Summary |
For many years, educators from kindergarten to twelfth grade have approached the teaching of vocabulary, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and so forth as isolated skills, unconnected with the everyday use of reading, speaking, and writing. Such practices are now viewed with less favor, as researchers and educators approach reading and writing as processes, to be dealt with as a whole. To capitalize on this trend, teachers need to recognize that children come to the classroom knowing something about language use, and that their prior knowledge must be built up and used to help them comprehend and use language experiences. The classroom must also be a literate environment, with plenty of diverse material for children to read, and children must be allowed and encouraged to visit school and public libraries and to browse widely. Additionally, classrooms need not be quiet places for learning to take place because children can learn much about language by discussing their experiences with one another. Teachers must understand that the processes of reading, speaking, and listening have a number of skills in common, such as pre-writing/thinking, drafting, and revising, and that all are valuable to children. The integration of such language arts skills can empower students and build their confidence, and thus improve children and society as a whole. (JC)
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Notes |
ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Meeting of the Catskill Whole Language Conference (Oneonta, NY, August 10-12, 1987).
Teachers.
Practitioners.
May also be available online. Address as at 14/8/18: https://eric.ed.gov/
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