Reading Comprehension Strategies: How Writing Helps

Enhancing Cognitive Skills through Writing Activities

Students need both reading and writing to be ready for school, work, and life. Both skills matter, and both require knowledge for success.

For many years, schools have taught reading and writing as if they were separate without adopting effective strategies for integrating the two. Reading comprehension often receives more time and attention, while writing is left behind.

Research shows this is a mistake. Reading and writing are closely connected. Improving one can lead to improvements in the other. For example, students understand a text better when they write about what they read (Graham & Hebert, 2010). When they read strong examples, their own writing improves because they can develop an understanding of effective genre elements and text structures (Graham et al., 2024).

We cannot continue treating these skills as two different things. Students need daily practice in both reading and writing, which support each other. The good news is that integration can fit within lessons teachers are already teaching.

How Reading and Writing Work Together

Reading and writing share a similar foundation, as both require prior knowledge of language and concepts. Both rely on vocabulary, knowledge of sentence structure, and an understanding of how texts are organized.

Writing Makes Reading Stronger

Writing about content helps students process texts more deeply, enriching their reading comprehension and knowledge. Through comprehension monitoring, students can evaluate their understanding as they write, requiring them to sort ideas, choose evidence, and explain it in their own words. This experience of reflecting and elaborating helps deepen comprehension.

A meta-analysis by Graham and Hebert (2011) found that writing about reading significantly raised comprehension across grade levels. Strategies like summarizing, note-taking, and answering questions in writing gave students a stronger grasp of what they read.

Reading Makes Writing Stronger

Reading also builds better writers. When students read, they see how authors structure arguments, explain ideas, and use language to engage an audience. Mentor texts provide models they can imitate.

In 2018, Steve Graham and colleagues published Reading for Writing, a meta-analysis showing that reading interventions positively impacted student writing. The effect was strongest when reading instruction included attention to text structure and craft. This demonstrated that reading instruction can benefit both comprehension but also prepares students to be stronger writers.

Reading and Writing: A Two-Way Street

The lesson is clear: reading and writing work like a two-way street. When taught effectively, each one can support the other and lead to improvements in a variety of reading and writing skills, including comprehension, decoding, vocabulary, writing quality, mechanics, and output.

Why Schools Need Reading-Writing Integration Now

Schools are turning to integration for research and practical reasons and addressing questions about effective literacy instruction.

Standards and Tests

Across states, standardized tests now require students to write using evidence from texts. College- and career-ready standards, Common Core, and other frameworks emphasize source-based writing. State tests reflect this expectation. Students must read a passage and then write an analysis or argument. Without integration of reading and writing instruction, students struggle.

Equity and Access

Integration of reading and writing instruction also supports equity. Students who need extra help, such as multilingual learners or students with disabilities, benefit from learning reading comprehension and writing strategies together. Both skills reinforce vocabulary, comprehension, and expression. Research on Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) shows powerful results for these groups, highlighting effective strategies for integrating reading and writing (Graham et al., 2013; Harris et al., 2008).

Time and Workload

Time is the most common concern in schools. Teachers cannot add a new block just for writing. They cannot cover two separate programs in full. Integration of reading and writing instruction is the solution, focusing on effectively delivering the main idea. By embedding writing into reading blocks, teachers make every instructional minute count.

This also reduces teacher workload. Instead of two different lessons, teachers can plan one integrated lesson incorporating reading and writing within the same text. Many educators describe this as more natural and efficient, with reading comprehension strategies enhancing the integration of writing instruction.

Classroom Practices That Work

Integration does not require a brand-new program. Small shifts in strategies make a big difference.

While Reading

• Annotate with purpose. Ask students to jot questions, notes, or quick reactions in the margin to support reading comprehension monitoring. Later, use those notes as evidence in writing.
• Use mentor texts. Show how authors structure ideas, build arguments, and use transitions.
• Written responses. Before the discussion, students write a prediction, summary, or reflection, which aids in predicting the content and improving reading comprehension. Research shows that writing about texts improves comprehension (Graham & Hebert, 2010).

While Writing

• Cite evidence. Teach students to pull quotes, paraphrase, and link ideas directly to what they read. This practice reflects standards and assessment demands.
• Quick writes. Have students write for two minutes before sharing. This supports focus and prepares all learners, including quieter ones, for discussion.
• Revision as clarification. Connect revision to comprehension strategies. Just as rereading clears up confusion, rewriting strengthens meaning.

Across Subjects

Integration works across all disciplines by enhancing students’ knowledge.

• In science, students read lab procedures and then write clear reports.
• In history, they read sources and write essays supported with evidence.
• In math, they read problems and write explanations of their reasoning.

Research on writing in content areas (Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008) shows that this type of integration deepens learning across subjects.

How SRSD Supports Integration

Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) provides teachers with a structured way to connect reading and writing.

Strategy Instruction

SRSD offers clear strategies for planning and writing, incorporating explicit instruction to enhance understanding. For opinion writing, TREE helps students remember: Topic sentence, Reasons, Explanations, and Ending. For informative writing, TIDE helps them organize: Topic, Important Ideas, Detailed Explanations, and Ending.

The main idea here is that when students use TREE or TIDE, they not only organize their essays but also recognize the same structures in their reading. Students can also use these strategies to identify elements in text that they can use in their own writing. In this way, SRSD helps reading and writing skills reinforce each other.

Self-Regulation Skills

SRSD also builds self-regulation. Students set goals, use self-talk, develop their knowledge, and monitor progress. These skills apply to both decoding and reading and writing. A student who uses self-talk like “Did I explain this reason clearly?” in writing can also ask questions such as, “Did I understand this paragraph?” while reading.

Fits Any Curriculum

Because SRSD is a method, not a curriculum, it can be used alongside existing curricula and within content areas, allowing it to integrate seamlessly with text-based activities. Teachers can embed it in reading blocks, writing workshops, or use it to support content-area learning. This flexibility makes it ideal for schools that want integration without replacing their curriculum.

Common Challenges and Simple Fixes

Challenge 1: “It Feels Like Extra Work.”

Teachers worry that integration adds one more task, raising questions about effectively managing classroom time. The solution is to keep lessons short and incorporate strategies that maximize learning time, such as integrating text analysis into existing activities. SRSD mini-lessons often replace isolated skill drills. One lesson serves two goals: better reading and better writing.

Challenge 2: “Our Reading and Writing Programs Don’t Match.”

Many schools buy separate programs. This can make integration harder. A simple fix is to use the same tools across both. For example, a graphic organizer can help analyze a text while reading and plan an essay while writing. The tool stays the same while the purpose shifts.

Challenge 3: “I Haven’t Been Trained for Integration.”

Many teachers were prepared to teach reading and writing as separate subjects. Students do need explicit instruction and time dedicated to each while they build respective skills. But teachers can work to identify how to connect reading and writing effectively. SRSD training provides models and practice for writing.

A Look Inside the Classroom

Here’s an example of integration in action.

A fifth-grade class reads an article about recycling. During reading, students underline facts about how recycling helps the environment. They jot notes about which facts are most important.

Next, the teacher introduces TIDE. Students write a topic sentence: “Recycling helps protect our world.” They choose three reasons from their notes. They explain each reason in detail in the article. Finally, they write a strong ending.

In one lesson, students practice comprehension, annotation, planning, and essay writing. Reading informs writing, and writing deepens reading. Research calls this reciprocal literacy (Graham et al., 2024).

Now Is a Great Time to Integrate Reading and Writing Instruction in Your Classrooms

Reading comprehension strategies and writing instruction can each benefit one another. Students who only practice one are missing half the picture. When schools bring them together, students read more deeply and write with more confidence.

Decades of research back this up: writing improves reading (Graham & Hebert, 2011), and reading improves writing (Graham et al., 2018).

SRSD Online is here to help. Our Writing to Learn™ courses show teachers how to teach writing through clear strategies and self-regulation. Whether your school wants to strengthen Tier 1 instruction or provide Tier 2 supports, SRSD offers the evidence-based path forward.

Let’s stop treating reading and writing as separate. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how SRSD can help your school.

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