WriteStories as a Bridge Between Reading and Writing

Most literacy programs treat reading and writing as separate skills. Children learn to decode text in one lesson, then write their own sentences in another. But research has long shown that reading and writing are deeply connected, and strengthening one often improves the other. The Institute of Education Sciences, for example, highlights that children who regularly engage in writing activities show stronger reading comprehension outcomes.

WriteStories brings these two worlds together. By working directly with illustrated books, children are invited to interact with text (or in this case, create it) in the same space where they experience story structure, sequence, and visual cues. Instead of reading passively, they’re actively producing narratives, reinforcing their understanding of how stories work.

For teachers and homeschoolers, this is particularly valuable. Imagine a student who loves picture books but struggles with summarizing what they’ve read. In WriteStories, that same student can use the illustrations as a springboard to tell the story in their own words. This not only develops expressive writing but also strengthens comprehension—the student is internalizing the plot, characters, and emotions enough to retell them authentically.

The approach echoes findings from the National Literacy Trust in the UK, which stresses that combining reading and writing activities significantly boosts literacy engagement, especially among reluctant learners. WriteStories transforms reading from passive intake into active creation, helping students build both decoding and composing skills simultaneously.

The result is a tool that parents, teachers, and students all value: a platform that doesn’t just teach kids to write, but shows them how reading and writing together can unlock creativity and deeper understanding.