produced by Rae Ross and Dee Shell

ResearchWriting practices complement reading practices and should be used in conjunction with the other, with each type of practice supporting and strengthening the other (Graham, S., & Hebert, M., 2010).

It is believed reading and writing instruction is more effective when they are designed to work together to achieve common goals and reinforce the reciprocal acquisition of central literacy knowledge, skills, and strategies (Kiuhara, S., Graham, S., and Hawken, L., 2009).

According to recommendations from the major English/Language Arts professional organizations, reading instruction is most effective when intertwined with writing instruction and vice versa (Brummitt-Yale, J., 2012).

ResearchResearch has found when children read extensively they become better writers. Reading a variety of genres helps children learn text structures and language that they can then transfer to their own writing (Brummitt-Yale, J., 2012). At the same time, practice in writing helps children build literacy skills. This is especially true for younger children who are working to develop phonemic awareness and phonics skills (Brummitt-Yale, J., 2012).

Students benefit most when they understand how reading and writing are connected. A synthesis of the findings indicated that better writers tended to be better readers and read more than poorer writers; additionally, better readers produced more syntactically mature writing than poorer readers (National Writing Project, 2011).

Research

When teachers recognize the correlation between reading and writing, they will better understand the importance to teach not only reading skills and strategies, but also writing skills and strategies. When students think about written information from the perspectives of both the reader and the writer, they interact with it differently. This dual process provides greater comprehension and allows for deeper reflection of the text (National Reading Technical Assistance Center, 2011).

THINK about…...

How does writing improve reading?

How do you foster reading through writing?” Re

ading

Writing

Recommendations for Using Writing to Improve Reading Have Students Write About the Text They

ReadHave Students Respond to a Text

o Write a personal response to narrative material read or write about a personal experience related to it

o Write an analysis of the characters in a novel

o Write a paper showing how to apply material that was read

o Compose a letter to another student explaining how to play a game described in a text

o Compose a letter to another student explaining how to play a game described in a text

o Analyze a text in writing to develop a particular point of view

o Extended Writing Examples:• Guided journal writing• Analytic essay

Have Students Write About the Text They Read:

Have Students Write Summaries of a Texto Write a synopsis with little to no guidance

(e.g., writing a one-sentence summary)

o Write a summary of text using a set of rules or steps

o Develop a written outline of text and convert it to a summary

o Locate the main idea in each paragraph and summarize it

o Create a written/graphic organizer of

important information and convert it to a summary

Have Students Write Notes About a Text

Have Students Answer Questions About a Text in Writing, or Create and Answer Written Questions About a Text

Teach Students the Writing Skills and Processes That Go Into Creating a Text

o Teach the Process of Writing, Text Structures for Writing, Paragraph or Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Comprehension)

o Teach Spelling and Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Fluency)

o Teach Spelling Skills (Improves Word Reading Skills)

Increase How Much Students Write

o Pen-Palling

o Daily Writing About Self Selected Topics

o Collaboratively Writing With Peers

o Dialogue Journal

o Short Passages Using Inference Words

Technology as a Tool for Writing and Reading o Pixton - Has an educational portal (paid) that is ideal

for schools (no student email account necessary). Also, there are a ton of options such as voice recording, drag-n-drop interface, and importing/exporting features.

o ToonDoo Spaces - One of the most popular online comic creators that is very similar to Pixton, with the ability to create a private space for education for sharing/collaborating on comics.

o Comic Master - A very nice-looking site that is user friendly with lots of features to choose from such as: backgrounds, objects, speech bubbles, etc.

o Bitstrips - A great site with an educational instance (paid) that allows students to create comics in a safe/secure environment.

o Stage'D - A great-looking site for creating animated comics!

o Make Beliefs Comix - A wonderful site with lots of options to choose from -- it even lets users create comics in Spanish.

o Super Hero Squad Show - A fun site for kids to make comics off of their favorite Marvel super hero.

o Chogger - A nice site for creating a comic, with the ability to create a drawing from scratch.

o Comic Creator - From Read Write & Type, a easy/simple to use comic creator that is nice to use with the younger kids.

o Witty Comics - A comic creation site that focuses more on creating text more then anything else.

Technology as a Tool for Writing and Reading

ResourcesBrummitt-Yale, J (2012). The relationship between reading and writing. Retrieved from http://www.k12reader.com/the-relationship-between-reading-and-writing/  Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to Read. Carnegie Corporation. Retrieved from https://nsuok.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-36634-dt-content-rid-123801_1/courses/2014-32117/WritingToRead.pdf

Kiuhara, S., Graham, S., and Hawken, L. (2009). Teaching writing to high school students: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 136–160.

National Reading Technical Assistance Center. (2011). Improving reading comprehension through writing. Professional Development Event, San Diego, CA.

National writing project (2011). The connection between reading and writing. Retrieved from http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/curriculum/k-6-writing-framework.pdf