INTEGRATING READING, WRITING, SPEAKING &

LISTENING IN GRADES K-1

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013 HANNAHEHRLICH 6 COMMENTS

Katherine Ali is a dual-certified elementary and special

education teacher. She recently graduated as a literacy specialist with a Masters
in Science from Manhattanville College. She has experience teaching internationally
in northern China and now teaches in the Bronx, NY.
As educators, we witness the transformations of students throughout elementary
school. First graders will one day become fifth graders, while fifth graders were
once first graders. So we must think, where did our students come from? and where
are they going next? Our classroom must be structured to prepare our students for
the future and help them build a skillset they can bring with them. In order to be
active participants in the literate world, students must be reading, writing,
speaking, and listening at all ages.
Here on the LEE & LOW blog, Ill illustrate what it looks like to integrate reading,
writing, speaking, and listening across several grade levels: K-1, 2-3, and 4-5. The
natural interplay of language looks slightly different across grade levels, but the
foundations and mission are the same.
Reading: Text Complexity and the growth of comprehension
We want our students to ascend the staircase of text complexity and simultaneously
sharpen their comprehension skills. Students of all ages need to build stamina
through independently reading more rigorous and complex texts. Additionally, readalouds allow students to access content and concepts they may not be able to
decode themselves.
Writing: Text types, responding to reading, and research

The three main categories of student writing the standards focus on are opinion
pieces, research-based projects, and narratives. It is also imperative that our
students engage in the writing process and expand their writing style using the
conventions of the English language.
Speaking and Listening: Flexible Communication and Collaboration
Speaking and Listening in each grade level includes (but is certainly not limited
to) presentations, group work, and class discussion. Students need to be aware
of their oral language skills and communicate their thoughts and research
appropriately. Building off other students ideas is also an important component in
developing these skills.
Over the next few weeks, Ill share a few titles published by LEE & LOW BOOKS that
illustrate opportunities for integrating oral and written language in the classroom. The
stories can be used in different capacities depending on students interest and
ability; therefore I focus on the interest level as well as the guided reading level to
determine each books grade-level appropriateness. Furthermore, while the minilesson ideas and strategy-based activities are categorized by each key feature, they
are still connected.

Grades K-1
Rainbow Stew by Cathryn Falwell
Interest Level: Grades K -3
DRA: 16, Guided Reading: I
Reading: The rhythm and rhyming of Rainbow Stew (Whimper, sigh, cloudy sky, is
it to wet to play? We dont want to stay inside/ because of rain today) make it a

fantastic read aloud. Teachers can model how to use the bright, colorful pictures
and other context clues to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words such as soggy
and grasshopper.

image from Rainbow Stew

Students can also practice reading together through choral reading exercises in
either whole class or small group instruction. Choral reading supports struggling
readers and strengthens fluency. Students are also then listening to the rhythm and
rhyming of the authors words repeatedly. Additionally, students may be able to
read this story independently to practice fluency and build vocabulary. For emergent
readers, this text can be a tool to teach phonemic awareness and word patterns as
well.
Writing: Author Cathryn Falwell uses a methodical writing style of action words
followed by rhyming verses. Young learners can discuss the writers craft in this
picture book as well as notice some nuances in the different verses with strong
scaffolding. Teachers can lead a shared writing project in which the class borrows
Falwells style and writes their own book, playing with words. Another ageappropriate reading and writing strategy presented in Rainbow Stew is sequencing.
Students will need to refer to the story in order to recount the events by either
drawing pictures or writing.
Speaking & Listening: Teachers can facilitate an interactive read-aloud in which
students turn and talk to one another about the story. Asking questions such as,
What other stories does Rainbow Stew remind you of? adheres to the reading
standards in making connections across different texts and fosters intentional
discussions. Through the choral reading exercise students are reading, speaking,

and listening to the text. Creating a class book improves collaboration skills such as
taking turns, listening to others ideas, and compromising.