Poetry and Process: The Reading/Writing Connection.

tional language arts program and taught instead through the students' own reading and writing. The children in Mary Ann Wessells' Grade 5 classroom were used to choosing their own reading material and writing topics and drawing on the combined expertise of their classroom community. I read and wrote along with the children, and they often included me in their conferences. I could see that Nancy was watching me shyly. I recalled that I had read one of my poems to the class the day before, and I wondered if hearing my poetry had made Nancy brave enough to share hers.