Using Reading Strategies to Improve Writing: Reciprocity in Literacy Practices Presented By Traci Hewitt, 2 nd Grade Teacher at Mayo Elementary Dawn Mitchell, SWP Partnership Coordinator

How Do You Structure Your Reading Block? Comprehension Strategies / Skills – “Connections, Questioning, etc.” Critical Thinking and Analysis – text-structured / reader response / Early Reading Strategies – students to – how to read - what good readers do Content Area units – teaching content reading strategies – reading to learn State Standards – main idea, cause and effect – addressing reading skills Balanced Literacy Approach – guided reading, independent application, Thematic Units – literature is chosen around a central theme that helps you discover more about yourself as you are learning about the world around you. Common Core Approach – integrated reading, writing, researching 11/17/2015copyright

11/17/2015copyright Why Use Reading Strategies to Teach Writing? Rationale: *A body of educational research discusses the reciprocity of reading and writing, advocating that as teachers we use reading and writing together to help improve students’ literacy.

Why Use Reading Strategies to Teach Writing? *Ray’s Study Driven is a perfect example in how she uses the framework for inquiry and immersion to help students “read what it is they are trying to write.” 11/17/2015copyright

11/17/2015copyright Using Ray’s Framework for Inquiry and Immersion Gathering Texts Setting the Stage Immersion Close Study Writing Under the Influence *See Immersion and Inquiry Framework Chart in Handout

Using Reading Strategies to Improve Writing *In Traci’s classroom, we teach students how to use proficient reading strategies like making connections, creating visualizations, etc. when they are reading and then to apply that same craft to their writing. Our workshop today is an example of one of these reciprocal strategies, focusing on visualization in reading and in writing. 11/17/2015copyright

Gathering Texts for Study Text Set for Visualization Owl Moon by Jane Yolen When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant The Relatives Came – Cynthia Rylant Scarecrow – by Cynthia Rylant Saturdays and Teacakes by Lester Laminack Junie B. Jones – chapter excerpts (My kids are crazy about all of them and this helps us to make connections to our reading and writing from our daily read aloud Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher Twilight Comes Twice by Ralph Fletcher Sky Tree by Thomas Locker – (all books by Thomas Locker – great integration with science) Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White – specifically chapter 3 11/17/2015copyright

Setting the Stage Setting the Stage – Students know that they are going to use what they learn from their reading of Owl Moon as a writer when they apply what they learned about the craft of visualization in their own books. 11/17/2015copyright

Close Study with Owl Moon * Traci - When I use this text in the classroom, I take a piece of long drawing paper and I fold it into fourths. I divide the book into four parts to read each day. Each day I read a section of Yolen’s text without showing them the pictures and I ask the students to draw what they think the illustrations will look like. I tell them to listen to important details in the text, to listen for the author’s description and her use of imagery that will help them visualize the text. 11/17/2015copyright

Close Study with Owl Moon At the end of the four days, I give each student back their pictures. We re-read Owl Moon and I show them the pictures and we compare their pictures to the ones in the book. This helps students to self- assess their visualization process. ** This confirms for students how important it is to visualize as a reader and how important it is as a writer to use imagery and specific details so that your reader can visualize! 11/17/2015copyright

Try It Out Time **Let’s engage in a parallel experience with this text, so that you can try out these strategies for yourself as a reader. I’ve chosen Day 2 for us to try out. 11/17/2015copyright

Writing Under the Influence Reciprocity Lesson with Writing: *After students have understood the importance of visualization as a reader, we then can have them try out writing with the reader in mind. If they understand as a reader that you need specific details and imagery to visualize and create a picture in your mind, then they can understand as a writer that they need to write with descriptions and specific details so their reader will be able to visualize and connect. 11/17/2015copyright

Writing Under the Influence Reciprocity Lesson with Writing So when students are writing during writing workshop during this unit and all subsequent units, we remind them of the importance of adding details for their reader. *This also helps tremendously with students not just identifying the author’s purpose but also being able to apply it as an author themselves. 11/17/2015copyright

Try It Out Time *Let’s engage in a parallel experience with this strategy as a writer so you can try out these strategies for yourself. Think back to a piece your students have written this year and consider how you they could add details to help their readers visualize the text. *See Rachel’s piece as an example. 11/17/2015copyright

Think About It: *What other reading strategies do you use that are reciprocal processes in writing? We’ve thought about how we could connect the reading processes of questioning, making connections, inferring, etc. with students as they are writing. 11/17/2015copyright

11/17/2015copyright Resources Envisioning Units of Study Wiki Site Ray, Katie Wood Study Driven: A Framework For Planning Units of Study in the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.