Why language arts is important (the short answer)

Language arts is important because it is the foundation of every other academic subject and nearly every life skill — reading, writing, listening, speaking, critical thinking, and media literacy all grow out of it. Strong communication, language, and literacy development in elementary and middle school predicts academic success, healthy child communication development, and the ability to engage thoughtfully with an information-saturated world.

At Aspen Academy, we were so convinced of the importance of language arts in education that we rebuilt the program from the ground up. This is the story of how our Language Arts curriculum became Communications & Literacy — what changed, why it changed, and how it now prepares students to read, write, speak, and think critically in a modern world.

Why is English language arts important in the modern classroom?

Traditional "Language Arts" emphasized reading and writing. That mattered — and still does — but it left out two skills that define success in the 21st century: public speaking and the ability to evaluate what we consume. Discussion, debate, and media literacy are no longer "nice-to-haves." They are core to how students learn, lead, and participate in their communities.

"We changed from Language Arts to Communications & Literacy because the traditional Language Arts label doesn't cover the discussion, public speaking, and communication pieces that are so important to develop." — Joanna W., former 3rd Grade Team & Communications & Literacy department chair

Renaming the department made those skills visible to teachers, students, and families. It also signaled a curriculum that values children as speakers, listeners, and media consumers — not just readers and writers.

How Aspen Academy reviews its language arts curriculum

Every five years, department chairs at Aspen Academy revisit each curriculum area to ensure it still serves our students. In 2025, the team used that review to refresh the program in two major ways:

1. Audit the books and texts students read to make sure different races, cultures, and perspectives are reflected.
2. Reframe the discipline to include speaking, listening, discussion, and media literacy — not just reading and writing.

We use Amplify CKLA because it emphasizes knowledge and skills and supports the science of reading.

Building classroom libraries that are windows and mirrors

A core finding of the review: our classroom libraries weren't fully reflective of the world our students live in. Working with the Lower School Director and Middle School Director, the Communications & Literacy team audited every library and used Scholastic Book Fair points to purchase from collections of culturally responsive titles.

"We found we were lacking different cultures, different races, and different points of view in a lot of our libraries. There are a lot of great books out there, across the grade levels, that we could purchase and add. That really created a new element to our libraries." — Aspen Academy C&L Teacher

The result: students see themselves in the books they read and get a window into the experiences of other families, cultures, and communities. That combination is how empathy is built — and empathy is what fuels healthy communication.

Should media literacy be taught in schools?

Yes — and it should begin early. Students today are surrounded by information, opinion, and algorithmic content from the moment they wake up. A language arts curriculum that ignores media literacy leaves children unprepared to evaluate what they see, hear, and share.

At Aspen Academy, media literacy is woven into Communications & Literacy rather than taught as a standalone unit. Students learn to ask questions about the texts, videos, and online content they consume: Who made this? Whose perspective is missing? What is the author trying to get me to think or feel? Those habits are reinforced through discussion, debate, and writing across grade levels.

How communication, language, and literacy development happens at Aspen

Healthy child communication development requires more than worksheets. It requires practice — with peers, teachers, and texts that stretch thinking. Early reading instruction must prioritize:

• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Decoding automaticity

BEFORE heavy emphasis on:

• Debate
• Media literacy
• Open-ended comprehension

Otherwise:

Students may appear engaged, but lack actual reading proficiency

A classroom example: March Book Madness

Every March, Aspen teachers run a program called March Book Madness — a basketball-style bracket featuring picture books. Each matchup follows a theme: books about kids with disabilities, books about families, books about different races, books about gender and identity. Students vote through each round, then debate their favorites in the final rounds.

"It gives me an opportunity to have these conversations that might not come up naturally in our classes. The kids get so excited about it — and it brings in the communication piece of Communications & Literacy." — Aspen Academy teacher

In one small unit, students practice reading widely, taking and defending a position, listening to classmates, and considering perspectives they may not have encountered before. That is the importance of language arts in education made tangible.

The takeaway for families

Language arts is not one subject — it is the toolkit students use to make sense of every other subject and every part of their lives. At Aspen Academy, our Communications & Literacy program is designed to develop confident readers, clear writers, thoughtful speakers, and critical consumers of media — from preschool through 8th grade.

Learn more about our academic programs and how Aspen Academy builds communication, language, and literacy development into every stage of a child's education.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the questions families most often ask about language arts, literacy, and communication in school.

What is communication, language, and literacy?

Communication, language, and literacy are the connected skills children use to understand the world and express their ideas with confidence.

Language is the foundation; it includes the words, meanings, and sentence structures children use to think and make sense of what they hear and read.

Communication is how children share those ideas with others through speaking, listening, and nonverbal expression.

Literacy is the ability to read and write written language, which children develop over time through both strong language skills and explicit instruction in how print works.

Together, these domains grow alongside one another. When children have rich opportunities to talk, listen, read, and write—and are carefully taught how reading works—they build the skills they need to thrive across every subject and in every part of their lives.

What are the four core areas of language arts curriculum?

The four core areas of a language arts curriculum are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Together, these skills help children understand ideas and express their thinking with clarity and confidence.

Speaking and listening are the foundation. Through conversation, storytelling, and discussion, children build the language and knowledge that support all future learning.

Reading and writing build on that foundation. Learning to read is a complex process that requires both strong language skills and explicit instruction in how written language works. Writing allows students to organize and communicate their ideas in meaningful ways.

Aspen Academy's Communications & Literacy program also includes media literacy, helping students learn to thoughtfully evaluate the information they encounter across books, articles, and digital platforms. These skills become increasingly important as students grow and develop strong reading and critical thinking abilities.

Together, these areas work in partnership to develop confident communicators, thoughtful readers, and capable learners across every subject.

What is language arts and literacy?

Language arts is the school subject where students learn to communicate effectively through reading, writing, speaking, and listening. It is the space where these skills are taught, practiced, and strengthened over time.

Literacy is the broader, lifelong ability to understand and express meaning. It includes learning to read and write, building knowledge and vocabulary, and making sense of what we hear, read, and experience.

While speaking and listening develop naturally through everyday interaction, reading and writing are different. Learning to read is a complex process that is not innate—it must be explicitly and systematically taught. Children need both strong language foundations and direct instruction in how written language works in order to become confident, fluent readers.

As students develop these skills, they can think more deeply, communicate more clearly, and engage more fully with the world around them. Together, language arts and literacy help students grow into thoughtful communicators, capable learners, and curious, informed individuals.

What is the primary goal of the language, literature, and literacy curriculum?

The primary goal is to ensure that every student becomes a confident, capable reader, while also developing the ability to write with clarity and purpose, speak with confidence, and listen thoughtfully.

Learning to read is the foundation for all other learning. Because reading is not a natural process, it must be explicitly and systematically taught, alongside rich opportunities to build language, knowledge, and vocabulary. As students become fluent readers, they are able to think more deeply, engage with complex ideas, and express their thinking more effectively.

From that strong foundation, students learn to read widely and critically, communicate their ideas with clarity, and thoughtfully evaluate the information they encounter.

At Aspen Academy, our Communications & Literacy curriculum also aims to build empathy by exposing students to diverse voices and perspectives—so they see themselves in what they read and gain a meaningful window into the lives of others.

What are the 5 basic skills in literacy?

They aren't in parallel. The five basic skills of literacy are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

• Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words.
• Phonics is understanding how those sounds connect to letters and written words.
• Fluency is reading accurately, smoothly, and with expression.
• Vocabulary is knowing and using words.
• Comprehension is making meaning from what we read.

These skills work together to support strong reading, but they do not all develop in the same way. Early literacy instruction places a strong emphasis on phonemic awareness and phonics, because learning to read is not natural and must be explicitly and systematically taught. As students become more fluent readers, their vocabulary and comprehension continue to grow through rich language experiences, reading, and discussion.

When all five areas are carefully developed over time, students build the foundation they need to become confident, capable readers and learners.

Explore Aspen Academy's Communications & Literacy program

See how our curriculum builds confident readers, writers, speakers, and critical thinkers from preschool through 8th grade. Learn more about our academic programs.