The Reading and Writing
Connection
Understanding and using the literacy
connection between reading and
writing
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
1
Want to teach a child to read?
Give him a pencil.
Want to teach a child to
write? Give him a book.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
2
• Children appear to be more likely to derive learning benefits
across reading and writing when they understand that a
connection exists.
• Reading is the receptive side of knowledge, while writing is
the productive side. Thus, reading and writing are reciprocal
processes.
• Writing skill is a predictor of academic success along with
reading comprehension.
Reading Research in Action, 2008
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
3
Strategies for integrating reading and writing
across the curriculum
• “Effective teachers will recognize where their
students are in reading and writing
development and will tailor instruction
accordingly.”
• ~Louisa C. Moats
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
4
Reading + Writing = Literacy
• Each skill contributes to the other.
• Both skills enhance engagement and reasoning.
• Reading and writing involve using knowledge of
language structure, including word structure, and
text structure (syntax and style).
~Reading Research in Action, 2008.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
5
Traits of proficient readers
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Make connections
Self-question
Visualize
Determine importance
Make inference
Synthesize
Monitor comprehension
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
6
How do the reading traits translate to
writing?
1. Make connections
1. Connects to topic/thesis
2. Writing
process/organization
drafts
3. Creates a picture/plan
2. Self-question
3. Visualize
4. Determine importance
3. Must determine the
evidence/supporting
details
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
7
How do the reading traits translate to
writing?
5. Make inference
5. Audience, readers’ concerns,
counter-arguments
6. Synthesize
6. Research/include/create
7. Monitor comprehension
7. Diction, syntax, cohesiveness
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
8
Pillars of Reading
Early Literacy
• Phonics
• Phonemic Awareness
• Comprehension
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
Adolescent Literacy
• Vocabulary
• Advanced Word Study
• Comprehension
• Fluency
• Motivation
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
9
What does the research say?
• Reading and writing are interdependent processes that are
essential to each other and mutually beneficial.
• Reading and writing should occur naturally to construct
meaning in everyday situations.
• Reading and writing are clearly related, and each has been
shown to benefit from instruction addressing the other.
~McCardle, Chhabra, & Kapinus in Reading Research
in Action, 2008
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
10
The Integration of Language Arts
Instruction
• Reading and writing can be described as parallel
processes.
• There is a connection between what readers do and
what writers do.
• Writers want to give information and readers want to
seek information---metaphorically, readers and
writers meet at the text.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
11
It makes sense to teach the two together.
• You will note that many of the terms and
concepts found in the reading standards are also
included in the writing standards.
• Writing is closely related to reading, and the two
can reinforce each other, with writing both
enhancing and demonstrating reading
comprehension in all content areas.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
12
Let’s Write: How do we feel?
• Receive a copy of “Fish
Cheeks” by Amy Tan.
• Listen closely as it is
read.
• Receive an emotion
chart.
• Fill out the chart
 Guided imagery activity:
1. Close eyes and
visualize as the
presenter asks
questions.
2. Open your eyes and
now write for 15
minutes.
3. Now share with a
person next to you.
4. Now share with the
group.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
13
Studying Good Content Specific
Writing
• Analyze a story’s Hooks and Tails (beginnings
and endings) to call attention to a variety of
effective techniques used by professional
writers (see handouts).
• Study the author’s craft by looking at how
they formulate their BODY of information or
argument, too.
• Ask students to identify TAP for everything
they read.
• Ask students to identify organizational
pattern.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
14
Getting a Second Wind
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One day five years ago, bubbly, gorgeous soccer goalie Korinne Shroyer came home
from eighth grade, found her father’s revolver in his closet and fired a bullet into her
skull.
This is about the lives she saved doing it.
********************************************************************
*********************
Kevin and Kristie aren’t whole yet, but they’re getting on with their lives. Geiger,
meanwhile is relishing his. He met a woman, Christina, married her, and they
named their first baby after Korinne-Ava Corinne. Sometimes he stares at her, awed.
“I know that without Korinne, I’m not here today and neither is Ava Corinne.”
Sometimes life just takes your breath away, doesn’t it?
•
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
15
Other great hooks and tails
• Neat People vs. Sloppy People by Suzanne Britt
• Champion of the World by Maya Angelou
• Silent Dancing by Judith Ortiz Cofer
• The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
• Suspended Animation by Alex Stone
How could you use this activity in your classroom?
What are some other readings you might use to
demonstrate the power of the opening and closing?
How can you encourage students to examine hooks and
tails in their favorite readings
How do you expand into writing hooks and tails?
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
16
Share a great book that you have read!
• Read your favorite book’s “hook” to the class.
• Explain what made you want to read the
book.
• Then read the tail.
• Explain what you thought about the tail.
Were you disappointed or pleased?
• Be sure to have each student present in the
same way that you did.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
17
How do we help our students develop and
use these habits ?
• Model it!
Teachers need to practice Read Aloud
Think Aloud (RATA) in class.
This involves reading aloud a small portion of text and
modeling (or thinking out loud) the strategies that
you use to comprehend text.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
18
• Read It
Think It
Think It
• Write
It
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
• Talk It
Know It
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Addressing the Standards through the
Reading and Writing Connection
• To teach narrative writing, read and discuss several
narrative pieces with students before they write.
• To teach persuasive writing, read and discuss several
persuasive pieces with students before they write.
• To teach technical writing, read and discuss several
technical pieces with students before they write.
• To teach expository writing, read and discuss several
informational pieces with students before they write.
THIS WILL HELP THEM EXPLORE THE COMPONENTS OF
THE DIFFERENT GENRES.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
20
Activity: Teaching Voice through
Reading Selections
• Read the two 7th grade YGA winners’
selections.
• Talk about the voice of each piece.
• How can you use these pieces to teach
students how to create a voice in a writing?
• What are some of the GPS terms you can use
when using these writings to teach students
how to write a certain style?
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
21
Organizational Structures
(Also, see hand out on Modes of Discourse)
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Explanation
Description
Sequence or Logical Order
Cause and Effect
Classification Schemes
Comparison and Contrast
Problem and Solution
Question and Answer
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
22
Pre-Reading: Anticipation Guide
• The anticipation guide is designed to access prior knowledge about a topic
before reading the text.
• Students respond to several statements that support or challenge their
preconceived ideas about a topic.
• Teacher identifies the major ideas of a text and then anticipates student
ideas that would be supported or challenged by the text
• Five to six statements addressing the major ideas make up the anticipation
guide (even those that might contradict student beliefs).
• Prior to reading, students discuss whether they agree or disagree with the
statements, justifying their answers.
• As they read, they focus on information that confirms, elaborates, or
rejects each of the statements.
• After they read, they revisit the statements and evaluate their
understanding of the ideas discussed in the text, correcting any
misconceptions they originally had
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
23
Anticipation Guide: Forest Fires
Example from Literacy Across the Curriculum: Setting and
Implementing Goals for Grades Six through 12 by SREB
Directions: Each of the following statements concerns forest fires in national
parks and forests. Take a few moments and think about each statement. Put a
check next to each statement with which you tend to agree. Be prepared to
support your decisions with arguments or information with which you are
familiar.
__1. Forest fires that burn thousands of acres are among our worst natural disasters.
__ 2. Forest fires prove extremely harmful to wildlife, plants, and people.
__ 3. Forest fires have destroyed much of the natural beauty of national treasures like
Yellowstone National Park.
__ 4. Forests need fires to be healthy.
__ 5. Government policies that allow naturally-occurring fires to burn uncontested in
national parks need to be changed.
__ 6. Natural disasters, such as forest fires, are beneficial in many respects.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
24
Strategies for Content Texts
Pre-Reading:
• Provide a variety of textual resources
(magazines, newspapers, nonfiction books,
nonfiction picture books for children,
textbooks, electronic media).
• These texts can provide pictures and images,
narrative writing or personal points of view,
engaging writing techniques, and connections
to real-life.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
25
Three Types of Writing for Every
Classroom
• Writing-to-Learn
• Writing to Demonstrate Learning
• Authentic Writing
Source: Dick, Elizabeth. “Weekly Writing.” Literacy Across the Curriculum: Setting and Implementing Goals for Grades Six through
12. Guide #12. Atlanta: Southern Regional Education Boards (SREB), 77-99.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
26
Writing to Learn: Connected to
Reading
• Journals—Journal of the Plague Year
• Learning logs—Night (Pair with a history book’s account of the
Holocaust)
• Writer’s Notebooks—(Collection of short fiction and nonfiction
selections)
• Exit and Entry(Admit) Slips—(Connect to the LOTS—both reading
and writing--- symbols, themes, diction, syntax, etc.)
• Study guides—Jane Austen selection (How does each female
character reflect the historical period? Be sure to include historical
research as evidence.)
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
27
Writing to Demonstrate Learning:
Connected to Reading
• Paragraphs—Excerpt from a Katherine Anne Porter selection to
emulate style.
• Essays—The Ways We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson
• Essays and open-response questions—Any great reading selection
• Research assignments—Their Eyes Were Watching God –Why did
Zora Neale Hurston use so many examples of folklore? Things Fall
Apart—How accurate is Achebe in his depiction of the Ibo people?
• On-demand writing(timed writing)—Use nonfiction as much as
possible here (SAT writing, ACT writing, etc. will often deal with
such topics)
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
28
Authentic (Real World) Writing
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Articles—Use the biographical sections about authors here, or use the
author’s own voice by finding articles where the authors talk about their own
writing—example: Hemingway’s comments on The Old Man and the Sea
Editorials—Pull newspaper editorials; read those for persuasive techniques
and then have students write their own.
Speeches—Read “Ain’t I a Woman” by Truth or any President’s inaugural
address
Letters—A Letter to My Husband by Adams
Proposals—Swift’s A Modest Proposal; Pull a business proposal from any
business website—explain the components of a proposal.
Reviews—Movie and literary reviews (read and critique before they write their
own)
Business plan—Again pull examples from MIT or a business website
How to manuals—Pull examples from the CTAE department at your school
Memorandums—Critical: Pull examples from websites
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
29
Create your own READING/WRITING
CONNECTION list
• Handout: Take each writing type and create a
list based on the literature you are going to
study this year.
• Be ready to share with the group.
• Discussion
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
30
Let’s Practice What We Preach!
 Read the poem “Where I am From?” –George Ella Lyon
 Complete the brainstorming web (analyzing the stanzas)
 Read the story “Thank you, M’am”—Langston Hughes or
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
 Discuss how the two pieces are similar in theme.
 Create an emulation piece: Emulate Lyon, Hughes, Walker—
You have 20 minutes.
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
31
Informational Writing Lesson
“Hot Topics”
Lesson integrates social studies and writing
Lesson promotes engagement
Lesson is written using 5th grade standards
and elements but can easily be adapted to fit
any middle school or high school curriculum
Complementary standards for listening,
speaking, and viewing could be added
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement."--Kathy Cox
32
Write, Write, Write!
Mary Stout, ELA Program Manager
mstout@doe.k12.ga.us
Kim Jeffcoat, ELA Program Specialist
kjeffcoat@doe.k12.ga.us
Malaika Jartu-White, ELA Teacher on Special Assignment
malaika.jartu-white@doe.k12.ga.us
"We will lead the nation in improving
student achievement." Kathy Cox
33