Reading and writing are central to learning, both academically and for life. However, the relationship between the skills and understandings required for reading and writing is often a difficult one to grasp. In this article, we will explore how these processes are connected and why it is important for teachers to consider them in the classroom.
Reading Processes and Writing Journal Articles
The process of reading is an essential part of any writing activity. It involves the ability to analyze and retell text in ways that engage readers, enhance their understanding, and provide opportunities for critical thinking.
Many of the processes involved in reading, such as segmenting and blending words, are also key processes in writing. Developing these skills, and the related knowledge of word and sentence structure, is a vital part of writing instruction (see Kim & Graham, 2018).
Students must have both general and specific background knowledge in order to read well. This knowledge includes world knowledge, which is acquired through a student’s experiences in the home and school environments; and literary knowledge, which is what they need to read a particular text.
Some researchers believe that learning to read is an indirect and recursive process, in which students are exposed to different texts over time and gain knowledge of the characteristics of text, including its purpose within contexts (Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000). In addition, some studies suggest that reading helps students develop the skills they need to write effectively as well.
While it is possible to learn reading without writing, students need to practice these skills in order to become skilled readers (Kim & Graham, 2018; Fitzgerald & Shanahan, 2000).
It is important to teach reading and writing at the same time. The two skills have a strong antecedent in language development, and they interact as children develop these skills (Kim & Graham, 2018; Treiman, 1993).
As reading skills are developed, children move into strategic reading. These are the kinds of skills that help them decode words and read texts with a clear purpose in mind, such as identifying the main idea and support for that main idea.
These types of strategies are important in all disciplines, and they are particularly helpful for students who need to write essays or research papers.
Writing and Reading Journal Articles
In the past, some researchers have argued that there is a direct connection between reading and writing, as they are both recursive in nature (Birnbaum, 1982; Beaugrande, de 1980). Some of these arguments have been successful, but more recent studies suggest that it is not so simple.
Rather, the reading and writing connections are more complex and dynamic. They are influenced by a number of factors, including the developmental phase and grain size of the skill (see Berninger & Winn 2006; Perfetti & Stafura, 2014; Kim et al., 2015a).
While there are certainly connections between reading and writing, their relations vary greatly from grade to grade. These differences are based on whether the components of these skills are lexical or discourse-level (Adams 1990; Kim & Graham, 2018; Fitzgerald & Shnahan, 2000).
