TEACHING AND

ASSESSING
LANGUAGE ARTS
 Some questions??
■ What are the language arts?
■ How do children learn language arts?
■ How should we teach language arts?

Think about the questions above, and jot down your ideas. Take a chance.
Write whatever comes to mind in response to the term language arts.
 Definition of Language Arts
■ Language arts have traditionally been defined in
elementary teaching as “listening, speaking, reading,
and writing.”

But this definition is merely the tip of the iceberg.

 Definition of Language Arts
■ National Standards for the English Language Arts
redefined what students should know about the English
language arts as six language arts:
– Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Viewing, and
Visually representing.
(As an elementary teacher, you will face this exciting task of
integrating all the language arts across the curriculum)
 Learning Language Arts
■ There are three approach to learn language arts:
– Active, constructive process
– Social interactive process
– Transactional process
 Constructive Process: Learning
language in four ways
■ Readers actively build meaning as they read, rather than
passively receiving messages
■ The text does not say it all, the reader brings information
to the text
■ A single text can have multiple meanings because of
differences among readers and contexts
■ Reading and writing are similar constructive process,
rather than separate ones
 Constructive Process: Implication to
teaching Language Arts
■ Through constructivism approach, language arts
teachers can help students learn four skills:
– To make connections between what they already
know and what they will learn
– To use strategies for reading (e.g., make predictions)
and writing (e.g., draw on prior experience)
– To think about their own reading and writing process
– To discuss their responses to texts they or others read
and write
 Social Interactionist view: Learning
language category
■ The main function of language is social communication
■ Learning is social and requires interaction with other
people
■ Knowledge develops first through social interaction and
then becomes an internalized part of the cognitive
structure of the learner
■ Learning events must take into account the sociocultural
context of cognition, or daily life experiences
 Social Interactionist view: Language
arts goals
■ To provide support as the child develops new
understanding through social interaction
■ To mediate learning cooperatively with support
■ To be flexible, depending on the child’s response to an
activity
■ To vary the amount of support, from giving direct
instruction to making subtle suggestions
 Transactional Process: Learning
language category
■ Readers and writers play active roles in the reading and
writing processes
■ Meaning is created during reading and writing in a two-
way transaction
■ Readers and writers draw on their own experiences and
language skills to bring texts to life
■ There are multiple possible interpretations of a single
text
 Transactional Process: Language arts
teaching practices
■ Students make choices about what to read and write
■ Teachers ask open questions and provide options for
responding to literature and writing
■ Students’ voices and prior experiences are honored
■ Instructional planning includes attention to students’
ideas and experiences
 In summary:
■ What are the language arts?
– In simple terms, the language arts are listening, speaking, reading, writing,
viewing, and visually representing
■ How do children learn language arts?
– Learning is an active, constructive process that takes place when students are
truly engaged in what they are doing. Children learn by adding new
experiences to old and constructing new understanding of themselves and the
world.
– Learning is social, interactive process that takes place when students work
collaboratively with each other and the teacher.
– Learning is transactional in which reading and writing are two-way transaction
between a reader and a text, during which meaning is created.
■ How should we teach language arts?
– Children learn to use language by using it when they are surrounded by print
and participate in rich and social interactive experiences with language that
always focus on meaning.
 Assessing Language Arts
■ What do we mean by assessing language arts in schools
today?
■ How should we assess language arts?
 Definition for Assessing L.A.
■ Assessing language arts means collecting, analyzing,
summarizing, and interpreting information about
students to appraise their performance and
achievement.
■ Teacher must use multiple form of ongoing, authentic
assessment daily to plan further instruction to meet each
child’s needs.
 Standardized Testing vs. Authentic Assessment
■ Information is gathered with
peer and pencil tests
■ Tests are given only periodically
■ One test determines evaluation
■ Specific problems can be
identified but not in context
■ Subskills are the focus, rather
than process
■ Teachers makes no decisions
about which tests are used
■ Attempts to “teach to the test”
may not support learning
■ Testing disrupts the classroom
schedule
■ Information is gathered by teachers
and students
■ Ongoing, daily observations are
made
■ Multiple sources of information are
used
■ Information is considered in the
context of process
■ Artifacts (writing, art, journals, tapes)
and rich descriptions (anecdotal
records, checklists) are used
■ Teachers and students make
decisions about assessment
■ Information gathered as part of the
classroom schedule
 Language Arts Assessment Tools
■ Logs and journal
■ Anecdotal records and observations
■ Checklists and records
■ Inventories and tests
■ Rubrics
■ Self and peer-assessment
■ Portfolios and work samples
■ Planning and progress forms