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READING AND WRITING CONNECTION In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in ENG. 43, TEACHING OF LISTENING of Bachelor in Secondary Education Major in English Submitted to: Prof. Bryan M. Cubelo Submitted by: Royo, James C. Eleria, Mark Rhoid R. Marana, Justine Therese L.

Reading and Writing Connection

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Page 1: Reading and Writing Connection

READING AND WRITING CONNECTION

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements in ENG. 43, TEACHING OF LISTENING of Bachelor in Secondary Education Major in English

Submitted to:

Prof. Bryan M. Cubelo

Submitted by:

Royo, James C.

Eleria, Mark Rhoid R.

Marana, Justine Therese L.

Magtuba, Eva Mae Joy M.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. BODY OF THE RESEARCH

A. READING AND WRITING

A1. What is Reading?

a) Components of Reading

b) Importance of Reading

c) Way to teach children to read

d) How can parents help their children develop good

reading skills?

A2. What is Writing?

a) Components of Writing

b) Importance of Writing

c) Ways to teach writing

d) How to motivate students to write more

B. READING AND WRITING CONNECTION

B1. History

B2. Discussion

B3. Instructional Activities

B4. Teaching Process

B5. Exercises

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III. CONCLUSION

IV. REFERENCE

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A. READING

A1. What is reading?

Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print. (Diane Henry Leipzig (2001)

Different views about reading:

Reading is a subtle and complex process that involves sensation, perception, comprehension, application and integration.

Reading is a multi-faceted, complex skill made of a number of psychological, physical, and social elements. (Dubin, 1982).

Reading is a psycholinguistic guessing game. (Goodman, 1967). Reading is an interactive and interpretive process. No text can be considered

separate from the reader. There must be a successful interaction between the reader and the discourse to be proceeded. (Williamson, 1988).

The Five Essential Components of Reading

Recognizing and using individual sounds to create words, or phonemic awareness. Children need to be taught to hear sounds in words and those words are made up of the smallest parts of sound, or phonemes.

Understanding the relationships between written letters and spoken sounds, or phonics. Children need to be taught the sounds individual printed letters and groups of letters make.

Knowing the relationships between letters and sounds helps children to recognize familiar words accurately and automatically, and "decode" new words.

Developing the ability to read a text accurately and quickly, or reading fluency. Children must learn to read words rapidly and accurately in order to understand what is read. When fluent readers read silently, they recognize words automatically. When fluent readers read aloud, they read effortlessly and with expression. Readers who are weak in fluency read slowly, word by word, focusing on decoding words instead of comprehending meaning.

Learning the meaning and pronunciation of words, or vocabulary development. Children need to actively build and expand their knowledge of written and spoken words, what they mean and how they are used.

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Acquiring strategies to understand remember and communicate what is read, or reading comprehension strategies. Children need to be taught comprehension strategies, or the steps good readers use to make sure they understand text. Students who are in control of their own reading comprehension become purposeful, active readers.

The Importance of ReadingBy Damian Sofsian

It is a well-known fact that when there were no televisions or computers, reading was a primary leisure activity. People would spend hours reading books and travel to lands far away in their minds. The only tragedy is that, with time, people have lost their skill and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, aside from books. That is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving vocabulary and word power. It is advisable to indulge in at least half an hour of reading a day to keep abreast of the various styles of writing and new vocabulary.It is observed that children and teenagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs.

They are more creative and do better in school and college. It is recommended that parents to inculcate the importance of reading to their children in the early years. Reading is said to significantly help in developing vocabulary, and reading aloud helps to build a strong emotional bond between parents and children. The children who start reading from an early age are observed to have good language skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better.

Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes. Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge acquired, consistently.

The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay in-touch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of yore and makes us sensitive to global issues.

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What is the best way to teach children to read?

The National Reading Panel developed recommendations based on the findings in reading research on the best way to teach children to read. They found that explicit instruction in the major parts of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) was the best approach to teaching most children to read.

In addition, NICHD-supported researchers have learned other things about learning to read including:

Researchers showed that the number of poor readers in the early grades could be reduced by providing students with explicit instruction (like that recommended by the National Reading Panel). By working more intensively on reading with those in the lowest one-fifth of the classes, researchers taught all but a very few children to read.

Using neuroimaging studies, researchers observed which parts of the brain are active when someone is reading. They also saw that the active areas of the brain were slightly different for poor readers and for good readers. After poor readers become better readers and overcome their earlier reading difficulties, their brain activity patterns during reading can change to look more like those who did not have reading problems.

How can parents help their children develop good reading skills?

Parents and caregivers can try a number of things to help their children develop good reading skills:

Share conversations with your child at meal times and at other times you are together, such as during a trip to the grocery store or while running errands, to help teach new words. This activity will help your child improve his or her vocabulary.

Read together every day, and talk about what you read. Your child will begin to understand that stories have a beginning, middle, and an end, and that some stories tell us about the world we live in.

Be your child’s best advocate in school.Be a model for your child by being a reader and a writer yourself.Engage your child in reading by visiting the library often.

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B. WRITING

What is writing?

Writing is an act of discovery, of communication, of joy. It connects us to work, to culture, to society, to existing knowledge, and to the meanings of our lives.

3 Components of WritingBy: Cheryl Kaye Tardif

1 - BEGINNING: The introduction to the work or story.

Depending on the topic of the work, this section may be short or long, but will be less than the middle.

In non-fiction, the beginning will serve as a "set up" to introduce the reader to the topic and give a brief outline or suggestion of what to expect in the rest of the work.It may be used to tease the reader or to present a view into the characters, setting and plot.

2 - MIDDLE: The exposition of characters, events, action, plot, research and main points of the

work. This takes up the majority of the work.

In non-fiction, the middle will explain all theories, points, beliefs, facts, history etc. of the topic. This section will explore in great depth each of the points, usually sectioned by chapter (if a book).

This is where the writer will focus most of his or her attention. He will ask and answer questions, usually from either a teaching/education perspective or an informative perspective. Think of a math textbook versus Grandma's memoir.

In fiction, the middle will explore the plot and parallel subplots more deeply. This is where the main antagonist (the enemy-person, circumstance, disease etc), plus other secondary and more minor characters will be introduced and explored more fully. In crime/mystery and suspense, the killer's identity will be foreshadowed in this section.

Foreshadowing, conflict, pacing, dialogue, red herrings and character development are key in this section. Conflict will play a vital role here. Numerous conflicts up the 'danger' element.

Just when everything seems to be working in favor of the main character (protagonist), something will happen to throw off the balance and rev up the action. This is true of all genres.3 - END:

The conclusion of the work or story; the wrap up of events. Usually the shortest component.

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In non-fiction, the end will wrap up the main points and beliefs of the writer.

This section will serve to emphasize why the writer chose this topic and what the main reason is for writing about it.In fiction, the end will come to a climax where action and threat is of utmost importance.

A main conflict is revealed: such as the identity of a killer, a love interest, the truth of a mystery or a self-realization for the character.

Resolution occurs and someone loses, someone wins. Loose ends are tied up. The reader is left feeling that all is explained, or at least most (a twist at the end is popular with series.)

What Makes Writing So Important?~based upon brochures from Brown University and the University of Missouri

Writing is the primary basis upon which your work, your learning, and your intellect will be judged—in college, in the workplace, and in the community.

Writing expresses who you are as a person. Writing is portable and permanent. It makes your thinking visible. Writing helps you move easily among facts, inferences, and opinions without

getting confused—and without confusing your reader. Writing promotes your ability to pose worthwhile questions. Writing fosters your ability to explain a complex position to readers, and to

yourself. Writing helps others give you feedback. Writing helps you refine your ideas when you give others feedback. Writing requires that you anticipate your readers’ needs. Your ability to do so

demonstrates your intellectual flexibility and maturity. Writing ideas down preserves them so that you can reflect upon them later. Writing out your ideas permits you to evaluate the adequacy of your argument. Writing stimulates you to extend a line of thought beyond your first impressions

or gut responses.   Writing helps you understand how truth is established in a given discipline. Writing equips you with the communication and thinking skills you need to

participate effectively in democracy. Writing is an essential job skill.

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C.) Ways to Teach Writing

It has been reported that more than twenty thousand students failed the writing test in the English Proficiency Exam. The news not only surprised but also disappointed us English teachers. According to the standard of senior high school curricula, writing is supposed to be instructed in the senior year. Unfortunately, it is too late if writing is not taught any earlier.

Writing is a long process of learning. As soon as students begin to learn English, they should start to write in English. It is my belief that variety is the spice of life. No matter how interesting one activity is when students first do it, they will get bored if they have tried it for more than three times. Thus, as high school English teachers, it is our obligation to integrate all kinds of writing activities into the English teaching.

How to Motivate Students to Write More

The first thing we should take into action is to encourage students to write more. The more they write the more improvement they will get. We suggest that students should start with sentence level exercises. The following are the most preliminary activities:

Expanding words and phrases into sentences Expanding sentences by adding modifiers Making sentences by using specific patterns Translating sentences

These activities can be integrated in everyday teaching. As for paragraph level, we may make use of the activities, such as:

Answering one “question for discussion” based on the reading in their textbook (Students are asked to answer in 30 to 50 words.)

Keeping a journal (Ten students share the same notebook. In this way, each student writes every other week and he/she can read other students’ journals. The teacher only needs to read 5 to 6 students’ journals a day and gives students responses instead of scores.)

Writing e-mails (Students are asked to write e-mails to teachers, or classmates. They have to send copies of these e-mails to the English teacher.)

Keeping an online diary (Teachers guide students to make comments on teachers’ blog. Later on students can start their own blogs as well.)

The above activities are not restricted to freshmen or sophomores. As I mentioned before, students depend on change for their motivation of learning. With the varieties of these activities, students are not aware that they are learning how to write.

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B. READING AND WRITING CONNECTION

B1.) History and Its Flourishing Beginning

The reading/writing connection has its primary beginning in native language contexts. In the 80's, some scholars had already considered reading and writing as similar cognitive processes in which readers/authors interact with the texts.

For example, Tierney and Pearson (1983) believed that "at the heart of understanding the reading/writing connection one must start to view reading and writing as essentially analogous processes of meaning construction". In the same vein, Petrosky (1982) noted, "reading, responding, and composing are aspects of understanding, and theories that try to account for them outside of their interactions with each other run the serious risk of building reductive modules of human understanding”.

In second language (L2) literacy contexts, Krashen's (1984) squabble that "it is reading that gives the writer the 'feel' for the look and texture' (cited in Hirvela, 2004) paves the way leading writing researchers and instructors to the vision of reading/writing connection. He claims that reading, which builds the knowledge base of written texts, helps second language learners acquire necessary language constructs such as grammatical structures and discourse rules for writing, and facilitates the process of language acquisition.

While Krashen's viewpoints distinguish the contributions that reading can build to writing, it is reader-response theory that brings second language literacy researchers to perceive reading and writing both as processes of composing. Reader-response theory claims that the reader instead of the author determines the meaning conveyed by the texts. In relation to reading/writing connection, reader-response theory "serves as a valuable tool for privileging and investigating students' composing processes as readers, processes that can both influence and overlap with their composing processes as writers" (Hirvela, 2004, p. 53).

Considering both reading and writing, as processes in which students interact with texts meaningfully, researchers recommended second language teachers need to utilize strategic methods to integrate the concept into teaching. Reading to write and writing to read are the two facilitative strategies for instruction in second language literacy classrooms.

First, reading to write is based on the concept that reading supports and shapes second language learners' writing through acquisition of language input when students are performing reading tasks. Reading is not merely helpful for enhancing L2 learners’ writing ability in a general sense. In addition, through reading, students are given opportunities in writing classrooms to acquire knowledge of vocabulary, grammatical structures, or rhetorical features of texts.

Alternatively, writing to read serves as a technique, which changes the goals of teachers' instruction from helping students answer comprehension checks correctly to encouraging students' meaningful interaction with written texts, and supports students to experience reading as a composing process. Writing in reading classrooms can take place in a variety of forms such as underlining portion of texts, making comments, raising

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questions, or even scribbling some marks or pictures that are only comprehensible to readers themselves.B2.) DISCUSSION

Why reading and writing together?  Natural literacy development is reliant on the experiences the child has through reading and writing activities.  Reading-writing activities are essential to the child's learning to read and write.  Reading and writing should occur naturally to build meaning in everyday situations. (Miller, 1982; Wilson, 1981).  

Reading and writing are interdependent processes that are essential to each other and mutually advantageous (Holt & Vacca, 1984).  As writing improves through daily communicative use, reading is enhanced (Goodman & Goodman, 1983).  

The connection between reading and writing is based on communication.  Both processes should be widen as a natural extension of the child's need to communicate (Wilson, 1981).  In other words, if reading and writing are to be communicative then the reader needs to read with the sense of the writer and the writer needs to write with the sense of the reader.  A reader need to make sense of what the writer is communicating through the text and the writer need to make sure that his/her message is clear and understood by the reader.  

Children should make the connection that other children will be reading their writing, so that children will need to have a better sense of the writer and write better with the sense of the reader.  Children need to develop their communicative skills by having the opportunities to read and write (Aulls, 1985; Holt & Vacca, 1984; Smith, 1983).

According to Pearson, though writing has a central role in early reading development, this understanding is almost diametrically opposed to how writing was viewed when he first came into the field in the middle to late 60s, when linguistic readers explicitly forbade or discouraged the teaching of writing until reading was under control on the grounds that presenting the child with two tasks would be too much. However, ironically, as we enter this new century, we've come to understand just how central a role writing, in all of its manifestations, has in the development of early reading. Increasingly, we see the synergistic relationship between learning to write and learning to read.

At the most rudimentary level, when kids are encouraged to write—even at the very early age, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten—and they're encouraged to spell words as they sound them, two things happen. The first is that they develop phonemic awareness in precisely the way that the advocates of direct phonemic instruction intend for it to be learned and tested. Nevertheless, with writing, they do it, I would argue, in a much more incidental, less laborious and more natural way. Moreover, it's acquired in the service of some other functional task, i.e., trying to communicate something with someone.

A second synergy is that there's actually some payoff in terms of the letter-sound knowledge, even though we all know that when you're writing and trying to spell things the way they sound, you're not going from letter to sound, and you’re going from the sound to letter. However, there's enough of an overlap between these two correspondences that transfer occurs. Phonics is so much more transparent in spelling than it is in reading that I think it's easier for kids to deal with.

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C3.) INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES

There are numerous reading/writing pedagogical practices, which can be employed in EFL writing courses. It would be useful to categorize these practices into writing-to-read and reading-to-write activities/assignments based on general introductory definitions and functions, though these activities may overlap for pedagogical purposes.

Writing-to-read

1. Writing-Before-You-Read (Spack, 1985). Activities of writing-before-you-read are suggested to be implemented in the initial stage of reading, in an attempt to solicit students' experiences of reading different types of texts, their attitudes toward certain topics or issues, and the writing difficulties they experience. For example, students can write about their experience of living on a farm, reading English or Chinese novel, or their impressions about a headline story in Taiwan or around the world.

2. Keeping a Reading Journal. Students can keep a double-entry or dialectical notebook which helps them become conscious of their reactions. In these notebooks, students copy passages that have particular significance for them in one column, and then respond to them in the other (Zamel, 1992). The responses to the passages can take such forms as summaries, marginal notations, reflective comments in relation to the passages, or expressions of students’ ideas.

3. Summarizing. Summarizing is an efficient technique making comprehension a more meaningful process through constructing written texts in their own words. It can be employed in different sessions, such as when students are asked to write summaries of chapters of a novel they read, news stories, and academic articles. Not only will students' writing proficiency be improved through writing exercises, but their reading strategies of selecting essential information of the texts will be reinforced.        

Reading-to-Write.

1. Mining - It is a strategic approach that digs out valuable language resources such as grammar, which supports student writing. While reading different types of texts, students are encouraged to pay attention to and learn consciously about grammatical and lexical features of the texts, organization of the articles, and expressions, which are unfamiliar to the students. Through the practice, students will improve their reading skills, and, at the same time, build the foundation of future writing.

2. Free/Voluntary Reading - It encourages students to engage in reading activities outside the classroom and under less structured conditions than in extensive reading (Hirvela, 2004). The main purpose of this approach is to help students develop pleasurable reading experience and become more motivated readers. For example, after

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students have finished reading a novel or have obtained enough knowledge about learning English by taking advantage of online texts, other literary works and useful websites are introduced. Students can get extra points when they exhibit their efforts on engaging in reading activities outside the classroom. In doing so, students will become acquainted with reading and writing about diverse texts depending on their interests and thus become more confident in their English literacy.

B4.) TEACHING PROCESS

Educators often converse about the reading-writing connection. Dr. Kate Kinsella of San Francisco State University summarizes the reading-writing connection research as follows:

Reading widely and regularly contributes to the development of writing ability. Good writers were read to as children. Increasing reading frequency has a stronger control on improving writing than

does solely increasing writing frequency. Developmental writers must see and analyze multiple effective examples of the

various kinds of writing they are being asked to produce (as well as ineffective examples); they cannot, for example, be expected to write successful expository essays if they are primarily reading narrative texts.

Teaching reading and writing strategies concurrently allow teachers to “kill two birds with one stone.” Now this is not to say that reading or writing instruction should always be instructed in tandem. There are certainly important lessons and skill development exclusive to each field. However, the following twelve tips to teach the reading-writing connection will enhance students’ facility in both disciplines.

1. Teach the Author-Reader RelationshipBoth reading and writing involve interactive relationships between author and

reader. Reading really is about communication between the reader and the author. Now, it’s true that the author is not speaking directly to the reader; however, readers understand best when they pretend that this is so. Unlike reading, writing requires the thinker to generate both sides of the dialog. The writer must create the content and anticipate the reader response. Teaching students to carry on an internal dialog with their anticipated readers, while they write, is vitally important.

Strategy: Write Aloud2. Teach Prior Knowledge

What people already know is an essential component of good reading and writing. Content knowledge is equally important as is skill acquisition to read and write well. Reading specialists estimate that reading comprehension is a 50-50 interaction. In other words, about half of one’s understanding of the text is what the reader puts into the reading by way of experience and knowledge. However, some disclaimers are important to mention here.  Although prior knowledge is important, it can also be irrelevant,

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inaccurate, or incomplete which may well confuse readers or misinform writers. Of course, the teacher has the responsibility to fill gaps with appropriate content.

Strategy: KWHL3. Teach Sensory Descriptions

Both readers and writers make meaning through their sensory experiences. Recognizing sensory references in text improves understanding of detail, allusions, and word choice. Good readers apply all of their senses to the reading to better grasp what and how the author wishes to communicate. They listen to what the author is saying to them. For example, good readers try to feel what the characters feel, visualize the changing settings, and hear how the author uses dialog. Applying the five senses in writing produces memorable “show me,” rather than “tell me” writing.

Strategy: Interactive Reading4. Teach Genre Characteristics

All reading and writing genres serve their own purposes, follow their own rules, and have their own unique characteristics. Knowing the text structure of each genre helps readers predict and analyze what the author will say and has said. For example, because a reader understands the format and rules of a persuasive essay, the reader knows to look for the thesis in the introduction, knows to look for the evidence that backs up the topic sentence in each body paragraph, and knows to look for the specific strategies that are utilized in the conclusion paragraphs. Writing form is an important component of rhetorical stance. Knowing each genre (domain) also helps writers include the most appropriate support details and evidence. For example, persuasive essays often use a counterpoint argument as evidence.Strategy: Rhetorical Stance

5. Teach Structural OrganizationReaders recognize main idea, anticipate plot development or line of

argumentation, make inferences, and draw conclusions based upon the structural characteristics of the reading genre. For example, readers expect the headline and introductory paragraph(s) of a newspaper article to follow the structural characteristics of that genre. For example, since news articles include Who, What, Where, When, and How at the beginning, the informed reader knows to look for these components. Similarly, writers apply their knowledge of specific structural characteristics for each writing genre. For example, knowing the characteristics of these plot elements: problem, conflict; rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution will help the writer craft a complete narrative.

Strategy: Numerical Hierarchies6. Teach Problem Solving Strategies

Good readers and writers act like detectives, looking for clues to understand and solve a case. In a persuasive essay, the reader should detect how a thesis is argued, how the variety of evidence is presented, and if the conclusions are justified in light of the evidence. In a narrative, the writer needs to clearly state the basic problem of the story

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and how that problem leads to a conflict. Through the elements of plot, the writer must deal with this conflict and resolve it to the reader’s satisfaction.

Strategy: Evidence7. Teach Coherency and Unity

For both reading and writing, the object is to make sense of the content. Recognizing the author’s rhetorical organization, grammatical patterns, transition words, and use of writing techniques such as repetition, parallelism, and summary will facilitate comprehension. Knowing how the author communicates helps the reader understand what is being communicated.

Applying an organizational pattern appropriate to the writing content and effective writing techniques will help the reader understand the content of the communication. Writing unity refers to how well sentences and paragraphs stay focused on the topic. For example, readers need to train themselves to look for irrelevant (off the point) details. Similarly, writers need to ensure that their writing stays on point and does not wander into tangential “birdwalking.”

Strategies: Coherency and Unity8. Teach Sentence Structure Variety

Good readers are adept at parsing both good and bad sentence structure. They consciously work at identifying sentence subjects and their actions. They apply their knowledge of grammar to build comprehension. For example, they recognize misplaced pronouns and dangling participles, such as in “The boy watched the dog beg at the table and his sister fed it” and are able to understand what the author means, in spite of the poor writing. Good writing maintains the reader’s attention through interesting content, inviting writing style, effective word choice, and sentence variety. Knowing how to use different sentence structures allows the writer to say what the writer wants to say in the way the writer wants to say it. Most professional writers plan 50% of their sentences to follow the subject-verb-complement grammatical sentence structure and 50% to follow other varied sentence structures. No one is taught, convinced, or entertained when bored.

Strategy: Grammatical Sentence Openers9. Teach Precise Word Choice

Understanding the nuances to word meanings lets the reader understand precisely what the author means. Knowing semantic variations helps the reader understand why authors use the words that they do and helps the reader “read between the lines,” i.e., to infer what the author implies. When writers use words with precision, coherency is improved. There is no ambiguity and the reader can follow the author’s intended train of thought.

Strategies: Vocabulary Ladders and Semantic Spectrums10. Teach Style, Voice, Point of View, Tone, and MoodGood readers recognize how an author’s writing style and voice (personality) help shape the way in which the text communicates. For example, if the style is informal and the voice is flippant, the author may use hyperbole or understatement as rhetorical devices.

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Recognizing whether the author uses omniscient or limited point of view in the first, second, or third person will help the reader understand who knows what, and from what perspective in the reading. Identifying the tone of helps the reader understand how something is being said. For example, if the tone is sarcastic, the reader must be alert for clues that the author is saying one thing, but meaning another. Identifying the mood of a literary work will enable the reader to see how the plot and characters shape the feeling of the writing. For example, knowing that the mood of a poem is dark allows the reader to identify the contrasting symbolism of a “shining light.” In addition to applying the writing tools described above, good writers need to be aware of errors in writing style that do not match the rules and format of certain forms of writing, such as the formal essay.

Strategy: Writing Style Errors11. Teach Inferences

Both reading and writing is interpretive. Readers infer meaning, make interpretations, or draw logical conclusions from textual clues provided by the author. Writers imply, or suggest, rather than overtly state certain ideas or actions to build interest, create intentional ambiguity, develop suspense, or re-direct the reader.

Strategy: Inference Categories12. Teach Metacognition and Critical Thinking

Reading and writing are thinking activities. Just decoding words does not make a good reader. Similarly, just spelling correctly, using appropriate vocabulary, and applying fitting structure to paragraphs does not make a good writer. Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses as a reader or writer helps one identify or apply the best strategies to communicate. Knowing how to organize thought through chronology, cause-effect, problem-solution, or reasons-evidence rhetorical patterns assists both reader and writer to recognize and apply reasoning strategies. Knowing higher order questioning strategies, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation helps the reader and writer see beyond the obvious and explore issues in depth.

Strategies: Self-Questioning and Reasoning ErrorsSelf-QuestioningReasoning Errors

Mark Pennington, MA Reading Specialist, is the author of the comprehensive reading intervention curriculum, Teaching Reading Strategies. Designed to significantly increase the reading abilities of students ages eight to adult within one year, the curriculum is decidedly un-canned, adaptable to various instructional settings, and simple to use. With multiple choice reading assessments on two CDs, formative assessments, blending and syllabication activities, phonemic awareness and phonics workshops, comprehension worksheets, multi level fluency passages on eight CDs, 390 flashcards, posters, activities, and games (364 pages), even novice reading teachers and Para-professionals will be able to use these user-friendly resources to effectively differentiate reading instruction with minimal preparation.

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B5.) EXERCISES

(After reading the story)1. Fish Cheeks

Have you ever been embarrassed by your parents? In “Fish Cheeks,” the narrator has a crush on the minister’s son and she is embarrassed by the Chinese food that her parents serve him. For this exercise, write a paragraph about a time that your parents embarrassed you. Where were you? How did you feel? Why were you embarrassed? Did you want to impress someone? If you could do it over again, would you have acted differently? If you do not want anyone to see what you have written, rip up your paper and throw it away.

2. Below are pairs of sentences. Decide whether or not the second sentence (B),

which paraphrases sentence (A), has changed the original meaning of sentence (A). If the meaning has been changed, try to paraphrase the sentence so it retains the same meaning.

1.A. The mouth was beaked and the jaws held leaf-shaped cheek teeth.B. It had a beak and leaf-shaped cheek teeth

2.A. The front wall or face of a building is termed the façade.B. A façade is the front wall (or face) of a building.

3.A. They are retiring animals, not particularly inclined to attack people, but a

jaguar may launch an attack or even stalk a human being if threatened.B. Jaguars may attack or stalk human beings if they feel threatened, but they stop

doing this once they retire. 4.

A. Padre Island National Seashore is located in the undeveloped central part of the island, where more than 350 kinds of birds, and many small animals, reptiles, and varied marine life are found.

B. Padre Island National Seashore has more than 350 kinds of birds, small animals, reptiles and marine life forms. It is the undeveloped center of the island. 5.

A. Moisture-laden air over the oceans is drawn toward this center of low pressure. The air-cools as it ascends the slopes of mountain barriers; it can no longer retain moisture, resulting in heavy rainfall

B. The heavy rainfall comes from the moist air that cools as it rises near mountains. Low pressure pulls the air up the mountains.

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1.The following is an excerpt from an encyclopedia. Read it thoroughly, and then

write a summary and short reflective journal. Remember, your summary should be shorter than the original and only contain the main points.

Earthquake - trembling or shaking movement of the earth's surface. Most earthquakes are minor tremors. Larger earthquakes usually begin with slight tremors but rapidly take the form of one or more violent shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force called aftershocks. The subterranean point of origin of an earthquake is called its focus; the point on the surface directly above the focus is the epicenter. The magnitude and intensity of an earthquake is determined by the use of scales, e.g., the Richter Magnitude Scale and the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale.

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CONCLUSION

Apparently, teachers of English as a second or foreign language have tended to teach reading and writing separately from each other. However, reading and writing do share similar properties, students are more likely to benefit from the instruction that makes reading, and writing activities go hand-in-hand and supplement each other. That’s why it’s very necessary for the teachers to incorporate writing to reading or reading to writing. Moreover, it has been discussed how related writing and reading to each other, so teachers will be “hitting two birds with one stone” in developing reading-writing connection to the students.

Applying this concept to actual teaching situations would not be a difficult challenge when writing teachers take into account students' needs, are aware of the advantages of the reading/writing connection, and carefully design teaching practices.

Thus, students will be able to develop both reading and writing skills respectively. The realization of this program will not be as difficult as expected because there are already materials that are readily available.

Given that the severance of reading and writing instruction in EFL contexts makes students perceive reading as a decoding process and writing as only a task of constructing grammatically correct essays, it is especially vital for EFL teachers, through the reading/writing connection, to provide students with abundant opportunities and resources to help them become reflective readers and writers. More importantly, students need to be instructed to realize that both reading and writing are acts with communicative purposes and are inseparable. Only by doing so can students improve language proficiency through reading and writing activities, and develop these two literacy skills in a meaningful way.

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REFERENCE

INTERNET WEBSITES:

www.bridgew.edu/Library/CAGS.../r-w%20connection.htm

www.authorstream.com/.../matygarcia-225237- reading - writing - connection maty-garc-arroyo-education-ppt-powerpoint/

www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/the-readingwriting-connection

www.expanding-educational-horizons.com/.../Reading_Writing%20Connection.Pdf

www.gse.uci.edu/uciwp/documents/allsummerinaday.ppt

www.tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/newsletter/0803/read48.cfm

www.fitstep.com/randy-saller/reading-writing-connection.htm

www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/.../bo3636484.html

http://www.siue.edu/IS/WRITING/NewsletterC/Issue%204/page5.html

http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/writing.htm