The Integration of Reading and Writing Instruction [microform] : A Strategy for All Teachers / Carol Rhoder

Diagnostic teaching should be considered a two-step operation: the first half is skills assessment while the second half is related basic skills instruction. As part of the basic skills instruction, the students should be taught to be aware of certain features of the text itself when reading or writing: identification of topic, formats, relationships of parts to whole, and use of key words. To help them learn and store information in organized, meaningful units, students need to develop a framework for information by generating questions from text that will allow them to predict information, to create their own questions, and to develop a grid to organize information. Such a grid might have the questions down one side and categories of answers across the top. As the students read they verify their questions and jot down notes for answers. After reading, students decide which of their questions they can use for further research. They can then do a variety of writing activities, such as writing summary paragraphs to answer the questions, as a framework for their writing. The grid can also be used to develop vocabulary, with students relating words from a list to their questions. Another use of the grid is the identification of concepts and the kinds of relationships that exist among concepts through the use of cue words, circles, and lines. Thus, the grid is a system to teach students to consciously recognize and apply structure to new information. (HOD)