Reading & Writing Skills

Module 1
Lesson: 1

Introduction to

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WHAT IS READING?

Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and

motivation. Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning
from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks
and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that
communicate something to us.

Reading is making meaning from print. It requires that we:

 Identify the words in print – a process called word recognition

 Construct an understanding from them – a process called comprehension

 Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate
– an achievement called fluency

Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that other people can hear).

Reading is a receptive skill - through it we receive information. But the complex process of reading
also requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense,
reading is also a productive skill in that we are both receiving information and transmitting it (even if
only to ourselves).

Reading is the third of the four language skills, which are:

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

Why is Reading Important?

Reading is a receptive skill that allows us to receive information. As you're reading this now, you
should (hopefully) be receiving information and learning something new (or reinforcing what you
already know).

Being able to read gives you access to a wealth of information that wasn't accessible to you before.
You can learn and discover new things and widen your vocabulary.

Reading also allows us to access stories from around the world. Stories help to shape children (and
adults) and they've proven to make us more empathetic as people. Reading stories lets us step into
somebody else's shoes and show us a new perspective of the world that we might have never seen
or even considered before. Reading isn't just important for enjoying literature (though being able to
read novels and poems is a benefit!). It helps in every aspect of life.

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For children in school, reading is essential for every subject, not just English. In maths, reading is
important for understanding word problems. In science, you need to be able to read and
comprehend the instructions before you begin an experiment.

Beyond education, reading is important for everyday life. We read all the time without even
realising. We read road signs, instructions, packaging on food... words are everywhere!

How to encourage students to read

For some children, the passion for reading develops at a young age and never leaves them. For
others, they may enjoy reading at a young age but begin to less frequently pick up a book as they get
older and find other distractions. And for many, they’re not afraid to say they don’t enjoy reading!

More often than not, however, children who say they do not like to read have been put off in some
way or another by a bad experience of reading. Here at Twinkl we’ve compiled a list of top tips to
encourage students to read and ignite their passion for reading:

1. Fill their world with books

The more books and different genres you have available for your children, the more likely
they are to find something that interests them! You can ask your class what books they like
and if they say “none”, do not fear - simply ask them probing questions about their interests.

2. Be a reading role model

If we want to encourage students to read, we need to lead by example and show them what
a good reader looks like. When you set a reading hour with your class, join in with them! It’s
important for them to see how enjoyable and enriching reading can be and you can use this
time to share your thoughts on what you’re reading and encourage them to do the same.

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3. Embrace World Book Day
Chances are your school already celebrates World Book Day so this is a great opportunity to
really take your class to town and inspire them to love books and reading! Encourage dress-
up and plan activities that help throw your pupils into their favourite fictional worlds.

4. Implement movement in your reading hours.

It can be difficult for children to sit quietly for long periods of time, and forcing this on them
is less likely to make them suddenly enjoy reading. Why not offer a chance of movement to
break up quiet, independent reading hours by asking them to act out key elements of a book
chapter? This is a great way for students to analyse chapters and pick out important
information.

5. Invite students to socialize around reading.

Book clubs and reading groups provide excellent opportunities for students to communicate
with each other about what they’re reading and share their thoughts and ideas.

6. Assign a reading log.

When you encourage students to read, it can be a good idea to ask them to keep track of
what they’re reading and their progress. You can encourage them to write down any
questions they stumble upon whilst reading and you can invite them to air these questions
with their class in a special allocated slot. This is a great way to open up a dialogue about
reading.

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Learning to read takes time and practice, but luckily, Twinkl has plenty of teacher-made resources to
support children with this. No matter whether you're a parent or a teacher, these reading resources
can help you help children on their reading journey (and maybe even turn them into bookworms).

 Whole-Class Guided Reading Pack - This resource pack has everything you
need to start holding effective guided reading sessions with your class.
Reading together helps children to build confidence and develop their
listening skills.

 Book Band/Reading Level Reference Sheet - This reference sheet is perfect

for keeping track of what reading level individual children are at. You can
track their progress and offer support where needed.

 Reading Strategies Bookmarks - These bookmarks don't just help you

remember where you left off when reading - they feature a range of useful
reading strategies to help children develop their skills. For example, there's
advice such as 'break up the word into smaller words' and 'use the picture
clues'.

 Books I Have Read Record - Keeping a record of what books children have
read is a lovely way to record and look back on their progress. They could be
rewarded when they read 10, 20 or even 50 books!

 Brilliant Book List Year 1 - Struggling to find books for your child or your
pupils to read? Not with this handy list. Featuring over 70 book
recommendations for year 1 children, this is a fantastic resource to have on
hand when encouraging children to read.

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What is writing?

Writing is a method of representing language in visual or tactile form. Writing systems use sets of
symbols to represent the sounds of speech, and may also have symbols for such things as
punctuation and numerals.

Writing is a cognitive activity involving neuropsychological and physical processes and the use
of writing systems to structure and translate human thoughts into persistent representations of
human language. A system of writing relies on many of the same semantic structures as the
language it represents, such as lexicon and syntax, with the added dependency of a system of
symbols representing that language's phonology and morphology. Nevertheless, written language
may take on characteristics distinctive from any available in spoken language. [1]

The outcome of this activity, also called "writing", and sometimes a "text", is a series of physically
inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented linguistic symbols. The interpreter or
activator of a text is called a "reader".

Writing Styles

Your audience and writing purpose will determine your writing style. The four main types of writing
styles are persuasive, narrative, expository, and descriptive. In this blog post, we’ll briefly explore
the defining features of these four writing styles. For more help using these writing styles, schedule
an appointment at the GWC!

Persuasive: For this writing style, the writer is trying to convince the reader of the validity of a
certain position or argument. Persuasive writing includes the writers’ opinions, and provides
justifications and evidence to support their claims.

Examples: Letters of recommendation; cover letters; Op-Eds and Editorial newspaper articles;
argumentative essays for academic papers

Narrative: Often seen in longer writing samples, the purpose of this writing style is to share
information in the context of a story. Narratives should include characters, conflicts, and settings.

Examples: Short stories; novels; poetry; historical accounts

Expository: This type of writing is used to explain a concept and share information to a broader
audience. Expository writing provides evidence, statistics, or results and focuses on the facts of a
certain topic. This type is not meant to express opinions.

Examples: How-to articles; textbooks; news stories (not editorials or Op-Eds); business, technical, or
scientific writing

Descriptive: This type of writing is used to depict imagery to create a clear picture in the mind of the
reader. This method helps the readers become more connected to the writing by appealing to their
senses. Descriptive writing employs literary techniques such as similes, metaphors, allegory, etc to
engage the audience.

Examples: Poetry; fictional novels or plays; memoirs or first-hand accounts of events

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Writing is an essential part of college, but it’s also essential for most professions, your personal life,
and your community participation. You may not realize just how much writing you do—an email to
your boss or employees, a note to your child’s teacher, your resume and cover letter, a survey about
improvements to your city or neighborhood, or a text asking your partner to do something for you.
We are all writers and communicators!

Reasons to Improve Your Writing

1. Writing has become the #1 way we communicate with others.

We do more writing as a society than ever before. It has now become the primary way we gather
information and interact and connect with others. Improving your written communications allows
you to confidently communicate with everyone. Writing is often the first impression that others
have of us.

Writing is often the first impression that others have of us.

2. People judge you based on your writing.

Our writing is often the first impression that others have of us. People often read our writing before
ever meeting us face to face. Errors or disorganized or incomplete thoughts in our writing lead
others to make assumptions about our intelligence and our character.

3. You’re more likely to get what you want with clear and direct writing.

Writing is a form of communication. We often communicate in order to request something of

someone. If the one reading your request cannot fully understand or locate what you need from
them, you are not likely to get your request fulfilled.

4. Writing is an essential job skill.

Even if you don’t do a lot of writing on the job (which is rare), you still communicate in other ways.
Improving your writing helps you to become a better communicator overall and it also improves
your reading, which is another essential job skill. And your ability to write a well-crafted application,
resume, and cover letter is the first step to getting a job.

5. Writing expresses your thinking skills.

Disorganized writing could indicate that your thinking is disorganized. If your writing is not fully
developed, it could indicate that you have not fully developed your thoughts. Improving your writing
skills will improve the way you think about your topic and help you explain or discuss it with others.

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Writing is not just a medium to communicate, it has many other benefits. Here are ten benefits that
you can derive from the art of writing.

Better Communication
The practice of writing makes you want to improve your vocabulary and phrase better
sentences. It all comes into play when you are in an important conversation where you can put
across your thoughts in a better and clearer manner. Writing helps you communicate better, orally
or in writing itself.

Creativity
Creative writing is an art. The more you write, the more you learn to imagine, visualize, or simply
create something. Be it a movie script, or the lyrics of a song, it all involves writing. Writing is a great
practice if you are in any of the creative fields, or even if you take it as a hobby.

Relieves Mental Stress

Writing your thoughts down on paper is one of the best exercises to do if you want to clear your
mind and relieve some mental stress. Putting down emotions in writing will make you feel at peace.
For example, just writing a simple journal each day can make you feel lighter and help you sleep
better. As per a study, people who take out time once a week to write down the good things in their
lives are more optimistic and excited about their present circumstance and future.

Improves Perspective
Writing your schedule or in fact, old memories can make you think better about your goals and how
efficient you are in life. It gives you a fresh and broader perspective on your priorities. Writing often
can help you boost your prioritizing skills. Writing helps in keeping track of creative ideas that are
needed in the workplace or in life in general. While brainstorming, those ideas are quite hard to
organise. Writing helps in storing and giving perspective to ideas that might or could have been
forgotten. Moreover, while writing fiction, it gives an edge and sheds objective light for the reader to
go through the fictional scene, thus making for an engaging and interesting read.

Accomplishment
Writing can provide a sense of accomplishment, which is a very empowering feeling to have,
however small it might be. It can make you feel more confident and at the very least, can positively
affect your mood.

Sharpens Memory
Writing helps in improving your memory. It grows stronger the more you practice. Writing is one of
the best techniques to memorise things in an orderly form. It also stores memories and feelings and
brings them back exactly how they were felt and written.

Makes you a better writer

Writing on takes effort. This makes writing by hand a tedious job but bears fruit in the end. It forces
one to slow down and consider each phrase carefully while giving a record of the progress and the
edits that one has made along the way.

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Improves health
Dyslexia is a condition that is caused by a disconnection between the auditory, language processors
of the brain. Fortunately, writing by hand helps those processors centre and function together.
People who struggle with dyslexia also struggle with learning to read because their brains associate
the sound and the letter combinations ineffectively. Learning cursive writing helps with this
decoding process and upgrade hand-eye coordination, motor skills and other memory functions. It
even acts as a preventive measure for serious diseases like Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Your immune system will be strengthened, and your risk of infection will be reduced if you write
expressively. Those who journal report increased immune system function and reduced asthma and
rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. Expressive writing has also been shown to increase liver and lung
performance as well as combat such ailments, and it has even been documented to speed up the
recovery process for the injured.

Improves self-expression
Using your hands to write help you stop getting tongue-tied. It teaches you how to expand your
ideas and think about them thoroughly. Writing by hand takes longer and allows you to think about
your sentences. When you write by hand, you have more leeway to express yourself. Unlike a
computer screen, pen on paper could be more forgiving. You can still cross out words and tuck
things away.

Helps in deep and critical thinking

Writing by hand is relatively slower, which enables the mind to think critically about what you’re
writing. It aids in the expansion of your thinking and the formation of links between ideas.

Writing by hand allows you to see the connections between abstract ideas and aids in the solution of
complex problems. It encourages you to take your time and pay attention to your thoughts. Writing
on a daily basis has been shown to aid in the communication of complex ideas. This has advantages
in terms of emotional intelligence (the ability to articulate how you feel) as well as in what are called
the hard sciences, like mathematics.

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References:

https://www.englishclub.com/reading/what.php

https://www.twinkl.com.ph/teaching-wiki/reading

https://omniglot.com/writing/definition.htm

https://web.uri.edu/graduate-writing-center/writing-
styles/#:~:text=The%20four%20main%20types%20of,narrative%2C%20expository%2C%20and%20de
scriptive.

https://www.uagc.edu/blog/the-importance-of-writing-well-how-to-grow-as-a-
writer#:~:text=Writing%20is%20an%20essential%20job%20skill.&text=Improving%20your%20writin
g%20helps%20you,step%20to%20getting%20a%20job.

https://unlu.io/blog/benefits-of-writing-2

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