Abstract of

Learning the Write Way

Deidra M. Gammill

Elementary teachers can use writing to learn effectively and regularly in their classrooms, not only to strengthen students' writing skills but also to deepen reading comprehension and encourage active learning. Students who use writing-to-learn strategies are more involved in their learning and perform better on assessments—but, more important, they develop critical thinking skills. Writing to learn provides students with safe writing opportunities, and it allows teachers to assess informally students' growth as writers and thinkers. Students who use writing-to-learn in elementary school have more opportunities to become comfortable with writing and to practice their skills before they reach secondary school, where these skills become increasingly important.

This article addresses specifically use of K-W-L charts and reading journals as writing-to-learn strategies, and it provides a bibliography of trade books for science, math, social studies, and language arts that can be introduced as prompts for writing-to-learn activities.

Abstract from Gammill, D.M. (2006, May). Learning the Write Way. The Reading Teacher, 59(8), 754–762. doi: 10.1598/RT.59.8.3