Creating The Link Between Reading and Writing

Keith Pruitt, Ed.SWords of Wisdom

Educational Consulting

Brain Gym

•Make as many words as possible in one minute from the following word.

•Information

What is needed for student success with

writing?

Turn and Talk

1.Clear instructional pathway– writing involves process.

2.Words- Students often write at low levels because it reflects the level of their vocabulary.

3.Practice- No writer ever finds success without writing a lot!

4.Tools- Things such as graphic organizers.

5.Expectations- Mentor text

The Critical Connection

Reading and writing are mutually supportive processes; therefore, gaining insight in reading deepens insight into writing and vice versa. For example, when a reader develops an understanding of a structure, an organizing principle, a reading strategy, or insights into the elements of story, she also gains a window into understanding how to assemble texts as a writer. --Writers are Readers, Laminack and Wadsworth, vii Heinemann (2015)

Characterization

Description

Personality

ActionsChanges

Jesse Oliver Aarons, Jr. Bridge to Terabithia

So then I start asking some questions: What are my initial thoughts about Jesse? What word or words would I use to describe his character?

As I continue to read, does my thinking about him change? What does the author say to let me know that Jesse is changing from how we saw him in the first of the book?

After I have read a couple of chapters, contrast what you initially thought about Jesse and what you think of him now. Do this every couple of chapters.

What this will teach students is how characterization is developed in stories. Now I can have them develop a character. Use a picture to start the conversation.

Pyramid of Development

• Ask students to talk about this picture for two minutes.• What questions might they ask about the

picture?• Have them select one person in the

picture and begin writing about the person using our pyramid of development.• Each month during the school year, have

the students develop the character further.

“Float the learning on a sea of talk.”

---James Britton, Language and Learning (1970)

Children Want to Write, Donald Graves, Chapter 6 What the Story is About

Turn and Tell a friend about one observation from this video that speaks to the

essential nature of linking reading and writing.

Teaching for Understanding

• What kind of parent is the person in this poem?

• What do you view this poem being about?

• What alternative understanding is possible of the poem?

• How does this inform ones writing?

Lucy Calkins, Units of Study in Reading, presentation Portsmouth, NH, 2015

Frog and Toad are Friends, Arnold Lobel, HarperCollinsPublishers

p.15: Pause after reading to study the illustration and share thinking. Think aloud before prompting students

to turn and talk.“I notice the character is _______. I wonder why? Turn

and tell your partner what ideas you’re having now. Remember to use our “Talk chart” to say “I think _________ because _________” to explain your

thinking.

Lucy Calkins, Units of Study for Reading, Unit 1, Gr.1. (Heinemann)

How does this inform our writing?

An author must include insights about the actions of the characters to allow the reader to understand not only the character but also the character’s actions.

What is the action that is in keeping with character?

How is that action going to be viewed by other characters?

Will something happen to cause the character to change his actions?

Will the character’s actions cause conflict?

Working with Informational Text

How to use Mentor

Text

The Importance of Mentor Text

1. Serves as a starting gate for writing.

2. Mirrors the expectation for the writing to be done.

3. Serves as a point for mini-lessons, ie. Using adjectives effectively

4. Gives students guidance for different genres and text types.

Persuasive Essay

What Is?

Benchmark Education, Genre Readers & Writers Workshop

Questions to Ask1. What is a persuasive essay?2. What is the purpose of a

persuasive essay?3. Who is the audience for a

persuasive essay?4. How do you read a persuasive

essay?

“Every week that students are not in school, they are forgetting some of the facts, strategies, and skills they learned.”Student 1

“Summer vacation is a learning experience, too!”Student 2

Thus, approaches that are initially socially mediated are eventually internalized, and become part of the repertoire of the individual.

--Langer and Appleby, Reading and Writing Instruction (1986)

Review of Research in Education

Thank YouKeith Pruitt

Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting

www.woweducationalconsulting.com