Intended for use as an inservice tool for elementary school teachers and as an independent study tool, this guide provides a framework for designing language experiences in the classroom. Following an introduction, the first section of the guide deals with language as communication, as thought, and as a series of interrelated skills. Three questions language arts teachers must ask themselves are posed: whether they give receptive and expressive skills equal time, whether inner thought can occur without language, and whether teachers interrelate the language arts. The second section explores creating an environment for language, and is organized around the essential areas of language teaching. The section includes three language arts teaching frameworks, ways of providing for interaction between the different language arts, and two suggested models for enriching the context for language learning. The third section deals with designing language experiences in the areas of listening, oral expression, dramatization, written expression, literature as a base for critical reading, and a framework for teaching reading using children's literature. In addition to the resource lists in each skill area, a selected list of writings in language arts is included in a bibliography. (HTH)