As an educator and Master teacher, I always knew that writing and reading were inter-connected. Actually there are so many things that us educators already “know.” Over the past decade, though, research proves that so many of the things that we already “knew” are actually true. Here is some research to back up the fact that by becoming a better writer, you will become better at reading.

1. Writing forces a child to focus on forming letters correctly.
2. When children are learning and practicing writing words, messages and stories, they are also learning to read those words in their own writing and in books.
3. Writing left to right instills that practice and knowledge of reading left to right.
4. As simple as it sounds – reading and writing mutually reinforce each other!
5. Paraphrasing things on paper, like vocabulary word definitions or what was just read, actually helps increase Reading Comprehension!
6. When a child sounds out words when he writes, he is actually developing phonemic awareness at the same time. Phonemic awareness is a pre-reading skill!

Sources:
http://sturgeonl.hubpages.com/hub/Teach-Children-Writing-to-Boost-Reading-Skills
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED278940&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED278940
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/329