The writing bridge: Investigating reading and writing reciprocity

Writing is perhaps the most powerful and overlooked tool for improving reading proficiency for all students, and reading can enhance students’ writing as well. Moreover, the mechanisms by which writing may improve reading and reading improves writing are of particular importance for deaf and hard-of-hearing learners. This chapter details the theoretical and practical implications of reading-writing reciprocity and discusses the ways in which the development of each is both mutually sustaining and enriching. The chapter begins by presenting the theoretical and empirical evidence supporting reading-writing connections in curricula and instruction. This includes considering the connections reading and writing share with language. Then, the chapter discusses the importance of reading-writing connections given the unique language histories of deaf and hard-of-hearing learners, and the contemporary contexts of deaf education.