Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading

Cover of the pdf downloadby Steve Graham and Michael Hebert

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Identifies writing practices found to be effective in helping students increase their reading skills and comprehension. Recommendations include the following:

  1. Have Students Write About The Texts They Read. Comprehension of science, social studies, and language arts texts improves when students write about what they read, specifically when they:
    • Respond to a text in writing (Writing Personal Reactions, Analyzing and Interpreting the Text)
    • Write Summaries of a Text
    • Write Notes about a Text
    • Answer Questions about a Text in Writing
  2. Teach Students the Writing Skills and Processes that Go into Creating Text, specifically when teachers:
    • Teach the Process of Writing, Text Structures for Writing, Paragraph or Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Comprehension)
    • Teach Spelling & Sentence Construction Skills (Improves Reading Fluency)
    • Teach Spelling Skills (Improves Word Reading Skills)
  3. Increase How Much Students Write

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