The Six Language Arts

What suprised me about the six language arts was that there were so many. I originally believed that reading and writing were the only two language arts. I didn't think to include talking and listening as a part of the language arts, because like Dr. Duncan said most teachers do, I assummed students already knew how to talk and listen and that this wasn't a part of the curriculum. Viewing and visually representing are another part of the six language arts that I forgot to include as a part of the curriculum of language arts.

I believe viewing and visually representing should definatly be apart of language arts because they supplement the original literature. Sometimes students are able to understand the literature better if they view the movie after reading. The internet might have additional activities that students can participate in to supplement their knowledge of the literature. Kidspiration is a great tool to use for visual learners. With this program, students can list the main points of a story in a creative way. Viewing and Visually representing allows students to supplement their knowledge of literature in a creative way.I believe students only benefit more from viewing and visual representation. If Viewing and visual representation were not a part of language arts then students would be missing out on literature illustrated through viewing and visual representation.

My experience with all of the language arts was very positive. More of my language arts time was focused on the language arts that would be thought of first, reading and writing. I enjoyed language arts classes when all of the language arts were included. I distinctly remember one of my language arts classes in middle school where the teacher was pregnant and the entire semester we just read silently. This was very boring and I felt like I learned nothing. I believe students need to be supplemented by all of the language arts. My English 206 class at Meredith kept me very interested in learning because we read outside of class, discussed the literature in class, then towards the end of the semester we watched some movies of the stories representing the different eras of literature. I was able to understand the post modernism era better when my professor showed us episodes of The Simpsons and pointed out the aspects that made this tv show a part of that era. I believe all of the language arts are important especially when used together and one is not more important than the other. My language arts preferences have changed a little, I used to enjoy listening to literature, but now I enjoy viewing and visually representing literature. I believe my language arts preferences will always change depending on what helps me comprehend the literature better. All of the language arts are beneficial to the student and help the student grow in their knowledge and education.