A Working Paper on Teaching Language Arts Skills to Disadvantaged Children

This document defines culturally disadvantaged students as those students who have not had the environmental advantages that middle-class students have enjoyed, although not all such children are from homes of the poor. In viewing the research in the teaching of language arts skills to the culturally deprived, certain generalizations emerged. Some of the basic general educational objectives derived from these generalizations are: (1) development of a positive attitude by both the learner and the parent toward quality education of the disadvantaged; (2) teacher acceptance of the disadvantaged child's language development; (3) development of an outstanding language arts program based on the culturally deprived child's need, the springboard being "start where the child is"; and (4) direct planning for an integration of the language arts skills in the total program. Specific objectives involve listening, speaking, written composition, and reading. A list of appropriate and up-to-date materials that may be useful in meeting these stated objectives is included. (SW)