Connecting Reading and
Writing in the
Classroom
Keith Pruitt
Consultant, Doctoral Candidate
A Study Guide
Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting
www.woweducationalconsulting.com

Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting is pleased to
present this audio presentation of Connecting Reading and Writing
in the Classroom. This workshop was developed in 2007 from a
presentation delivered at the Upper Peninsula Reading Association
and the Michigan Reading Association Conferences. The Pontiac,
Michigan school system asked their presenter Keith Pruitt to develop
this presentation into a 3 hour workshop. This audio workshop is the
result.
This study guide for Connecting Reading and Writing in the
Classroom will enhance the audio workshop experience. The audio
workshop concept allows teachers the convenience of listening while
on the go. W.O.W. believes the audio workshop will fill a valuable
need for teachers. Connecting Reading and Writing in the
Classroom will be optimized when several teachers are participating
in a study group.
For years Mr. Pruitt has endeavored to get teachers to connect
reading and writing in the classroom as part of the total package of
literacy instruction. Words of Wisdom Educational Consulting
knows every teacher will benefit from the work done in this audio
workshop. The classroom will become lively with the instruction as
students delight in creating works others will read.
Thank you for purchasing Connecting Reading and Writing in
the Classroom. I’m confident it will put the WOW back in your
classroom. Be sure to visit Words of Wisdom’s website at
www.woweducationalconsulting.com.
Is There A Problem?
I.
ACT reports that some 51% of first year college students are
being required to take remedial reading, writing and math classes
because they do not have the abilities required to do college level
work.
Workshop participants a few years ago were asked if they taught
writing in their classroom. Only 2 out of about 35 participants raised
their hands. The others were asked why they didn’t teach writing.
One lady bravely answered that one, she didn’t know how to write
herself, and two, no one had ever taught her how to teach students to
write. While students may be able to write to a prompt on a state test,
are they really able to write? This workshop will help train teachers

to provide the needed instruction in writing by combining it with the
teaching of reading. The basic philosophy of this company is that
reading and writing should always be taught together.
Exercise
II.
At this point, you will need to do some writing. This can be in the
form of bullet points, a short paragraph, notes, however you want to
do this. It becomes more meaningful if you do this in conjunction
with a conversation partner.
Here is the prompt. Take about five minutes to write on this.
Starting With An
Exercise in Writing
Prompt:
How Are Teachers Like Butterflies?
What was the process that was used?
Let’s first talk about this process. Here is what we all did, and what
children must do, to be successful writers.

What Was The Process
You Used?
• Pre-Writing (Drawing upon ideas)
• Drafting (Putting your thoughts in
order)
• Revising (Improving the pen)
• Editing (Correcting the pen)
• Publishing (Sharing Your work-READ)
III. Where Do Ideas Come From?
Think of some of the things children can write about:
Things they have read
A topic they want to know about
A favored sport and event
Current events
“What if…”
Prompts from teacher
Needs: to persuade, inform, to explain, to convict, to change
TASK
Make a sign for your room to serve to remind students of where ideas of
writing come from. Then look at some of the materials in your room and
ask students to come up with lists from those materials of what they think
prompted the author to write. Not only will this get students reading
materials, but it will also get them thinking about author’s purpose.

IV. Drafting (Putting your thoughts in order)
What is the purpose of
Drafting?
Students need to realize:
1. Writing Takes Time
2. What one begins with is not what
one ends with.
3. A draft is a way of ordering my
thoughts.
TASK
Have students write a nonsense paragraph. Use the following prompt: What
if… I was a bird? Just tell them to write the first things that come into their
minds (with ground rules) not worrying about spelling or punctuation or
sentence structure. Just write. Now, have them get with their conversation
partner and, using sticky notes, write their impressions of what their partner
wrote. Now tell them to put it aside and that later in the year you will come
back to it to further editing it. (This lets them know that writing is a process
and takes time.)
V. Revising (Improving the pen)
What is one of your earliest remembrances of writing? It probably involves
red and disappointments. Writing doesn’t have to be that way. Try these
suggestions as a teacher and express the student suggestions to your pupils.

Some suggestions
Teacher Students
1. Use post its and get 1. Editing is not always
rid of the red pen a solo task Ask
2. Organize conference others for input-
time with students turn and talk
3. Offer specific praise 2. Organization of
and suggestions thought of top
importance
4. See if the student
can find areas that 3. Other things are
need improving secondary.
Jennifer Kays suggested putting together a series of little neon colored file
cards that are color-coded for the phase at which a student might be. Blue,
for example, might suggest the student is composing. Green might suggest
that they have a finished product that is ready for examination. Red might
suggest the need for help. You can put these on a ring and the child can sit
them on their desk. This way the teacher will know by just looking who
needs help and who is finished with the project, etc. This will eliminate the
calling out for help and raising hands, etc. Children should also learn at this
point that if they are awaiting help, they can be working on another task until
help arrives. Great suggestion.
Don’t get hung up on the teaching of grammar. Teaching grammar
isn’t necessarily teaching writing, but it is a part. Use puzzle pieces to
build grammar. Remember to always ask the probing questions, Who,
What, Where, When, How, and Why? These can lead to building an
understanding of sentence structure and build stronger sentences.
Teaching Grammar

TASK
If this were a story…
• Martha wet to the store. She
got some pops and candie for her
partie. The party was fun. She
also got pop corn for the movie.
They watched toy storey. She
got hats at the store and she got
cake and ice cream.
v
Based on what has been said in the previous section, how would you go
about helping a student edit the story above? Turn and talk to a partner
about these suggestions.
VI. Publishing
Here are some suggestions on how publishing can happen in the classroom
as well as in the school:
1. Put student work in the hallway (if allowed) and in the classroom. Let
students also know that not everything has to be published.
2. Have students contribute to a three ring binder of collected “best” work.
Have a revolving student committee (judges) determine what work goes in
the binder.
3. Have your school sponsor a writing contest with the best 10 stories bound
(it doesn’t cost very much) for the library for future generations to enjoy.
4. Publish-A-Book- Involve the district in writing by having a district wide
writing contest with the winning entry being published by the district, bound
and distributed to schools or sold. With the onslaught of on-line publishing
(including Barnes and Noble) this has been made economical and easy. Art
students or a gifted local artist could add photography or graphic art.)
5. Encourage the very talented of students to submit work to children’s
contests and/or magazines.

Teaching Standards
Many teachers think of writing and standards and think traditional grammar
classes and POWER writing modules. But think about all the standards that
could have been involved in the reflective writing we did at the very
beginning of this workshop. Turn and Talk to your conversation partner
about all the things that could be included.
On the following page, you will see a chart that includes all of the elements

Story, poem, letter, procedural
text, report, observation log,
personal narrative, newspaper,
biography
Sequence, main idea/details,
problem/ solution, cause and
effect, compare/ contrast,
persuasive essay
Ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence
fluency, conventions and presentation
WRITING TRAITS
Prewriting
Drafting
Revising
Editing
Publishing
WRITING PROCESS

Writing Takes on Many Forms
Cartoons
Short Stories
What Ways Can You Name?
Persuasive
Informational
Biography
Autobiography
TASK
Have your students discuss their feelings about something important
in their community. (Obviously, this will vary based on maturity
level of students.) Have them get in pairs and write a Letter to the
Principal.
Build A Story
Use picture books, cards, or graphics to have students build stories.
In an exercise to come we will work on detail. Let’s use another
picture graphic to build a story. Take about five minutes, and see
what you and a partner can come up with. Use the same picture
with your students and see what kind of stories they write. Here’s
the prompt.

Incorporate writing into content area: family stories
Steps:
1. Have students bring in pictures of parents, siblings,
grandparents and themselves.

2. Ask students to interview the oldest person they can find in
their family. There is only one question they need ask: what
was life like when you were my age?
3. Have them either record that person talking about the
question or write down three or four things the person says.
4. Have students organize this on poster board and present to
the class.
Exercise
Look at the picture below. I want you to very quickly jot down
everything you see.
Descriptive Writing Exercise
References to Use
Calkins, L. M. (1994). The Art of Teaching Writing. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.

Davis, J. & Hill, S. (2003). The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching
Writing: Strategies, Structures, Solutions. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Fountas, I. C. & Pinnell, G. S. (2001). Guiding Readers and
Writers, Grades 3-6. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Hoyt, L. (2008). Lifting Literacy Professional Development Course:
Writing Instruction Across the Curriculum. Austin: Harcourt
Achieve.
Murray, D. M. (1998). Write to Learn. Orlando: Harcourt Brace.
(I’m not sure if this book is still available, but it has some
great ideas. Is intended for college students.)
Routman, R. (2005). Writing Essentials: Raising Expectations and
Results While Simplifying Teaching. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.