Integrating the Literacies of Reading and Writing

Good teachers at all levels connect reading and writing instruction (Routman, 1991). Primary teachers know that young students’ awareness and understanding of the processes of reading and writing develop concurrently (Chomsky, 1972; Clay, 1975, 1993; Morrow, 1993; Ross & Roe, 1990). “Writing, like reading, speaking, and listening, is a process that emerges naturally as children explore the various ways people express themselves” (Raines & Isbell, 1994, p. 97) (also see Y. Goodman, 1986).