EAT Task #1
Western Governors University
By Brad Clum
In the education field, probably one of the most important elements in the process of
learning is teaching the language arts. Elementary teachers must use activities that are
well organized to be sure and meet national and state standards. To assure this, they must
have be sure to have a language arts program in place that is orderly, clear in it's
statement and objectives, and in line with all standards. Teachers also must do their best
to engage their students by fostering learning through active participation. Reading,
writing, speaking and listening have been the main parts of language arts, but visual
media has made visually representing and viewing just as important (Roe & Ross, 2006).
Not only is is important for a student to become a literate individual, but being able to
build on skills learned in one grade and carrying them to the next is just as important.
WRITING:
Using a written language to communicate is equally important as reading (Roe & Ross,
2006). Students begin to learn how to write as early as kindergarten as they are taught to
write their names, learn the alphabet, and eventually learn to copy words that the teacher
writes on the chalkboard. This allows the teacher to focus on the neatness of their
writing. Many classrooms will have what is called a word wall that is a tool to help
children learn how to write correctly and neatly. When students move on to the first
grade, students are exposed more to the writing process of drafting, pre-writing, learning
how to revise their work, and even some editing. Once the students learn how to write
using correct form and spacing, penmanship becomes much more important. To become
a good writer, students must practice a great deal either on their own, or by completing
assignments given to them by their teacher. As they complete the writing assignments,
they should know what expectations are in place, usually from a rubric or scoring guide.
The facilitation of writing skills should start at a very young age, pre-school or even
sooner. This can be done by teaching the youngest of students how to correctly hold a
pencil or even a crayon, and then begin the process of teaching them how to correctly
form letters fluently and efficiently. Teachers should teach students about the writing
process, teach them that they can write for a variety of different purposes, and work with
them on constructing sentences for fluency, meaning, and style. In the classroom,
teachers should also try to create an engaged community of writers. To do this they
should give students time to write each and every day, give them different writing
choices, encourage them work together as writers, and provide them with opportunities to
give and receive with their writing.
READING:
Reading is basically the ability of a person to understand written language. This is the
main goal of any comprehensive language arts program in an elementary school. All of
the skills that were learned by the students in kindergarten and first grade will be vital in
determining whether they will be successful or not in the grades that follow. Most of the
time students enter school with the ability to read their name, a few small words, and
perhaps some smaller words that are used on a daily basis in their homes (Roe & Ross,
2006). Phonemic awareness is essential to develop an understanding of reading. This is
basically the connection between phonemic structure of language and words that are
heard.
Once this is learned, students are able to progress to advanced phonics. Once an
understanding of phonics is obtained, it is then important to develop fluency. Reading
text in a correct way using a natural speech pattern needs to be continuously practiced.
Once a student is fluent, they will be able to develop an advanced vocabulary and
comprehension is more advanced. Teaching a child to read should begin at infancy. The
reading process should begin within weeks of bringing a newborn home from the hospital
by reading to them each and every day. This not only is a bonding time between you and
your child, but it also instills a love for books in your child. One of the best predictors of
reading success in school children is whether or not they enjoy it! Teachers can facilitate
reading by giving students time each day just for reading, by providing them with a
variety of different reading materials, give them free choices as to what they want to read,
encourage "book talk" which is allowing the students time to discuss the books they are
reading, do activities that help them understand what they are reading, and finally, do
something fun to encourage them to read such as keeping track of reading "mileage" and
giving rewards.
LISTENING
:Listening is quite simply the ability to understand the spoken language, and is a very
important part of learning language arts(Roe & Ross, 2006) Listening is a receptive skill
and quite frankly is not given enough attention in our classrooms today. If a student is
going to learn anything, they must first be learn to be an attentive listener so that they are
able to gather information. Teachers should foster a classroom environment that
encourages listening and recognizes it as a skill. One of the easiest and most common
ways to do this is to teach students the importance of listening while a classmate, teacher,
or anyone else is speaking. Responding to others in class should be encouraged as long
as it is in an appropriate manner, to work on listening and then responding. As adults,
teaching our children listening skills is probably one of the most important traits we can
develop with them. Being able to listen will help them academically, and will also help
nurture real-world success with life and with friendships.Reading to our children is one of
the most effective ways to teach them listening skills because if actually forces the child
to use their listening skills. What child would not want to hear the end of the story "Little
Red Riding Hood"?
SPEAKING:
The communication of ideas through the use of oral language (Roe & Ross, 2006) is an
important component of language arts programs. Our oral language skills are quickly
declining due to slang, and the overwhelming amount of electronic devices being used to
communicate. One way to try to teach successful communication is by keeping our
elementary students engaged in poems, songs, and chants. Also, it is important to teach
them how to speak using complete sentences. Throughout their elementary education we
should be teaching them how to use social greetings, how to properly ask and answer
questions, tell stories, engage in conversations, and follow multistep instructions. Doing
this will encourage them and give them confidence in their speaking abilities. When
working to develop speaking skills in children, we should begin when they are infants.
One of the best known ways to do this is to read to them and also to talk to them. Sure,
they won't talk back to you until they are a little bit older, but don't underestimate them!
As they grow older, play dress-up with them or pretend to be pirates on a ship - anything
to provide opportunities to participate in some sort of drama. With todays world of video
games and technology, introducting them to drama and the arts has become more
important than ever. Teachers can begin to work on students speaking skills at an early
age by using classroom activities as simple as show and tell and having students read
aloud to the rest of the class.
VIEWING & VISUALLY REPRESENTING:
Viewing, or the interpretation of visual media, and visually representing, which is
communication through the use of the visual image (Roe & Ross, 2006) are two of the
final parts of a complete language arts program. Visual images are often used to make
words easier to understand, therefore, it is important that students know how to connect
these images to the spoken or written words. It is quite common among young students
to be visual learners. They enjoy trying to find meaning in graphs, maps, pictures, and
diagrams that might be found on the internet or in books. Visually representing in the
classroom is accomplished by having students organize and gather information, letting
them choose how to deliver to the other students, and then having them create a visual
item that will help them to achieve this type of communication. To influence the view of
the other students, they will have to find a way to incorportate sound, print, speech, and
the visual images. Also, visually representing requires students to organize some sort of
event for an audience for entertainment. Using concept maps, creating posters, and
painting are ways that this can be done. Teachers can facilitate visual representing by
having students participate in things such as matching games (matching words with
images) or creating concept maps which help them to detail how an equation or situation
plays out. As a parent, viewing and visually representing can be developed in their
children even before they attend schools. To facilitate viewing in our infants from the
time they are born to the elementary grades, parents can use videos, computer programs,
and different websites that have accompanying spoken words or printed
words/information. Visually representing involves some of the same tactics. Presenting
information to children through still pictures or motion pictures either alone, or those
which have written scripts or spoken words help to facilitate both of the parts of the
language arts.
REFERENCES:
Roe, B., & Ross, E. (2006) Integrating language arts through literature and thematic
units (1st ed., pp. 8-13). Boston: Alyn & Bacon.
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