Digital Tools for Integrating Reading and Writing Instruction in English Education - Grades 6-12
Abstract: Although the disciplines of reading and writing should be woven together as integrated, interdependent practices in grades 6-12 (NCTE 2016), most middle and high school teachers implement separate instructional units for reading and writing, connecting the two disciplines only through the narrow lens of literary analysis (Graham & Herbert, 2010). A study of teacher perceptions and practices regarding integrating literacy instruction confirmed this disconnect, revealing it stems primarily from teachers' lack of training and a resulting sense of pedagogical insecurity (Doubet & Southall, 2017). This paper presents a variety of approaches to using digital tools to help grades 6-12 preservice and inservice teachers gain both confidence and competence in uniting reading and writing instruction into one unified whole. These strategies also provide equity and access to students with varying backgrounds, strengths, interests, and learning needs.