Designed for use by local schools in developing language arts programs, this guide is organized into eight sections. An introductory section contains a rationale for language arts in the school program, discussions of the characteristics of a good language arts program and of student language rights, lists of general communication goals for students, and suggestions for use of the guide. Four sections list sequences of minimum skills in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking and suggest the appropriate grade level for introducing each skill. Two sections deal with alternative language arts programs for middle, junior high, and high schools, and a concluding section discusses special electives related to language arts. (FL)