One of the things I hear teachers say quite a bit is that in order for kids to be able to write, they have to read. And yes, technically that is true. But a lot of times when teachers say that, what they really mean is that they are going to delay teaching writing until kids are more solid on their reading skills and the reality of learning how to write.
Actually, my research shows that we have to teach kids to write as soon as we can get our hands on them, on the first day of kindergarten!
So if you’ve been in the read-well-before-they-write camp, I want you to switch that to starting your writing and reading instruction simultaneously. There is so much to learn in the area of writing! If we don’t start teaching those skills alongside learning how to read, we’re just hampering our kids.
For more tips on how to give teach reading and writing simultaneously, check out the books:
- How to Teach Students to Write Informational Text
- The Simplified Lesson Planning Formula
- How to Teach Students to Think Critically About Text
Books can be found on amazon.com or at our store.