Language Arts - Philosophical Assumptions
1. All Students need instruction in reading, writing, listening, and speaking in order to communicate fluently. Fluent communication means that ideas or words flow smoothly and easily, and involves both comprehension and expression.
2. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are interrelated; learning that takes place in one contributes to learning in another. For example, strategies students use to organize the information in an essay will also be useful in organizing the content of a speech.
3. The language arts curriculum provides instruction and practice in a full range of language purposes.
4. The language arts curriculum provides opportunities for students to apply thinking skills to reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
5. The language arts curriculum provides the framework for instructing students in processes, strategies, and conventions to learn reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
6. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking involve complex processes, which may require students to move back and forth between steps within those processes.
7. Literature is an essential part of the language arts curriculum, for it allows student exposure to a wide range of human experience and expression.
8. Difference in developmental levels may affect individual student progression through the scope and sequence necessitating intervention by the teacher or other resources.
9. Growth in language arts involves both the acquisition and the increasing sophistication of skills and knowledge.