For most children, library books capture their interests and motivate reading more than basal texts do. Choosing library books is highly informal, whereas textbook reading involves more formal, structured plans of teaching. There are a plethora of choices to make in types of literature available to children. These include folk tales, fairy tales,…

This paper emphasizes the connections between listening and the language arts. It lists advantages of students who are good listeners, such as students can learn more when listening well, and students learn to be polite by listening. In addition, the paper lists the following conditions which improve student listening: teaching and learning…

A quality evaluation program is needed to determine student progress in the language arts. Evaluation procedures emphasized should appraise in terms of stated objectives. A variety of procedures should be used since no approach is perfect. Approaches include: instructor observation of student progress; completion of checklists or rating scales;…

Connecting reading and writing has become an important trend in teaching the language arts. Poetry, as a salient facet of the reading curriculum, integrates well with different purposes in writing. Poetry read aloud to students can assist learners to enjoy reading activities and develop the feeling and aesthetic dimension of learning, among other…

Pupils learn to read in different ways with the use of diverse procedures. Many approaches in teaching reading have been used in the last 30 years and are still widely used, such as basal reading approaches; individualized reading using library books; strong phonics emphasis for young learners; whole language approaches; and experience charts.…

Through numerous contributions from the field of linguistics, a modified language arts curriculum has resulted. Language arts teachers need to be thoroughly versed in content and methodology recommendations made by linguists. One such recommendation, for example, is that students should understand sentence patterns in English. These patterns…

Language arts experiences integrate well with quality science lessons and units of study. For example, there are many opportunities for listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities in science. Ideas gleaned in science need to be communicated in diverse ways involving one or more senders and receivers of messages. Students may read about…

An important type of reading for elementary age pupils is to read poetry. Pupils need to experience reading and writing different kinds and forms of poetry. There are rich meanings and messages in poetry. The novel use of words adds to the learning repertoire of pupils. There should be poems for pupils to read that deal with diverse topics and…

Emerging adolescents should have ample opportunities to present creative ideas in written form. Some generalizations may be helpful in identifying and understanding the creative student. Creative people have been found to possess the following traits (Iris Tiedt, 1983): nonconformity of ideas, egotism and feelings of destiny, great curiosity, a…

Intended for elementary school teachers, this article deals with reading readiness, handwriting, listening skills, and linguistics in the elementary school. The reading readiness section discusses utilizing pictures in teaching, using real objects in teaching, making picture dictionaries, placing labels on objects, developing experience charts,…

The ability to communicate content effectively to others is important. Besides using various approaches and techniques to help pupils achieve optimum speaking fluency, language arts teachers must also determine students' present oral communication achievement levels and guide their progress accordingly. Approaches to teaching oral fluency include…

Pupils need to study grammar that is useful and functional. How much stress should the language arts place upon pupils understanding the eight parts of speech in traditional grammar? Good teaching emphasizes proceeding from the concrete to the semi-concrete in teaching-learning situations, then the abstract phase of learning needs to be…

Community service is excellent for students if done in proper circumstances. There should be worthwhile, carefully chosen, objectives for learner attainment. Learning opportunities need to be safe and emphasize the psychology of education. Noting that he has supervised student teachers in the public schools for 30 years, the author of this paper…

Teachers need to stay abreast of the latest trends in the language arts to offer an updated curriculum. The language arts areas are vital in each academic discipline and integrate well with diverse subject matter areas. Some common trends when reading the literature on teaching the language arts are: portfolios; journaling; computerized reading…

Eleven essays concerning the teaching of the language arts, ranging in length from 3 to 16 pages, are collected in this document. "Oral Communication and the Learner" considers students' needs as learners and effective methods for teaching oral communication. "The Teacher and the Psychology of Learning" draws on behaviorism, humanism, and the…