Integrating reading and writing to improve student achievement

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Reading and Writing Research supports the idea that reading and writing have the greatest impact on student achievement when they are integrated. While some individuals in the school setting hold different positions and some may not be in a classroom, they can strengthen the literacy program at the school. Fisher, Frey & Williams (2002) state that a school-wide commitment to integrating reading and writing strategies has been found effective in promoting student achievement in different content areas. Integrating reading and writing has a positive impact on student achievement since it provides a framework through which student enhance their reading and writing skills simultaneously. In this regard, students learn both sets of competencies, which are essential in their achievements in learning. Reading provides a framework for understanding the learning material while writing helps to demonstrate students’ comprehension of the reading or learning materials. As a teacher, I would influence the reading-writing program at my school promoting the development of a learning environment in which teaching incorporates both reading and writing skillsets. This process would involve developing teaching strategies that enable students to develop competencies in both reading and writing. I will identify and/or develop learning activities, exercises, and tasks that enable students to read and write at the same time. Moreover, I will collaborate with my colleagues and the school administration to ensure that school’s instructional strategies and techniques focus on integrating reading and writing skills. Through this collaboration, instructional strategies will be developed in a manner through which students engage in extensive reading and complete reading-related writing activities/tasks in the classroom. Collaboration with other teachers and relevant stakeholders in the school is crucial towards promoting the success of integrating reading and writing skills in the classroom. One of the strategies I would employ to strengthen the reading-writing connection is “teach the author-reader relationship.” Pennington (2009) identifies this strategy as one of the tips or techniques that teachers can use to teach the reading-writing connection in the classroom. This strategy is essential toward strengthening the reading-writing connection since reading and writing entail interactive relationships between the author and reader. When implementing this strategy, students will be required to read learning materials. During the process of reading, students will be required to pretend or assume that the author is speaking directly to them, though this is not usually the case. Upon completion of the reading, students will be required to reflect on what they have learned and create responses to what they have read. This process will enable them to carry out an internal conversation with the author as well as their anticipated readers and write responses based on their understanding of the learning materials. Since reading and writing are essential skillsets for improved student achievement, writing is regarded as an integral part of a comprehensive literacy program at my school. The significance of writing in a comprehensive literacy program is linked to its role in enabling students create content based on what they have read. Writing provides a framework with which students demonstrate their comprehension of the learning content and materials in light of what has been taught in the classroom. Additionally, writing is an integral part of my school’s comprehensive literacy program since it provides a framework for reviewing students’ exposure to learning content, instruction, and practice. Through writing students move from support to independence in the learning process, which is essential towards promoting student literacy and achievement in the classroom. During this process, students become active participants in the learning process as they explore different topics and issues covered in the classroom. Therefore, without writing, students are unable to demonstrate their literacy skills. References Fisher, D., Frey, N. & Williams, D. (2002, November). Seven Literacy Strategies that Work. Educational Leadership, 60(3), 70-73. Pennington, M. (2009, July 15). Twelve Tips to Teach the Reading-Writing Connection. Retrieved June 6, 2017, from http://blog.penningtonpublishing.com/reading/twelve-tips-to-teach-the-reading-writing-connection/