The Language Arts Program at St. John the Baptist Catholic School, following the guidelines and curriculum of the Archdiocese of  Philadelphia, provides an integrated program of Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, and Thinking.  It provides students with the opportunity to develop independent, comprehensive readers, writers, listeners, and speakers.  The skills developed in the Language Arts Program should spread into the content of other curriculum areas

 The Language Arts Program offers students the opportunity to develop the comprehension necessary for reading enjoyment.  They will be exposed to various literary techniques and genres to foster a love of reading.

Parents are encouraged to read both fiction and nonfiction to students of  all ages as well as provide time for them to read independently. 

            Reading experiences provide writing opportunities for students incorporate higher order thinking skills to create original pieces.  Analyzing sentences and developing sentence structure enables students to express their ideas clearly.  By using the writing process of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, students transition from brainstorming their ideas to publishing their final copy. 

            In addition to reading and writing, students are provided opportunities to enhance their public speaking skills by expressing their ideas with their peers and to the entire class.  This sharing of ideas also affords other classmates the opportunity to enhance their listening skills. 

            To further develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills, students use computer technology to research topics and word process creative pieces.  The use of the Promethean Board also provides further learning opportunities and sharing of ideas.