1.2.2 Research on reading and writing

Research on reading

There is a substantial body of research on the components of reading, and on reading instruction and reading intervention. Although more is known about early reading, inroads are being made into understanding the effect of reading instruction in the middle and higher grades, and while it appears that intervention with struggling adolescent readers is generally less effective than are interventions with children in K–3, there have been some successes with these populations. Work is needed on reading comprehension at all levels, but especially as students engage with more complex texts and are required to use more advanced reasoning and analytical abilities to comprehend.

Research on writing

There is far less research on writing and writing instruction, yet there are some promising new research findings. Recent research synthesis and additional research into writing instruction and remediation have demonstrated aspects of intervention that have positively impacted the quality and quantity of students’ written products as well as indicating the positive impact that instruction on writing can have for improving reading comprehension skills. Research on professional development for teachers has begun to demonstrate how they can be come highly effective in teaching strategies for writing and self-regulation of the writing process. This work has served to heighten awareness of the importance of writing in the development of literacy and the educational process generally. [1, p 2]

2. Writing and reading skills

2.1 Writing activities

These writing activities can help your child with her writing skills. Some of these writing activities are designed for kids as young as preschool, while other activities are ideal for fifth graders. For preschoolers, there are activities like alphabet tiles and lace the abc's. For kids a little bit older, printable writing games include concepts such as prefixes, suffixes, and grammar. For the even older kids, there are writing activities that focus on creative writing and journaling. All of the games and activities have a fun twist, which helps make learning to write enjoyable!

Writing skills are an important part of communication. Good writing skills allow you to communicate your message with clarity and ease to a far larger audience than through face-to-face or telephone conversations. You might be called upon to write a report, plan or strategy at work; write a grant application or press release within a volunteering role; or you may fancy communicating your ideas online via a blog. And, of course, a well written CV or résumé with no spelling or grammatical mistakes is essential if you want a new job. The good news is that writing is a skill which can be learned like any other. One trick for checking and improving your work is to read it aloud. Reading text forces you to slow down and you may pick up problems with the flow that your eye would otherwise skip over. [2, p 144]