Article title: Some Linguistic Relationships Between Writing and Reading Abilities at the Primary Level - A Longitudinal Study

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the use of grammatical and rhetorical skills in writing and performance in reading. Primary children from southern Vancouver Island were used in the research and their writing and reading performance followed over a three-year period. Writing performance was indexed through the use of a modified Botel and Granowsky Formula for Syntactic Complexity, while reading behavior was examined by means of the Bond-Balow-Hoyt New Developmental Reading Tests. Results of the study revealed that the basic grammatical and rhetorical skills underlying both writing and reading behavior in Grades 1, 2, and 3 vary with age of subject and type of writing stimulus, that the type of writing stimulus affects writing performance, and that continued development of linguistic skills appears to result in an increased relationship between writing and reading. The conclusions drawn point to a need to involve children in more varied writing experiences, to foster both fluency and complexity in use of written language, and to provide more oral experiences in language learning activities.