Teachers, researchers, and curriculum specialists are giving increased attention to the relationship between reading and writing. Although researchers have found supporting evidence for a moderate relationship between reading and writing, this relationship may be even stronger in classrooms that utilize educational approaches to teaching and learning that integrally tie reading to writing. Vygotsky's socio- historical theory of education fosters these connections both in terms of shared knowledge and processes. Based on this theory, quality literature can serve as a powerful tool in guiding students as they develop greater understanding and skill at writing and authoring. It provides students with the opportunity to think and respond to literature that is more complex in terms of writing style and other characteristics than the students are currently generating. Several teaching strategies which use quality literature to facilitate writing and authoring are presented. Teacher resources and sample text sets are also provided.
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