Integrating Language Arts Across the Curriculum

Have you ever thought how important language arts is? I mean it is not just one subject or content. According to the IRA (International Reading Association) and the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) language arts is made up of six components including reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, and visually representing. What I find most intriguing is that language arts is not just a subject that is taught individually like math or science. If taught correctly, language arts should be integrated across the curriculum. I have learned that the components of language arts should be seen throughout every content standard that is taught during the year. For example, a teacher is teaching a history lesson. To make the lesson more appealing the teaching veers away from the textbook and finds a good trade book on the topic. As students are learning the material the teacher should have the students reading, writing, listening, speaking, and visually representing at some point in their lessons. These components of language arts helps children learn by differentiating instruction. Children learn through modeling and repetition. They also learn by doing, seeing, and hearing. Therefore, it is crucial to realize how important language arts is in schools today to help students understand not only how to read, write, speak, and listen, but also how to use these components in different subjects to comprehend the material better. In addition too, these components are part of our everyday lives. The more a student practices reading the better they will be at writing and via versa. The more students grow in language arts, the more they will grow in other school subjects which is the key to their education.