Arguing that students should be encouraged frequently to listen, to speak, to read, and to write in all areas of the curriculum and to begin asking the questions that reveal the dependence that exists between various bodies of knowledge, this book is based on the whole-language theory. The book is designed not only to help students learn such specifics as grammar, usage, and mechanics in real and natural ways, but also to provide teachers with opportunities to make linkages with the community and to involve parents and other citizens in school activities. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss how people learn and what the whole-language approach is. Chapter 3 presents the skills of decoding (listening and reading); chapter 4 considers the skills of encoding (speaking and writing). The last chapter offers final comments about communication skills. (A 33-item annotated bibliography is attached.) (KEH)