Integrating Language Arts into Content Areas
Kenadee Marry
The Elements of Language Arts
Language Arts is the focus on improving a student's
comprehension and use of the English Language through
reading, writing, viewing, visually representing, talking,
and listening. This is usually taught in a subject area that
has a lot of time dedicated to it at the elementary level. By
integrating the elements of Language Arts into other
content areas teachers are able to help students learn these
elements through learning about things like science, social
studies, and math.
The elements of Language Arts are reading, writing,
viewing, visually representing, talking, and listening.
These elements work together to create learners who can
both receive and express information. The receptive
elements are reading, listening, and viewing while the
expressive elements are writing, talking, and visually
representing. Students can use these elements to show they
understand information as well as take information in
leading to a deeper understanding (Webster, 2020).
Ways to Integrate Language Arts into Content
Areas
Student success and comprehension is the goal of
classrooms regardless of the content that is being taught.
One way to boost comprehension and understanding is by
integrating the elements of Language Arts into the content
areas. The three types of integration are multidisciplinary,
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration. The
multidisciplinary approach involves combining language
arts and multiple content areas, such as math and science.
The interdisciplinary approach involves combining the
subcategories of a single subject with language arts, such
as the history of government and current government. The
transdisciplinary approach involves integrating language
arts into a real-world topic.
Any of these approaches can utilize the elements of
Language Arts which are reading, writing, viewing,
visually representing, listening, and talking in order to
help students comprehend the material being taught.
Students can demonstrate understanding of content by
writing a response to a reading, creating a picture that
others can view, or engaging in discussion of a topic. One
specific example would be to have students create a
picture diagram of a cell to show that they can identify the
different parts (Menzi, 2017).
RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2019
www.PosterPresentations.com
Siena Heights University
Benefits of Integrating Language Arts into Content Schools that Have Implemented Integration Integrating Language Arts and Science
Areas Successfully
Language Arts can be integrated into any content area in
Integrating Language Arts into content areas has benefits
Wiley H. Bates Middle School in Maryland became order to boost student comprehension and allow students
for both the students and the teacher. Through Language to show that they understand the material. By integrating
a school that fully integrated in 2007 due to benefits
Arts integration students retain more information, are the elements of Language Arts into your science unit
they saw from the integration process when they
more engaged with their learning, improve on their critical students will be able to show what they comprehend and
began testing out integration in their schools. Since
thinking skills, improve their speaking skills and more.
integration has started within their school there has demonstrate they have mastered the content or show the
Students at any age level can benefit from Language Arts teacher what they still need to work on.
been a drop in suspensions and referrals by 23%.
being utilized in their content area, and when students
Aside from behavioral benefits students have also
benefit teachers do as well.
benefitted academically. Math proficiency has grown For a specific example we can focus on the concept of
four times more than other schools in the state during Natural Selection. Reading can be integrated in the form
When Language Arts is integrated students retain more this time period. Reading has grown five times more of informational reading about Charles Darwin, Alfred
information because they are learning through
than that of other schools. Wiley H. Bates Middle Wallace and Natural Selection. Students can use writing to
differentiated instruction. This allows teachers to reach all School is a prime example of why integration benefits annotate the document and pull out the main parts that
kinds of learners with their information. When students
students, as well as teachers (Nobori, 2012) they think are important to remember. Talking and
retain more information teachers benefit because there is listening go hand in hand when students present to the
less reteaching, and students are more successful on
Barriers to Integrating Language Arts class what they picked out of the document as being the
standardized tests which reflects well on the teachers and main points.
school.
After reading the benefits and success of
implementing Language Arts into content areas you After this students can be given a chance to use their
When Language Arts is integrated students are more
may wonder why this is not being done everywhere. creative side and create their own adaptations to fit a
engaged with their learning because material is presented certain environment. Students will use the information
in a variety of ways. When students are more engaged and There are still barriers to implementing Language
surrounding the islands environment to create a squirrel
focused on learning they are less likely to engage in Arts into the classroom. Barriers such as time,
who has adapted to survive there. Visually representing
behaviors that are considered distracting or inappropriate. standards, money, and willingness to change make it will be done when students draw their island and squirrel,
Integration can cut down on the time teachers spend hard for integrating Language Arts to just happen. they will then present their island to the class. Viewing
disciplining students and give more time for teaching and will be done by other students who look at the islands that
learning. The status quo is an easy place to get stuck, it is have been created and compare them to their own
where we as individuals are most comfortable. adaptations.
When Language Arts is integrated students improve on
their critical thinking and speaking skills. This is Integration is a new idea that would involve changing
important for teachers because these are skills that can be the way teachers have taught for years. This would
hard to teach. Through integration teachers can help involve redesigning standards, taking time to create
students improve these skills without directly teaching new lessons that have integration, and spending
them. These skills are important for students because they money to possibly get new resources to use in future
extend into the real world and can make them college or instruction (Wagner, 1985).
career ready (Wagner, 1985).
Integrating Language Arts and Social Studies
Language Arts can be integrated into a Social Studies
curriculum in a variety of ways. One way is through
analyzing and presenting historical speeches. Reading is
used when students analyze the speeches to understand Sources
what the speaker was trying to convey, this also enhances Menzi, A. (2017, June 14). What is integrated instruction? The Pros & Cons - teaching ... Teaching Resources and
critical thinking skills. Students could then create a
Lesson Plans - Teaching Ideas 4U . Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://teachingideas4u.com/2017/06/what-is-
integrated-instruction-pros-cons.html
poster that shows what the speech was about, this would
Nobori, M. (2012, August 29). How the arts unlock the door to learning. Edutopia. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from
incorporate visually representing. Presenting the poster https://www.edutopia.org/stw-arts-integration-reform-overview
and reading their speech out loud would incorporate the Slevis1. (2020, May 6). Integrating science and English language arts via the standards. Chicago STEM Pathways
Cooperative. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://chicagostempathways.org/integrating-science-and-english-
aspects of speaking , which would enhance their public language-arts-via-the-standards/.
speaking skills. For the students who are watching the Wagner, B. (1985). Integrating the Language Arts. Eric Digest. Integrating the Language Arts. ERIC Digest.
presentation they would be using the elements of Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.ericdigests.org/pre-923/arts.htm
listening and viewing to absorb the material. This is one- Webster, M. (2020). Language arts definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from
way teachers could integrate Language Arts elements https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/language%20arts
into the Social Studies classroom. Zindler, R. (2018, November 27). Ila's Blog. International Literacy Association. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-now/2018/11/27/weaving-art-into-literacy-
instruction#:~:text=By%20integrating%20art%20into%20your,a%20wide%20range%20of%20learners.
(Slevis, 2020)