English Language Arts Standards

            The English Language Arts has standards to help teachers reach a level of expectation that they believe their students should be at by the time the school year or lesson is finished. As with any subject, these standards come from the state itself and clearly express what the students should be able to do as a result of instruction from the teacher. New York Standards express how the students will show a level of understanding that is clearly outlined by the educators of Albany. In order to be able to get our students at a level we believe they should be at, teachers must first define what exactly literacy is and how we can help students understand the English Language Arts.
            The English Language Arts is a complex subject that students should be able to master with help of parents, teacher, educators, and peers. Children become literate by instruction from the day they are born and throughout the rest of their lives. I work with children age 5 months - 10 months old. I talk to the children in the English Language as if they were adults because this is how children will be able to pick up key words and understand exactly what it is I am saying. For example, I teach my children how to say "Hi, Bye, Mama, Dada" and so on. I also help these children understand these words because I complete an action while I am asking them to say things. That is, when I am asking them to say "Bye-Bye" I am motioning a hand wave that symbolizes goodbye. This helps the child understand that "Bye-Bye" means someone is leaving.
            Children are constantly learning from family members, teachers, strangers, adults and peers how to speak and comprehend the English Language. The standards help outline the simplistic meanings of how to understand writing, conversational texts, social cues, and argumentative statements. For a child to master literacy he or she must be able to read, write, draw conclusion from text, understand social cues, express argumentative points with details from documented sources, and make informative decisions based on factual information. The English Language Arts Standards helps teachers break down specific points throughout the school year in order to help them conform the building blocks of what literacy actually is. These teachers outline the standards so that they are able to leave a foundation for the next teacher to build on which helps the students take information they learned about prior to the grade they are currently in and helps them go a step further with what they already know.
              Literacy is one of the most complex subjects due to the fact that it is a subject that dominates every single subject. In order for a child to be successful in school, he or she must be able to use their English Language Art skills in subjects such as Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Art, Music and so forth. Creating literate students will help the United States have informative citizens, successful governments, successful business owners and confident teachers. English Language Art Standards ensure that every child and teacher is held accountable for that it is they know and what it is they teach.