Unipacs: A Language Arts Curriculum Theory, Abstractions, Statements in Context, and Language Change; And Instructional Packets: Symbol-Referent, Denotation and Connotation, Appropriateness, Dialect, Occasion, and Form and Media.

Based on the belief that the most appropriate focus of a language arts curriculum is the process and content of communication, these several unipacs (instructional packets) explore some essential elements of communication which should be incorporated into a curricular theory: (1) abstraction , which is the assertion that words may be classified as relatively abstract or concrete; (2) statements in context--reports, inferences, and judgments; (3) symbols (words) and referents; (4) denotative and connotative meaning; (5) the appropriateness of communication, which can affect the effectiveness of a message; (6) language change as a result of time, geography, and culture; (7) dialects, which show variation in pronunciation, vocabulary, and syntax; and (8) form and media--form being the physical and literary framework in which a message appears and media representing the carrier of a message from sender to receiver. Activities and situations are presented in each instructional packet to help conceptualize the various communicative elements. (HOD)