The Reading-Writing Connection

The purpose of writing is for that piece of writing to be read, either by ourselves or by someone else.  We recognize the value of teaching reading and writing in conjunction because they complement each other so well.  

To promote a positive reading-writing environment we must provide students an opportunity to: 

• Write for important purposes
• What students write should be valued by the people in the classroom community
• Writing should function to communicate or to foster the writers' own learning, understanding or appreciation  

The Process Approach to Writing

The process approach is composed of steps students follow to create a final writing piece.  The steps include: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing.  

Informal Writing Forms 

This type of writing tends to occur when a student is writing for his or her own purposes.  

1. Writing to learn and understand

• Note taking
• Brainstorming and quickwriting
• Semantic mapping
• Venn diagram 
• Journals

     2. Writing to Communicate 

• Letters
• Biographies
• Reports 

    3. Imaginative Writing

• Stories
• Poems 

Teaching Reading in the 21st Century: Motivating All Learners. 5th ed. / Michael Graves…[et al.].