How Good Reading Habits Help Kids Become Confident Writers
In this post, we’ll look at how reading and writing develop together and why strengthening both can help children grow as academically and socially.
Reading and writing are often taught as if they’re separate subjects. Reading focuses on understanding letter, sounds and words. Writing expresses those thoughts and ideas. But the two are closely connected. Reading provides children with the language and structure they need to write. Writing, in turn, helps them reflect on what they’ve read and express ideas in their own words. In order to support one, we really have to support both equally.
Side note: The U.S. and U.K. have very different approaches to teaching english. This is an interesting topic for another day.
Reading Builds the Mental Framework for Writing
Long before children begin writing on their own, they’re already learning how language works.
Through stories, they hear how sentences flow, how characters speak, and how ideas connect. Even without being taught, they pick up tone and the cadence of language just by listening. This becomes the foundation they will draw from when they begin to write. This is also why we talk to babies and why it’s worth continuing to read aloud to older kids who are still developing confidence.
Children who are read to often have stronger storytelling skills and a wider vocabulary, both of which are closely tied to writing growth. (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008; Mol & Bus, 2011)
Even in preschool, you may hear kids use what some call “book language” during play. That’s a sign they’re already internalizing these ideas.
Writing Helps Them Discover Their Style
Writing gives kids a place to organize thoughts, explore emotions, and work through ideas.
Over time, with regular exposure to books and language-rich conversation, their writing becomes clearer and more organized. They begin to choose stronger words, change the order of words within sentences, and care about how their ideas come across.
This process is sometimes called “reading-writing transfer.” The more kids read, the more sentence patterns and vocabulary they store in memory. That language often shows up in their own work. (Shanahan, 2016; Tierney & Shanahan, 1991)
Writing about what they have read can also reinforce what they’ve learned. Whether they draw a scene from the story, tell it back better, or write down facts they remember, they’re showing how the story was meaningful to them.
Storytellers
There are children who naturally have big ideas and strong imaginations, but who find the physical task of writing frustrating. For them, storytelling is easy, but spelling and handwriting cause frustration.
That doesn’t mean they can't be writers. It means there is a large spectrum of normal and this timeline isn't a pre-prescribed certainty.
You can try letting them dictate while you write, use audio recordings, or have them draw stories as picture books. If they want to write by hand, avoid focusing on mistakes. The goal is that they are learning to trust their creativity, not be perfect. Reminding them that even professional writers have "dirty drafts" and unpolished work in order to get their thoughts down on the page, can be helpful.
Processing Emotions
Writing is so much more than homework. It can help children work through feelings, understand their thoughts, and share what matters to them (poetry for example). Just the act of sitting patiently waiting for your brain to think of something to write about is time well spent.
Even at a young age, children can use writing to explain what they’re feeling. A sentence like “Today I felt…” or a drawing with a few words are helpful ways adults can understand the inner experience of even young children.
This kind of expressive writing supports emotional growth. It can also give them a sense of control or relief. (Verywell Health / Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005)
When children feel safe putting their thoughts into words, or even pictures, it contributes to the development of resilience. They may not want to talk out loud, but they can still process what they’re going through.
Even Reluctant Writers Love Stories
Some children avoid writing because they worry about mistakes. Others just haven't found the genre that speaks to them
In his memoir On Writing, Stephen King described how one sentence of praise from his mother changed everything. She told him a story he wrote at age six was good. That encouragement left a lasting impression.
Sounds so simple and that's kind of the point I am trying to make here. It's nothing to overthink. Just keep encouraging.
When a child finds a story they love, everything can change. They can't stop thinking about it and they want to share it with you. They might want to imagine what happens next, create a new character, or rewrite the ending. That little spark of interest often becomes the first step toward stronger writing.
When my kids were younger and were frustrated with a favorite author for leaving a book on a cliffhanger just to wait a year for the next release, I would tell them to go write the first chapter of the next book in the series themselves.
Reading and Writing Support Every Subject
Children who read and write regularly are often more prepared in other areas of school. These skills support learning across the curriculum.
According to research from the Institute of Education Sciences, students with higher reading achievement tend to perform better across subjects. (IES, 2016; Snow & Uccelli, 2009)
A child who can follow instructions and express ideas is more confident in any classroom.
Nothing Fancy
You don’t need a curriculum to support your child’s reading or writing. Just create a home where stories and creativity are part of daily life. Teach them how wonderful words can be.
Small things add up and make a difference. The presence of books in the house, reading together and encouragement to write, without critique, all contribute to feeling safe in creative pursuits.
Here are a few ways to build those habits:
- Ask questions while reading, like “What do you think will happen?”
- Keep pens, paper, and notebooks in every room
- Have pretty or fun bags or storage cases for supplies
- Praise their ideas more than their spelling
- Let them write about what they enjoy
- Point out everyday writing like lists, reminders, thank-you notes
- Let your child change the ending to a favorite story
- Trade notes in a small notebook
- Use pocket-sized notebooks to make mini books (Dollar Store has these in bulk packs)
- Set up a basic word processor to help with hand fatigue
- Create a “word jar” and pick one new word each day
- Some daily calendars are word of the day for older kids
- Keep a journal with short sentences or sketches out on the cabinet
- After reading, ask: “Would you like to write something like that?”
- Model writing by doing it yourself where they can see
Resources:
Baikie, Karen A., and Kay Wilhelm. “Emotional and Physical Health Benefits of Expressive Writing.” Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, vol. 11, no. 5, 2005, pp. 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.11.5.338.
King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. Scribner, 2000.
Mol, Suzanne E., and Adriana G. Bus. “To Read or Not to Read: A Meta-Analysis of Print Exposure from Infancy to Early Adulthood.” Psychological Bulletin, vol. 137, no. 2, 2011, pp. 267–296. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021890.
National Early Literacy Panel. Developing Early Literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel. National Institute for Literacy, 2008. PDF.
Shanahan, Timothy. “Relationships between Reading and Writing Development.” Handbook of Writing Research, 2nd ed., edited by Charles A. MacArthur, Steve Graham, and Jill Fitzgerald, Guilford Press, 2016, pp. 194–210.
Snow, Catherine E., and Paola Uccelli. “The Challenge of Academic Language.” The Cambridge Handbook of Literacy, edited by David R. Olson and Nancy Torrance, Cambridge UP, 2009, pp. 112–133.
Tierney, Robert J., and Timothy Shanahan. “Research on the Reading–Writing Relationship: Interactions, Transactions, and Outcomes.” Handbook of Reading Research, vol. 2, edited by Rebecca Barr et al., Longman, 1991, pp. 246–280.
U.S. Dept. of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, What Works Clearinghouse. Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade. NCEE 2016-4008, 2016. PDF.