Joy I am not as well read as you are in the realm of writing. I haven't read much of Katie Wood Ray and even less of Aimee Buckner. I don't really know what the formal research is...but to me the reading/writing connection is imbedded deeply within the constructivist philosophy of education. If you believe that reading is an interaction between the reader and the writer...where meaning comes from both the author and the reader...where meaning is built---constructed by the reader and will vary depending upon the background knowledge of the reader rather than a single meaning (Remember those English classes where we tried to guess what the author intended??? Where there was one right interpretation--the one that our teacher made?) that is uncovered or discovered, then the reading/writing connection is natural. You want research??? Hmmm...I think I may need to warm up my computer's search engine. You've got me curious. Jennifer In a message dated 7/5/2008 11:44:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Jennifer, What an interesting idea, that we compose as we read. I've never thought of it exactly like that, but it makes sense. Funny you should mention teaching a course on this. There was an on line course in the Reading Writing Connection through Learn NC, but I was afraid that it would interfere with my work for the Writing Project which launches in earnest this Tuesday. What I'm interested in learning about is the research that backs up Ellin, and other giants in literacy education whose opinions we cherish. I can't think of a single respected writer of professional texts for teachers who wouldn't agree that there is a connection (or a teacher, for that matter). I'm also interested in learning how others have applied this in their class. Are you as explicit as Katie Wood Ray and her friends in Study Driven? She suggests inquiry as a part of writing, is this something that you employ in your classrooms? I'm dwelling in these ideas, contemplating having my students read Ralph Fletcher's How to Write Your Life Story, because of his repeated suggestions that you should read for ideas to influence your style when writing. I'm thinking of someone else (Aimee Buckner maybe?) who suggested "trying on" another writer's style. Copying their sentence structure but putting in your own details. This implies reading, again. So if we have this strong connection between reading and writing, how can we more closely align our instruction in both realms to add rigor and deeper thinking? Joy/NC/4 **************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007) _______________________________________________ Understand mailing list [email protected] http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/listinfo/understand_literacyworkshop.org
