Introducing Writing Before Reading is The Most Efficient and Effective Way for Students to Learn How to Read

By : Ms Listy

1.    Why This Approach is Important

Children who are just learning letters and sounds (phonemic awareness) do not yet have much experience reading texts, but they can start writing: drawing letters, stringing letters together into syllables, making word guesses, and writing down their own ideas. This writing process encourages several things:

• Strengthens the letter → sound → word connection, because they have to think about which letters correspond to the sounds they hear or imagine.

• Helps children “talk” to themselves about what they know or predict before reading, so that when they read later, they already have a mental context.

• Increasing motivation and ownership: when children write about something they know/are interested in/imagine, they will be more engaged.

• Providing teachers with early signals if there are unclear areas (for example, if a child cannot yet distinguish certain letters), so that teachers can intervene early on.

2.    Evidence from Local Research

Several studies in Indonesia show that writing + reading (or writing before reading) practices are effective, especially in the early stages:

Study	Subjects / Age	Intervention & Focus	Result
The Implementation of the Beginning Reading and Writing Method (SDN Tatura, grade 1)	First grade elementary school students	Contextual and student-centered beginning reading and writing method (MMP); simple writing and reading activities – simple sentences. [Unismuh Makassar Journal]	The percentage of students who passed the simple sentence reading test increased from 75% to 93% after two cycles. [Unismuh Makassar Journal]
Tracing Early Literacy Development Through Responding to Illustrated Story Books	Grades 1–3 Elementary School	Children respond to picture books: listen to stories, look at pictures, then write their own responses to the stories/pictures. [ijrdo.org]	Early reading and writing skills grow gradually; appreciation for picture books is excellent. [ijrdo.org]
Implementation of LMMI method for Early Childhood	Early childhood / PAUD	The “Fluent Reading & Writing Beautifully” (LMMI) method teaches reading and writing simultaneously, involves teachers and parents, and uses child-friendly methods. [Al-AMIN Journal]	Children are more responsive and effective in understanding and using reading and writing skills. [Al-AMIN Journal]
Application of Phonics Method for Early Literacy Development	Preschool children / early childhood	Focus on phonics: learning letter-sound relationships, letter recognition, simple spelling, and cooperation between teachers and parents. [FKIP Unila Journal]	It turns out that the phonics method accelerates early literacy development: reading letters, spelling, and distinguishing letter sounds is better than before the intervention. [FKIP Unila Journal]

3.    Combined Ideas: “Writing Before Reading” + Proven Practices

Based on evidence and theory, here is an effective combination for children who are just learning letters:

• Written predictions / writing initial ideas

  Before reading, ask children to write down what they think they will read based on the title or pictures. They can also write one or two words that they expect to appear.

• Writing simple letters/syllables

  Children can start by writing letters they have already learned, spelling simple syllables, and making words from syllables. This helps them understand the relationship between sounds and letters.

• Writing responses to picture stories

  After reading (or listening to) a picture story, children write their responses (e.g., I like it because..., I think this will happen..., my favorite picture is...). This activity provides an opportunity to write first, think critically, and then read more deeply.

• Phonics instruction & explicit letter teaching

  Use methods that teach letters and sounds systematically so that children understand how sounds are pronounced and written. Teachers need to practice this with writing tasks, not just reading.

• Home-school collaboration

  Parents can be encouraged to support their children in writing small tasks at home: for example, writing the names of objects around the house, making pictures + labels, short stories. This reinforces the writing experience before/with reading at school.

• High but gradual frequency

  Light writing tasks (predictions, writing letters, responding to pictures) can be done several times a week so that children get used to it, while increasing the complexity as they progress.

Summary

Writing before (or at the same time as) reading activities helps early childhood children understand letters, sounds, and language structure more quickly because they are “actively creating language,” not just receiving it. Local research in Indonesia supports that early reading and writing methods, story response, phonics methods, and child-friendly literacy methods yield positive results in the reading and writing abilities of early childhood/first grade students. To be effective, there must be clear phonics instruction, meaningful writing tasks, contexts that are interesting to children, and support from teachers and parents.

References 

Graham, S., & Hebert, M. (2010). Writing to Read: Evidence for How Writing Can Improve Reading. Alliance for Excellent Education. https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/WritingtoRead_NGA.pdf

Stokes, L. (2024). Writing Improves Reading Comprehension. Learning to Teach Journal, 12(1), 45–57. https://openjournals.utoledo.edu/index.php/learningtoteach/article/view/1293

Yamin, M. (2023). The Implementation of the Beginning Reading and Writing Method in Learning Indonesian for Grade 1 Students at SDN Tatura Palu. Konfiks: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 10(2), 58–66. https://journal.unismuh.ac.id/index.php/konfiks/article/view/18642

Anggraini, D. (2023). Tracing Early Literacy Development Through Responding to Illustrated Story Books. International Journal of Research and Development Organization (IJRDO) – Education Research, 9(1), 1–10. https://ijrdo.org/index.php/er/article/view/543

Sukmawati, N. (2022). Implementation of LMMI Method for Early Childhood: Fluent Reading and Writing Beautifully. Jurnal Al-Aulad: Journal of Islamic Early Childhood Education, 4(1), 50–59. https://ejournal.staialamin.ac.id/index.php/paud/article/view/170

Rohimah, L., & Arini, T. (2023). Application of Phonics Method for Early Literacy Development in PAUD. Jurnal Pendidikan Progresif, 13(1), 145–156. https://jurnal.fkip.unila.ac.id/index.php/jpp/article/view/32946