Discussion 1 EDLC 632
Elementary teachers are often times involved in curriculum decisions for
language arts. How do students develop communicative competence using
the six language arts? Find one peer-reviewed journal article to support 1 of
the 6 language arts to support your response and the module readings. This
response should incorporate your biblical worldview, and a citation of the
article in current APA format, including the URL, if applicable. Your thread
must reflect scholarly writing and use third-person perspective.
Students gain communicative competence by having teachers and
curriculum that focus on all six language arts. Communicative competence
encompasses the ability of someone to appropriately and properly use language.
Although every student is different, the curriculum must be broad enough to meet
the student at their level. Each language art builds on the next and allows a
student to become competent in how they communicate with others verbally and
in writing. Writing is an essential part of language arts curriculum and starts at a
very young age. In the Rohloff, et al. article, they discuss the importance of
transitional writing between the lower elementary grades and the upper
elementary grades (Rohloff et al, 2022). The article outlines the importance of
meaningful writing experiences that allow students to link composing with writing
concepts and transcription skills in early elementary school to assist in the
transition to upper elementary. In order for students to gain competence in any
subject they have to create a foundation and grow from there.
The bible speaks of having a strong foundation to build upon, creating a
strong base will allow the house to stand strong. Matthew 7:24-25 states
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken
him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell
not: for it was founded upon a rock. (King James Version, 1769/2021). With
language arts curriculum a teacher must start preschool and early elementary
instruction by building a foundation of writing, because they will depend on that
skill throughout their lives. Encouraging communicative competence does not just
fall to the teacher, but also the student that be fully engaged in the activities and
in the desire to communicate with others.
The Rohloff, et al. article discusses the similarities and differences in
standards and priorities between preschool and early elementary and how those
compare to upper elementary grades. Both preschool and early elementary
standards separate writing from transcription. For students in preschool, the
curriculum focuses on verbal composing or dictation more than composing or
writing out shapes, scribbles, or drawing of their ideas. Lower elementary school
curriculum separates transcription skills from writing, focusing on the ability to
write letters, both upper- and lower-case, ignoring the connection between
reading and writing (Rohloff et al, 2022).
The importance of intertwining transcribing and idea generation are vital to
early curriculum and Rohloff proposes in the article that writing needs to be
developed through scaffolded practice of both at the same time (Rohloff et al,
2022). In order to ensure competence at each level of learning the student must
be given the opportunity to practice the skills together as they would be used
throughout life. Young children need to practice putting their stories and ideas on
paper, even the means are simply drawing figures and pictures.
King James Bible. (2011). The King James Version Study Bible. (Original work
published 1769)
Rohloff, R., Tortorelli, L., Gerde, H.K., & Bingham, G.E. (2022). Teaching early
writing: Supporting early writers from preschool to elementary school. Early
Childhood Education Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-022-01365-8
