STANDARD COURSE OF STUDY

LANGUAGE ARTS :: 2004 :: INTRODUCTION :: PHILOSOPHY

PHILOSOPHY

Societal Needs	Futurists predict new challenges in preparing students for the demands of an information age. These visionaries expect the need for an increasingly high level of literacy. While students continue to need mastery of enabling skills such as reading, writing, and computing, they must also prepare for the new basics, which include problem solving, critical and creative thinking, decision making, flexibility and adaptability, and the ability to work collaboratively. The intent of the North Carolina Standard Course of Study for English Language Arts is to equip students with the level of literacy needed to participate as informed citizens in a democratic society, to function effectively in the world of work, and to realize personal fulfillment.
Curriculum Priority	The first priority of an English Language Arts program is language development. Use of oral and written language sets human beings apart from other forms of life and allows for the expression of the human spirit, the development of ethical responsibility, and the ability to interact with and influence others. Indeed, it is this use of language which challenges us to examine and clarify our thinking as we search for the best means to communicate our thoughts and ideas.
Guiding Principles	An effective English Language Arts program must be concerned with both process and content - with how students learn and what they learn. In such an environment, teachers and students are guided by the following principles: Learning to communicate through written and oral language and media should be a rewarding experience. Students learn to communicate by using language in natural and purposeful ways. Language skills are interrelated processes utilized by the learner to comprehend and convey meaning: oral (listening and speaking), written (reading and writing), and media use. Teachers provide many kinds of support including skills emphasis and meaning emphasis. Teachers balance both direct and indirect instruction. Students learn to value their own language when it is valued by others who hold high expectations for all students. Learning is enhanced in an environment where students are encouraged to: think critically and creatively about ideas, relate the content of the message to personal experiences, understand and use the patterns and structures of language. Learners employ three curing systems on an intuitive and conscious or metacognitive level. Cues used in communication are: knowledge of sound-symbol relationships (graphophonic information), personal knowledge of language/word order (syntactic information), personal knowledge of the student (semantic information). Growth in the ability to use language to communicate is an on going and lifelong process. Assessment of a curriculum should be continuous and integrated with the instructional process. Assessment procedures should be balanced to include multiple-choice testing, open-ended questions, portfolios, demonstrations, debates, reports, investigations, etc. Generally, assessment should be focused on improving instruction and should promote quality, depth, and extensions of student work. Students should share the responsibility for their learning. They must develop an increasing awareness of their own thinking, including attitudes, habits, and dispositions. Student-initiated learning involving choice, collaboration, and active participation is more likely to produce a high level of interest and accomplishment than teacher-centered exposition. sing oral and written language and media enable learners to clarify their thinking, to investigate, and to increase knowledge in all subject areas. Integrating the teaching of English Language Arts with other subjects enhances the learner's ability to move from the known to the unknown, to see relationships, and to make generalizations.
ELA Content	Language and literature are the content of an integrated English Language Arts program. The study of these areas should include the structure of the English language, its social and historical perspective, and a respect and appreciation for the cultural diversity of those who speak English. Essential to this study is the systematic exploration of literature with a clear emphasis on the comprehension and response to the beauty and legacy of the English language. A balanced English Language Arts curriculum focuses on the student as an active participant in the learning process. Included in the study is the selective and strategic use of monitoring, self-questioning, and focusing strategies. In a similar manner, engaged learners explore options in presentation: films or videotapes in the study of literature and language; audiotapes in the study of oral language; and word processors and other media in composing, revising, and publishing compositions.
Summary	As local school systems begin the implementation of this curriculum, they will recognize much information that is familiar and some that is new. It is the belief of the English Language Arts Section that the information included in this curriculum reflects current research and best teaching practices. The document has been a collaborative effort among the Department of Public Instruction, local education agencies, and institutions of higher education. It is intended to assist educators as they create conditions that enable students to learn and that encourage their desire to learn.

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