It took about two years for most teachers, and students, to really embrace the concept. It was about that time that our end-of-year reading scores had a huge jump.
Our highly impacted Title I school made enormous growth just because students were better at thinking about what they read. When students have to stop and think about what spelling patterns to use when they write, they are making a deeper connection in their brains about sound and spelling patterns.
This deeper connection makes it easier, and faster, for students to recall those same patterns when they read. Written language is literally a secret code that someone made up to represent spoken sounds. The more students think about and practice the code in written form, the better they will be at understanding the same code in writing.
Fluent readers more deeply understand that code. Writing also improves reading comprehension as students get better at formatting their writing. When students write argumentative essays, they learn how authors often lay out their arguments and evidence. Having a framework in your mind helps you fill in the blanks and improves comprehension.
When students write narrative pieces, they develop an understanding of how authors typically lay out character development, setting, plot, problems, turning points, and resolutions. In a bit of irony, our school focused on writing informative and argumentative pieces—those are emphasized in the common core, right? Our students had very high scores when reading informational texts. However, students scored lower when reading literature.
Reading literature was a strength for most other schools. Writing in all genres is important. Writing is a critical communication skill. Universities and employers frequently complain that writing is an underdeveloped skill. Teaching students to be effective writers is important by itself. However, writing also provides big gains in reading comprehension and reading fluency. Mary K. Tedrow, an award-winning high school English teacher, now serves as the director of the Shenandoah Valley Writing Project.
Writing and reading are intricately intertwined. One is the inverse of the other: Reading is the inhale; writing is the exhale. They depend on each other, and when we find time to practice both, the students are the winners.
In the earliest readers, writing is a natural way to ingest and experiment with a growing knowledge of letters and their function in symbolizing the sounds we speak. Encouraging students to write, even before they know all the rules, builds a deeper understanding of how reading works. In kindergarten, the inventive spelling students employ to compose early writings allows children to represent on the page what they are hearing in the world.
But the interplay between writing and reading goes well beyond just learning to read. When students are asked to write for their own purposes, they intuitively understand the choices authors make as they create a work that moves a reader.
Teachers who have students writing authentically—that is, the way real writers write—can interrupt the process and teach craft lessons. Show students how to develop several good beginnings and ask them to choose the one which serves their purpose best.
Show how to incorporate the senses in description, how to move a plot forward through dialogue, how to manipulate sentences for punch and clarity. When we analyze the books, poetry, and essays we read, we are simply describing the choices an author made on their road to composing a piece.
When students are heavily involved in creating those pieces themselves, they will more easily see what authors are doing and understand the messiness required in producing effective communication.
Writing brings the author and his or her skill to life. Students who write are better, more observant, and appreciative readers in general. And students who read are better, more competent writers.
Be sure your students have the chance to breathe in and out throughout the day. Ouellette, G. Invented spelling in kindergarten as a predictor of reading and spelling in Grade 1: A new pathway to literacy, or just the same road, less known? Developmental Psychology, 53 1 , Mary Beth Nicklaus is a secondary-level teacher and literacy specialist for the Wisconsin Rapids public schools in Wisconsin:.
I have found it possible to lure secondary-level students into the reading world through working with their writing. I work with th grade struggling readers as a reading specialist and literacy coach. By the time they are referred to me, they have not been reading for years—which accounts for much of their struggle. When we teachers work through the power of written self-expression with and for these students, we can also tinker with content-specific academic vocabulary, text structure, and mechanics of writing.
We can also prime and build basic reading and comprehension skills. Even researchers have found that use of reading-response writing, explicitly teaching writing process, and engaging students in wide writing practice enhances basic reading skills and comprehension in K readers. Here are some strategies I have found to be successful working with secondary-level students based on the aforementioned three areas:.
I know the strategies I have elaborated upon work, because my students made enormous, lasting gains in their reading through focusing on writing. Also, the gains secondary-level students can make through focusing on feelings and opinions in their reading-response writing foster livelier conversations during classroom discussion. She was a classroom teacher in general education and inclusive settings before joining the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, where as the director of innovation, she shares her passion for accessibility, 21st-century learning, and social justice.
As an educator who works with teachers and students in grades 2 through 8, I find that I often look at the practices of primary-grade teachers and wish we upper-grade folks borrowed more heavily from them.
Whether it be a focus on individual development, an emphasis on play, or just an overarching focus on the whole child, there are pedagogical treasures we need to bring more to our big-kid classrooms. At present, the most pressing for me is the desire to use writing to support reading instruction more often.
Every kindergarten and 1st grade teacher I know asks students to write as soon as they enter the classroom. NCTE provides many resources that emphasize the reading and writing connection.
How reading can improve English language? If practiced correctly, reading books and novels suiting your level can accelerate vocabulary-building, improve grammar, and sharpen writing. Although reading doesn't directly impact your spoken English, it can to some extent improve it through better vocabulary, reading out loud, and a deeper knowledge base. What are the purpose of reading and writing?
Writing allows students to organize their thoughts and provides a means by which students can form and extend their thinking, thus deepening understanding. Like reading-to-learn, writing can be a meaning-making process.
What are the definitions of reading? Reading is defined as a cognitive process that involves decoding symbols to arrive at meaning. Reading is an active process of constructing meanings of words. Reading with a purpose helps the reader to direct information towards a goal and focuses their attention.
Reading is a thinking process. What is the meaning of reading comprehension? Reading comprehension is the ability to process text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with what the reader already knows. If word recognition is difficult, students use too much of their processing capacity to read individual words, which interferes with their ability to comprehend what is read. Can writing be taught? The bit about writing-can-be-learned-but-it-can't-be-taught, sir.
Writing can be learned but it can't be taught. And talent can't even be learned. It can be developed, but only if it's there. What is the importance of reading? Learning to read is about listening and understanding as well as working out what is printed on the page. Through hearing stories, children are exposed to a wide range of words. This helps them build their own vocabulary and improve their understanding when they listen, which is vital as they start to read. Your review has been submitted successfully.
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