In case you're interested in getting the article Maria Ceprano and I wrote that shows, here's the citation. It was really a fascinating study:
ERIC #: EJ577162 Title: Emerging Voices in a University Pen-Pal Project: Layers of Discovery in Action Research. Authors: Ceprano, Maria A.; Garan, Elaine M. Descriptors: Action Research; Childrens Writing; College School Cooperation; Grade 1; Higher Education; Language Arts; Letters (Correspondence); Methods Courses; Preservice Teacher Education; Primary Education; Reading Teachers; Scoring Rubrics; Writing Improvement; Writing Research Source: Reading Research and Instruction, v38 n1 p31-56 Fall 1998 Peer-Reviewed: N/A On Saturday, June 30, 2007, at 04:44 PM, elaine garan wrote: >> In a message dated 6/30/2007 1:46:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >> >> Totally different skills are involved in reading and writing, >> although they >> are related. >> >> >> Is this true? > > Research shows that eading and writing are very closely connected. One > is receptive (reading) and the other is expressive (writing). However, > there can be no reading without the expression of someone's writing and > most writing is read. But beyond that, writing reinforces all the > skills needed in reading. It requires students to use phonemic > awareness, phonics and come to a recognition of standard written > conventions. There is a lot of research that shows that reading and > writing reinforce and extend each other including the work of Tim > Shanahan and Susan Neuman to name but a few. > > Here's one quick example. If a teacher is doing a unit on or kids are > reading a particular author, they internalize the style of that author > and it's reflected in their writing. Kids who have been taught to read > using basals will often expressive themselves in "basalese" i.e. " I > see the dog. I see the cat. The dog can run. The cat can run. I have a > lot of examples gathered over the years that show this relationship. In > fact, by looking at a kid's writing, you can often tell what they've > been reading. > > > On the other hand, kids who have read or who have had stories read to > them will put on the style of that author. I can remember laughing at > the writing of kids after a Robert Munsch unit in Ardie Cole's > classroom. Her first graders wrote like little Munsches. This happens > to adults too. I often find my thinking (my internal dialogue) shifting > to the style of an author I've just read-- so there's a kind of oral > language connection too! There's a lot more to it than that, but > reading and writing skills so dovetail with each other that more > closely reading and writing are integrated, the stronger the literacy > development in the student. > > Maria Ceprano and I did a really interesting research project using our > university students and first graders with whom they were penpals. We > analyzed the writing and we found we could document and trace back the > style of the university students' letters to the style of letters the > kids wrote. If a university student wrote a series of short sentences > and questions, in their letters, that's what their penpal did. If, on > the other hand the university student chatted about her life and asked > open ended questions. the first grader responded in kind. In other > words, they internalized the style of writing they were reading and > then translated that reading skill into their writing. We made several > tables that showed the connections as well as the growth in > conventional spelling over time. > > Steve Krashen maintains that best way to help kids in spelling and > grammar skills is not by direct instruction, but through lots of > reading because they internalize the patterns and the conventions of > language. I myself, have a pretty good grasp of grammar and correct > written conventions but often I don't really know why something is > wrong. I just know that it is. There's a built in internal compass that > got there through lots of reading. > > Usually, reading is slightly in advance of writing just as > understanding of spoken language usually develops in advance of the > ability to construct spoken language. This is true of second language > learners too. The receptive is easier to master than the expressive but > both are necessary and should be integrated rather than > compartmentalized. There is a ton of research that supports that > symbiotic relationship between reading and writing. > > On Saturday, June 30, 2007, at 02:48 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> >> >> >> Nancy Creech >> >> >> >> ************************************** See what's free at >> http://www.aol.com. >> _______________________________________________ >> Mosaic mailing list >> [email protected] >> To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to >> http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ >> mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. >> >> Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Mosaic mailing list > [email protected] > To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to > http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/ > mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. > > Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. > _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. 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