language arts
Americannoun
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(used with a plural verb) the skills, including reading, composition, speech, spelling, and grammar, taught in elementary and secondary schools to give students a thorough proficiency in using the language.
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(used with a singular verb) a core course of instruction in an elementary or secondary school where students develop these skills.
Etymology
Origin of language arts
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
If third-graders as a group combined for a score of zero, then third-graders, on average, would be scoring at grade level on the English language arts portion of the state’s standardized tests.
From Los Angeles Times
Unified third-graders tested as proficient or better in English language arts, closing most of a nearly five-percentage-point gap with the state over three years.
From Los Angeles Times
Do they have language arts classes teaching adolescent gods to write essays in Adinkra symbols?
From Literature
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Whenever I forget to take the chicken out of the freezer, she lectures me—and then proceeds to prosecute me for forgetting to turn in my language arts essay.
From Literature
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The National Assessment of Educational Progress, which periodically tests a sample of students and is known as the nation’s report card, showed flat or declining scores in English language arts and math.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.