Writing to Reading: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading
Dr. Steve Graham is a Regents and the Warner professor in the Division of Leadership and Innovation in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. For 45 years, he has studied how writing develops, how to teach it effectively, and how writing can be used to support reading and learning. In recent years, he has been involved in the development and testing of digital tools for supporting writing and reading through a series of grants from the Institute of Educational Sciences and the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education. His research involves typically developing writers and students with special needs in both elementary and secondary schools, with much occurring in classrooms in urban schools.
Graham is the former editor of Exceptional Children, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Journal of Writing Research, Focus on Exceptional Children, and Journal of Educational Psychology. He is the co-author of the "Handbook of Writing Research," "Handbook of Learning Disabilities," "APA Handbook of Educational Psychology," "Writing Better," "Powerful Writing Strategies for all Students" and "Making the Writing Process Work." He is also the author of three influential Carnegie Corporation reports: Writing Next , Writing to Read , and Informing Writing.
For decades, researchers have emphasized the strong connection between reading and writing, both in theory and practice. Multiple studies demonstrate that writing improves comprehension. What has been less clear is what particular writing practices research supports as being effective at improving students’ reading.
Our guest, respected researcher and author Dr. Steve Graham, will discuss the research he conducted (Graham and Hebert, 2010) that illustrates how writing, and the way it’s taught, improves students’ reading comprehension, and the strategies educators should apply to ensure literacy success.
Join us for this lively conversation where you’ll learn from a true trailblazer when it comes to writing and how it impacts learning to read.
Attendees will learn:
- How infrequent writing and lack of explicit writing instruction can negatively impact learning to read
- Why teachers of reading need to emphasize writing in the classroom in the earliest grades and across content areas
- Why writing is a critical skill, important in its own right; consistent writing time and instruction improves reading comprehension
- Why more classroom time is necessary for writing
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