- English Language Arts and Reading
- Grade 4
- Composition
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
A student expectation is directly related to the knowledge and skills statement, is more specific about how students demonstrate their learning, and always begins with a verb. Student expectations are further broken down into their component parts, often referred to as “breakouts.”
Vertical alignment shows student expectations in the same subject area at different grade levels that are related to or build upon one another.
edit drafts with adult assistance using standard English conventions, including:
verbs;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
past and present verb tense;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
past, present, and future verb tense;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
past, present, and future verb tense;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
past tense of irregular verbs;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
past tense of irregular verbs;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses;
edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:
consistent, appropriate use of verb tenses and active and passive voice;
Breakouts are the component parts that make up a student expectation. A breakout shows a distinct concept a student should know or a distinct skill that a student should be able to demonstrate.
Students develop and sustain basic skills related to the four domains of language. Students apply foundational knowledge to improve listening, speaking (oral language), reading (beginning reading, self-sustained reading, vocabulary, and fluency), and writing (beginning writing) skills.
listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and make pertinent comments;
follow, restate, and give oral instructions that involve a series of related sequences of action;
decoding words with specific orthographic patterns and rules, including regular and irregular plurals;
decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;
decoding words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns such as VV;
decoding words using knowledge of prefixes;
decoding words using knowledge of suffixes, including how they can change base words such as dropping e, changing y to i, and doubling final consonants; and
identifying and reading high-frequency words from a research-based list;
spelling multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;
spelling homophones;
spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound-spelling patterns;
spelling words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns;
spelling words using knowledge of prefixes; and
spelling words using knowledge of suffixes, including how they can change base words such as dropping e, changing y to i, and doubling final consonants; and
use print or digital resources to determine meaning, syllabication, and pronunciation;
determine the meaning of and use words with affixes such as mis-, sub-, -ment, and -ity/ty and roots such as auto, graph, and meter; and
Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--fluency. The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to use appropriate fluency (rate, accuracy, and prosody) when reading grade-level text.
Developing and sustaining foundational language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking--self-sustained reading. The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.
monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.
respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate; and
complete simple and compound sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;
past tense of irregular verbs;
singular, plural, common, and proper nouns;
adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms;
adverbs that convey frequency and adverbs that convey degree;
prepositions and prepositional phrases;
pronouns, including reflexive;
coordinating conjunctions to form compound subjects, predicates, and sentences;
capitalization of historical periods, events, and documents; titles of books; stories and essays; and languages, races, and nationalities;
punctuation marks, including apostrophes in possessives, commas in compound sentences, and quotation marks in dialogue; and
Students develop and sustain oral and written language skills to communicate their ideas effectively using appropriate language conventions. Students consider audience and purpose while applying appropriate genre characteristics and craft and determining the appropriate mode of delivery.
listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and make pertinent comments;
follow, restate, and give oral instructions that involve a series of related sequences of action;
express an opinion supported by accurate information, employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, and the conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and
spelling multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;
spelling homophones;
spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound-spelling patterns;
spelling words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns;
spelling words using knowledge of prefixes; and
spelling words using knowledge of suffixes, including how they can change base words such as dropping e, changing y to i, and doubling final consonants; and
determine the meaning of and use words with affixes such as mis-, sub-, -ment, and -ity/ty and roots such as auto, graph, and meter; and
identify, use, and explain the meaning of homophones such as reign/rain.
describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts;
write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing and contrasting ideas across a variety of sources;
use text evidence to support an appropriate response;
retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;
interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating;
respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate; and
discuss specific ideas in the text that are important to the meaning.
demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children's literature such as folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales;
explain figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification that the poet uses to create images;
explain structure in drama such as character tags, acts, scenes, and stage directions;
the central idea with supporting evidence;
features such as pronunciation guides and diagrams to support understanding; and
organizational patterns such as compare and contrast;
identifying the claim;
explaining how the author has used facts for an argument; and
identifying the intended audience or reader; and
recognize characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.
explain the author's purpose and message within a text;
explain how the use of text structure contributes to the author's purpose;
analyze the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes;
describe how the author's use of imagery, literal and figurative language such as simile and metaphor, and sound devices such as alliteration and assonance achieves specific purposes;
identify and understand the use of literary devices, including first- or third-person point of view;
discuss how the author's use of language contributes to voice; and
identify and explain the use of anecdote.
plan a first draft by selecting a genre for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and mapping;
organizing with purposeful structure, including an introduction, transitions, and a conclusion; and
developing an engaging idea with relevant details;
revise drafts to improve sentence structure and word choice by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging ideas for coherence and clarity;
complete simple and compound sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;
past tense of irregular verbs;
singular, plural, common, and proper nouns;
adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms;
adverbs that convey frequency and adverbs that convey degree;
prepositions and prepositional phrases;
pronouns, including reflexive;
coordinating conjunctions to form compound subjects, predicates, and sentences;
capitalization of historical periods, events, and documents; titles of books; stories and essays; and languages, races, and nationalities;
punctuation marks, including apostrophes in possessives, commas in compound sentences, and quotation marks in dialogue; and
correct spelling of words with grade-appropriate orthographic patterns and rules and high-frequency words; and
publish written work for appropriate audiences.
compose literary texts such as personal narratives and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;
compose informational texts, including brief compositions that convey information about a topic, using a clear central idea and genre characteristics and craft;
compose argumentative texts, including opinion essays, using genre characteristics and craft; and
compose correspondence that requests information.
generate and clarify questions on a topic for formal and informal inquiry;
develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance;
identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources;
identify primary and secondary sources;
demonstrate understanding of information gathered;
recognize the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials;
develop a bibliography; and
use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.