Recap from Words in Action: How Writing Builds Stronger Readers

Understanding the Challenge

In our recent webinar, Words in Action: How Writing Builds Stronger Readers, we explored a key insight: roughly 75% of students may feel negatively about their abilities as readers and writers. That’s 8 out of every 12 students in your classrooms. This lack of confidence doesn’t just impact academic performance—it affects motivation, engagement, and long-term growth.

Even more striking, students are often struggling more with writing than with reading. Writing, which demands higher levels of cognitive processing and mastery of language mechanics, can feel overwhelming—especially for students still building foundational reading skills.

If we want to see real improvements in literacy, we must prioritize writing instruction.

Key Takeaways from the Webinar

1. Writing is a Powerful Learning Tool
   Writing helps students deepen their understanding of content by pushing them to think critically, organize their thoughts, and express ideas clearly. Research shows that when students write about what they read, they gain a stronger understanding of texts, regardless of grade level or reading ability.
2. Writing and Reading Are Interconnected

• Spelling and Decoding: Writing (spelling) reinforces letter-sound relationships, improving decoding skills critical for reading.
• Syntax and Structure: Writing helps students practice building complex sentences, boosting their ability to understand advanced texts.
• Fluency: Writing strengthens familiarity with language patterns, enhancing reading fluency.

Actionable Strategy: The "Because, But, So" Technique

One of the standout strategies we discussed was the "Because, But, So" technique from The Writing Revolution.

How It Works:

1. Select a sentence stem related to a topic your students are learning.
2. Ask students to complete the sentence using each conjunction—because, but, and so.
   • Example: “The main character made this decision…”
     • Because: "The main character made this decision because they wanted to protect their friend."
     • But: "The main character made this decision, but it caused unexpected consequences."
     • So: "The main character made this decision, so they had to face a challenge."

Why It’s Effective:

• Comprehension: Encourages students to think critically about the text.
• Fluency: Builds confidence through repetition.
• Syntax: Helps students craft more complex sentences.
• Decoding: Strengthens reading skills through re-reading and writing.

How Leaders Can Support This Work

As an educational leader, you can take these ideas from our webinar and put them into action by:

• Promoting sentence-level writing strategies in all subjects.
• Offering professional development for teachers on writing-based literacy approaches.
• Reinforcing the link between writing and foundational reading skills in your instructional plans.

By supporting teachers to embed writing in daily instruction, you’re helping students not only improve their literacy skills but also develop confidence in themselves as learners and communicators. This work isn’t just about better scores—it’s about building positive literacy identities that empower every student.

In case you’d like to review the content, register to access a recording of the webinar. For more actionable strategies ready for you to directly incorporate into your classroom, register for our additional on-demand webinar.