Writing: Strengthening Reading

Through Daily Practice

Reading and writing are partners. As children learn new phonics skills, they also need opportunities to use those same skills in their own writing. Every word a child writes reinforces the reading skills they are learning.

Why We Write Every Day

Writing is not a separate subject in Mrs. Bee's Learning Studio. It is part of your child's daily reading routine.

As children learn new letter sounds, phonics patterns, and red words, they immediately put those skills into practice by writing them. Every word they write helps strengthen the connection between seeing a word, hearing its sounds, reading it, and spelling it.

  • Reading and writing strengthen each other.

  • Children apply the phonics skills they are learning.

  • Writing is daily practice, not a separate subject.

  • Marking patterns helps children notice what they already know.

  • Confidence comes from success.

How does this work?

In my classroom, every child had an opportunity to help spell a word. If I had 25 students, we usually wrote 25 words. One child would tell us how to spell the word while everyone—including me—wrote the word, (I wrote the word on the whiteboards). As each word was written, we talked about and do the phonics patterns markings with a red pen. We noticed and reviewed the rules that helped us spell it.

Tutoring looks a little different.

When I tutor two children, each child takes turns spelling words geared toward their level but we all the word together. We do the same phonemic pattern markings with a red pen. Even though their skill levels may be slightly different being exposed to higher spell words benefits both children. Together we write about twelve words. The exact number of words isn't important. The important thing is giving your child daily opportunities to hear the sounds, think through the spelling, write the word, and talk about the phonics patterns they see.

Each writing lesson introduces words that contain phonics skills your child is learning. As you work through each word together, your child learns to stretch the sounds, apply the phonics rules, and discover how the word is put together. By the time the word is written, your child has also learned to read it.