ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum

Updated on September 28, 2016

Language Arts is the Foundation

Choosing a language arts curriculum is very important since language arts truly is the foundation of all other learning (possibly excepting math). If a child can read and comprehend, a whole world of learning is open to him. If, on the other hand, a child struggles with reading comprehension, learning in all areas will be an arduous challenge. The same holds true for writing. A student who can express himself clearly in written English will find success both in college and in the work world.

Most homeschoolers agree that there is no "perfect" language arts curriculum. It would be great if there were a package set that included all the elements of a full language arts program in one convenient purchase. Unfortunately, language arts is just too broad for such a treatment. So you will need to compile your own language arts program, taking books, approaches, and workbooks from many different sources.

Consider these elements as you piece together your own custom made language arts curriculum.

What Should a Homeschool Language Arts Curriculum Include?

Don't be overwhelmed when you see the list, but language arts encompasses a lot of territory!

  • grammar and mechanics
  • spelling
  • vocabulary
  • reading
  • literature
  • speaking
  • writing
  • media literacy
  • research skills

To make it even more daunting, within each of these broad categories are more sub-categories. However, remember that language arts is like a web of interwoven skills and concepts. In real life, we rarely find these language arts elements in isolation. Instead, every reading, writing, or speaking opportunity is multi-faceted with all of the language arts areas.

Take, for example, reading a newspaper article. That's reading quite obviously, but within the reading there is vocabulary, spelling, grammar and mechanics, and probably literature since the author uses different literary devices to make his article interesting. Imagine that you read an excerpt out loud to someone next to you. There is a bit of speaking.

Language arts is a web, and it should be taught in the same way. There is no need to distinguish clearly between a vocabulary assignment, a grammar assignment, and a writing assignment. Instead, you can design activities to cover multiple areas at the same time.

Great Books are the Foundation of Language Arts
Great Books are the Foundation of Language Arts | Source

Teaching the Language Arts Web

Here are some examples of activities that touch on many areas of the interwoven web of language arts. In brackets, I have indicated which language arts areas are highlighted for each step.

Study a Poem

  • Choose a poetic form, maybe a sonnet or a ballad, and study its structure. [literature; research]
  • Write a brief summary of this poetic form and its history.[writing]
  • Then research online for examples of this poetic form. [research; literature]
  • Read them silently, then orally. [reading; literature; speaking; grammar; vocabulary]
  • If there are new vocabulary words, look them up in a dictionary and make some notes about them. [vocabulary]
  • Identify poetic devices such as alliteration, personification, and metaphor. [literature]
  • Copy one of those poems into your poetry notebook and store it beside the notes you took on the form and the vocabulary words.

Do you see how this activity encompasses almost every language arts area in an organically overlapping way? With lessons like this, there is no need for a vocabulary workbook or a reading textbook. You will, however, need some reference tools for this kind of learning. A dictionary is essential. In addition you need some grammar guides, a book of literary devices, and probably high speed Internet access if not a thick poetry anthology.

Read a Picture Book

  • Go to the library, and have your child select a meaty picture book, not a "preschool" type of picture book but one with a detailed story. [research skills]
  • Read the picture book silently. [reading; literature]
  • Summarize the book in a single paragraph. [reading; writing]
  • Identify any new vocabulary words. Look them up in the dictionary and create your own sentences with them, using a new sentence pattern such as compound sentences or complex sentences. [writing; vocabulary; grammar and mechanics]
  • Analyze how the illustrations contribute to the story. Talk about that and then write down your thoughts in a paragraph or two. [speaking; reading; literature; writing]
  • Read the book aloud to someone else, using your best storytelling voice. [speaking; reading]
  • Research the author and/or illustrator and write a brief report. [writing; research; reading]

This activity works for any age child, not just elementary aged children. Actually, a middle school or high school student will learn a lot more from this picture book activity than a younger child would because his powers of literary analysis are much more honed. Picture books are for all ages.

These are just two examples of how a language arts lesson can be crafted to touch on many areas at once in a holistic activity. Start with something worthwhile -- a poem, a novel, a short story, an article, a speech, even an advertisement -- and study it from all angles, ferreting out all the language arts you can or until interest wanes. If tangents arise, don't be afraid to pursue them. Those are what make learning more engaging! And you can be sure that more language arts skills are being touched on during the tangent.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)