Breathe In – Breathe Out
“Reading is like breathing in. Writing is like breathing out.” – Pam Allyn
From the desk of Leigh Ann . . .
“If you can say it, you can write it. If you can write it, you can read it.” I don’t know who first uttered those words, but they have become a mantra in our classroom. As we evolve into literate beings, we use this trilogy of speaking, writing, and reading to grow as communicators. Words, words, beautiful words – give us the power to take in information and to share it with others. Building literacy is like breathing in and breathing out, and we want it to become just that natural for the students we teach.
Over 100 years ago, educational psychologist Edmund Huey examined the connection between writing and reading. Fast forward through the decades, and we discover numerous research findings from educational leaders that stress the importance of integrating reading and writing. Various writing experiences allow learners the opportunity to test their understanding of letters, sounds, and words – these are the same skills we strive to build in our emergent readers. Reading builds writers and writing build readers, so activities that bring the two together build literacy.
Here is a quick activity that blends writing, reading, and speaking – Write it, Read it, Pass It On
- Partner students.
- Partner A writes one sentence for partner B.
- Partner A reads the note to partner B.
- Partner B then writes one sentence back to partner A.
- Partner B reads the note to partner A.
Here are rules (or the “musts“):
- You must be able to write and read your sentence.
- You must use your best “sound spelling.” You may use any tools in the classroom to help you write your sentence. You may also GUM it if you get stuck on a tricky word. (Guess – Underline – Move on)
- You must read your sentence to your partner. (Practice until you are ready.)
Tweak the activity to meet specific goals:
- Write and share responses to a class’ read-aloud.
- Choose a topic: What do you know about clouds? Write and share 1 fact with your partner.
- Choose a character from a read aloud. Each partner writes one descriptive sentence about the character and shares.
- Make predictions. What do you think will happen next? Each partner answers, writes, and reads.
For older students you might:
- Choose a topic and set the timer. Both students will write everything they know about mammals for 3 minutes. Share information. Next the partners will combine info and share findings with the class. One student will be the scribe and one will be the reporter.
- Partner write a story. Student A writes for one minute and then reads the results. Next, student B will continue the story for one minute. (Continue passing the story back and forth until the story is complete with characters, setting, beginning, middle and end.)
“Writing is reading turned inside out.” Writers write to share information with their readers. Readers read to gain information. Both processes build knowledge, touch emotions, provide communication, and spread a lot of joy. Just like breathing in and breathing out – we need both to thrive as learners.