Raising Writers

Writing and reading are closely related and, some would say, inseparable. Better writers tend to be better readers, and better readers produce better writing. (from the National Writing Project)

I have often rejected the premise, repeated often in homeschooling circles, that all a child needs to do to learn how to write well is to read many books. It is simply not true. However, in addition to excellent writing instruction, reading is an important factor in how well a student writes. As I have helped parents with writing instruction or taught writing to students, I have found time and again that those who learn to write most easily are those who love to read quality literature.

The biggest area of difference I find between readers and non-readers (and I will include twaddle-only readers in this category) is in sentence structure. It is difficult to explain the value of complex, compound, or compound-complex sentences to a child who has no experience with them. Show me a child who has read White, Stevenson, and Swift with relish, and I will show you a child who understands what makes a clever sentence.

Another trait I see in readers is a more precise choice of words. A child who was repeatedly delighted by the vocabulary of interesting literature values words. As well, they will have a larger vocabulary, learned easily over the years by context, readily available for their writing.

Finally, I find that a love of reading is tied, with few exceptions, to a love of writing. When cultivating a desire to read, it is helpful to remember that it will probably carry over to a desire to write. The effort, already worth so much, is worth that much more in saving you long hours trying to teach a child with no desire for it to write well.

I cannot stress how valuable hearing and reading great literature are to the education of a child. Writing is just one area where this will be discovered.