Introduction to the Exemplary Practice
Educators are asking important questions about reading and writing
relationships. Reading and writing
continues to be taught as separate subjects across the curriculum in school
today. There is a relationship
between reading and writing. They
need to be taught together not as separate entities. Students are not making the
connections between reading and writing in the classroom.
They do not understand that learning to write evolves from what they
read. By combining reading and
writing together in the curriculum it will lead to different learning and
thinking outcomes which will foster better
attitudes towards reading and writing. Teachers need to be concerned with the
effects of reading upon writing and integrate a connection between reading and
writing into the curriculum.
The
purpose of the exemplary practice was to promote reading-writing connections in
the students' written book reviews. The design of the study included an
alternating treatment design where a Baseline and two treatment phases or
Interventions were carried out. In
the Baseline condition, the students read children's literature books without
discussion and wrote book reviews that included a summary and evaluation. During the first treatment phase or Intervention 1 condition,
the students read children's literature book while the teacher was using a
Guided Reading approach to discuss the nuances of the story. Then students were asked to write book reviews that included
a summary and evaluation. During
the second treatment phase or Intervention 2 condition, the students read and
examined a variety of professional book reviews. Then students generated a book review
checklist of the components of a
book review. The teacher modeled writing a
book review using the student generated book review checklist. The students were
asked to read other children's literature books and to write book reviews
using the book review checklist.
By writing a book
review, students can crystallize, extend, and deepen their responses to literary work. Through the reading response writing of book reviews, students
present writing that includes the writing style of a professional book review.
Through book reviews each student can develop a personal relationship with each
literature book. Writing a book review demands that the student summarize,
interpret, and evaluate their reading in order to write their experiences with
the literature. Writing book reviews influence the reader to think beyond
himself/herself and consider the effect the book will have on other readers.
Reading professional book reviews will aid to the students' progress as
writers. Through the writing of
book reviews students are able to make the connections between reading and
writing. Book reviews are a
valuable form of reader response and a vehicle to practice summarizing and
develop higher-level critical thinking skills.