Grade-Level Indicators
READING/WRITING
Grade Four
Phonemic Awareness, Word Recognition
and Fluency Standard
Acquisition of Vocabulary Standard
Reading Process:Concepts of Print,
Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies Standard
Informational, Technical, and Persuasive
Text Standard
Literary Text Standard
Writing Process
Writing Applications
Writing Conventions
Research
Communication: Oral and Visual
Phonemic Awareness,
Word Recognition and Fluency
| Fluency continues to develop past
the primary grades. Readers increase their rate of oral reading to near
conversational pace. They show their appropriate use of pauses, pitch,
stress and intonation that they are reading in clauses and sentence
units to support comprehension. They gain control over a wider, complex
sight vocabulary and over longer syntactic structures, so that they
are able to read progressively more demanding texts with greater ease.
Silent reading becomes considerably faster than oral reading and becomes
the preferred, more efficient way to process everyday texts. This standard is a K-3 standard. Therefore, there are no benchmarks beyond third grade. |
| Students acquire vocabulary through exposure
to language-rich situations, such as reading books and other texts and conversing
with adults and peers. They use context clues, as well as direct explanations
provided by others, to gain new words. They learn to apply word analysis skills
to build and extend their own vocabulary. As students progress through the
grades, they become more proficient in applying their knowledge of words (origins,
parts, relationships, meanings) to acquire specialized vocabulary that aids
comprehension. |
| Benchmark A. Use context clues and text structures
to determine the meaning of new vocabulary. 1. Determine the meaning of unknown words by using a variety of context clues, including word, sentence and paragraph clues. 2. Use context clues to determine the meaning of synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homonyms and homographs. Benchmark B. Infer word meaning through identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships. 4. Identify and apply the meaning of the terms synonym, antonym, homophone and homograph. 5. Identify and understand new uses of words and phrases in text, such as similes and metaphors. Benchmark C. Apply knowledge of connotation and denotation to learn the meanings of words. 3. Recognize the difference between the meanings of connotation and denotation. Benchmark D. Use knowledge of symbols, acronyms, word origins and derivations to determine the meanings of unknown words. 6. Identify word origins to determine the meaning of unknown words and phrases. 8. Identify the meanings of abbreviations. Benchmark E. Use knowledge of roots and affixes to determine the meanings of complex words. 7. Identify the meanings of prefixes, suffixes and roots and their various forms to determine the meanings of words. Benchmark F. Use multiple resources to enhance comprehension of vocabulary. 9. Determine the meanings and pronunciations of unknown words by using dictionaries, glossaries, technology and textual features, such as definitional footnotes or sidebars. |
Reading Process: Concepts of Print, Comprehension Strategies and Self-Monitoring Strategies
| Students develop and learn to apply strategies
that help them to comprehend and interpret informational and literary texts.
Reading and learning to read are problem solving processes that require strategies
for the reader to make sense of written language and remain engaged with texts.
Beginners develop basic concepts about print (e.g., that print holds meaning)
and how books work (e.g., text organization). As strategic readers, students
learn to analyze and evaluate texts to demonstrate their understanding of
text. Additionally, students learn to self-monitor their own comprehension
by asking and answering questions about the text, self-correcting errors and
assessing their own understanding. They apply these strategies effectively
to assigned and self-selected texts read in and out of the classroom. |
| Benchmark A. Determine a purpose for reading
and use a range of reading comprehension strategies to better understand text. 1. Establish and adjust purposes for reading, including to find out, to understand, to interpret, to enjoy and to solve problems. 6. Select, create and use graphic organizers to interpret textual information. Benchmark B. Apply effective reading comprehension strategies, including summarizing and making predictions, and comparisons using information in text, between text and across subject areas. 2. Predict and support predictions using an awareness of new vocabulary, text structures and familiar plot patterns. 3. Compare and contrast information on a single topic or theme across different text and non-text resources. 4. Summarize important information in texts to demonstrate comprehension. 5. Make inferences or draw conclusions about what has been read and support those conclusions with textual evidence. Benchmark C. Make meaning through asking and responding to a variety of questions related to text. 7. Answer literal, inferential and evaluative questions to demonstrate comprehension of grade-appropriate print texts and electronic and visual media. Benchmark D. Apply self-monitoring strategies to clarify confusion about text and to monitor comprehension. 8. Monitor own comprehension by adjusting speed to fit the purpose, or by skimming, scanning, reading on or looking back. 9. List questions and search for answers within the text to construct meaning. 10. Use criteria to choose independent reading materials (e.g., personal interest, knowledge of authors and genres or recommendations from others). 11. Independently read books for various purposes (e.g., for enjoyment, for literary experience, to gain information or to perform a task). |
Reading Applications: Informational, Technical and Persuasive Text
| Students gain information from reading for purposes
of learning about a subject, doing a job, making decisions and accomplishing
a task. Students need to apply the reading process to various types of informational
texts, including essays, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, instruction manuals,
consumer and workplace documents, reference materials, multimedia and electronic
resources. They learn to attend to text features, such as titles, subtitles
and visual aids, to make predictions and build text knowledge. They learn
to read diagrams, charts, graphs, maps and displays in text as sources of
additional information. Students use their knowledge of text structure to
organize content information, analyze it and draw inferences from it. Strategic
readers learn to recognize arguments, bias, stereotyping and propaganda
in informational text sources. |
| Benchmark A. Use text features and graphics
to organize, analyze and draw inferences from content and to gain additional
information. 1. Make inferences about informational text from the title page, table of contents and chapter headings. 5. Draw conclusions from information in maps, charts, graphs and diagrams. Benchmark B. Recognize the difference between cause and effect and fact and opinion to analyze text. 4. Identify examples of cause and effect used in informational text. 7. Distinguish fact from opinion. Benchmark C. Explain how main ideas connect to each other in a variety of sources. 3. Locate important details about a topic using different sources of information including books, magazines, newspapers and online resources. Benchmark D. Identify arguments and persuasive techniques used in informational text. Benchmark E. Explain the treatment, scope and organization of ideas from different texts to draw conclusions about a topic. 6. Clarify steps in a set of instructions or procedures for completeness. Benchmark F. Determine the extent to which a summary accurately reflects the main idea, critical details and underlying meaning of original text. 2. Summarize main ideas in informational text, using supporting details as appropriate. |
Reading Applications: Literary Text
| Students enhance their understanding of the
human story by reading literary texts that represent a variety of authors,
cultures and eras. They learn to apply the reading process to the various
genres of literature, including fables, folk tales, short stories, novels,
poetry and drama. They demonstrate their comprehension by describing and
discussing the elements of literature (e.g., setting, character and plot),
analyzing the author’s use of language (e.g., word choice and figurative
language), comparing and contrasting texts, inferring theme and meaning and
responding to text in critical and creative ways. Strategic readers learn
to explain, analyze and critique literary text to achieve deep understanding. |
| Benchmark A. Describe and analyze the elements
of character development. 1. Describe the thoughts, words and interactions of characters. Benchmark B. Analyze the importance of setting. 2. Identify the influence of setting on the selection. Benchmark C. Identify the elements of plot and establish a connection between an element and a future event. 3. Identify the main incidents of a plot sequence, identifying the major conflict and its resolution. Benchmark D. Differentiate between the points of view in narrative text. 4. Identify the speaker and recognize the difference between first- and third-person narration. Benchmark E. Demonstrate comprehension by inferring themes patterns and symbols. 5. Determine the theme and whether it is implied or stated directly. Benchmark F. Identify similarities and differences of various literary forms and genres. 6. Identify and explain the defining characteristics of literary forms and genres, including poetry, drama, fables, fantasies, chapter books, fiction and non-fiction. Benchmark G. Explain how figurative language expresses ideas and conveys mood. 7. Explain how an author’s choice of words appeals to the senses and suggests mood. 8. Identify figurative language in literary works, including idioms, similes and metaphors. |
| Students’ writing develops when they regularly
engage in the major phases of the writing process. The writing process includes
the phases of prewriting, drafting, revising and editing and publishing. They
learn to plan their writing for different purposes and audiences. They learn
to apply their writing skills in increasingly sophisticated ways to create
and produce compositions that reflect effective word and grammatical choices.
Students develop revision strategies to improve the content, organization
and language of their writing. Students also develop editing skills to improve
writing conventions. |
| Benchmark A. Generate ideas and determine
a topic suitable for writing. 1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others and from printed material. 2. State and develop a clear main idea for writing. Benchmark B. Determine audience and purpose for self-selected and assigned writing tasks. 3. Develop a purpose and audience for writing. Benchmark C. Apply knowledge of graphics or other organizers to clarify ideas of writing assessments. 4. Use organizational strategies (e.g., brainstorming, lists, webs and Venn diagrams) to plan writing. Benchmark D. Spend the necessary amount of time to revisit, rework and refine pieces of writing.B 10. Reread and assess writing for clarity, using a variety of methods (e.g., writer’s circle or author’s chair). Benchmark E. Use revision strategies to improve the coherence of ideas, clarity of sentence structure and effectiveness of word choices. 5. Organize writing, beginning with an introduction, body and a resolution of plot, followed by a closing statement or a summary of important ideas and details. 6. Vary simple, compound and complex sentence structures. 7. Create paragraphs with topic sentences and supporting sentences that are marked by indentation) and are linked by transitional words and phrases. 8. Vary language and style as appropriate to audience and purpose 10. Reread and assess writing for clarity, using a variety of methods (e.g., writer’s circle or author’s chair). 11. Add descriptive words and details and delete extraneous information. 12. Rearrange words, sentences and paragraphs to clarify meaning. Benchmark F. Use a variety of resources and reference materials to select more effective vocabulary when editing. 13. Use resources and reference materials, including dictionaries, to select more effective vocabulary. Benchmark G. Edit to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage. 14. Proofread writing and edit to improve conventions (e.g., grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization) and identify and correct fragments and run-ons. Benchmark H. Apply tools to judge the quality of writing. 15. Apply tools (e.g., rubric, checklist and feedback) to judge the quality of writing. Benchmark I. Prepare writing for publication that is legible, follows an appropriate format and uses techniques such as electronic resources and graphics. 9. Use available technology to compose text. 16. Prepare for publication (e.g., for display or for sharing with others) writing that follows a format appropriate to the purpose using techniques such as electronic resources and graphics to enhance the final product. |
| Students need to understand that various types
of writing require different language, formatting and special vocabulary.
Writing serves many purposes across the curriculum and takes various forms.
Beginning writers learn about the various purposes of writing; they attempt
and use a small range of familiar forms (e.g., letters). Developing writers
are able to select text forms to suit purpose and audience. They can explain
why some text forms are more suited to a purpose than others and begin to
use content-specific vocabulary to achieve their communication goals. Proficient
writers control effectively the language and structural features of a large
repertoire of text forms. They deliberately choose vocabulary to enhance text
and structure in their writing according to audience and purpose. |
| Benchmark A. Write narrative accounts that
develop character, setting and plot. 1. Write narratives that sequence events, including descriptive details and vivid language to develop plot, characters and setting and to establish a point of view. 5. Produce informal writings (e.g., messages, journals, notes and poems) for various purposes. Benchmark B. Write responses to literature that summarizes main ideas and significant details and support interpretations with references to the text. 2. Write responses to novels, stories and poems that include a simple interpretation of a literary work and support judgments with specific references to the original text and to prior knowledge. Benchmark C. Write formal and informal letters that include important details and follow correct letter format. 3. Write formal and informal letters (e.g., thank you notes, letters of request) that follow letter format (e.g., date, proper salutation, body, closing and signature), include important information and demonstrate a sense of closure. Benchmark D. Write informational reports that include facts, details and examples that illustrate an important idea. 4. Write informational reports that include facts and examples and present important details in a logical order. |
| Students learn to master writing conventions
through exposure to good models and opportunities for practice. Writing conventions
include spelling, punctuation, grammar and other conventions associated with
forms of written text. They learn the purposes of punctuation: to clarify
sentence meaning and help readers know how writing might sound aloud. They
develop and extend their understanding of the spelling system, using a range
of strategies for spelling words correctly and using newly learned vocabulary
in their writing. They grow more skillful at using the grammatical structures
of English to effectively communicate ideas in writing and to express themselves. |
| Benchmark A. Write legibly in finished drafts. 1. Write legibly in cursive, spacing letters, words and sentences appropriately. Benchmark B. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly. 2. Spell high-frequency words correctly. 3. Spell plurals and inflectional endings correctly. 4. Spell roots, suffixes and prefixes correctly. Benchmark C. Use conventions of punctuation and capitalization in written work. 5. Use commas, end marks, apostrophes and quotation marks correctly. 6. Use correct capitalization. Benchmark D. Use grammatical structures to effectively communicate ideas in writing. 7. Use various parts of speech such as nouns, pronouns and verbs (e.g., regular and irregular, past, present and future). 8. Use conjunctions and interjections. 9. Use adverbs. 10. Use prepositions and prepositional phrases. 11. Use objective and nominative case pronouns. 12. Use subjects and verbs that are in agreement. 13. Use irregular plural nouns. |
| Students define and investigate self-selected
or assigned issues, topics and problems. They locate, select and make use
of relevant information from a variety of media, reference and technological
sources. Students use an appropriate form to communicate their findings. |
| Benchmark A. Identify a topic of study, construct
questions and determine appropriate sources for gathering information. 1. Make inferences about informational text from the title page, table of contents and chapter headings. 2. Summarize main ideas in informational text, using supporting details as appropriate. 7. Distinguish fact from opinion. .Benchmark B. Select and summarize important information and sort key findings into categories about a topic. 3. Locate important details about a topic using different sources of information including books, magazines, newspapers and online resources. 4. Identify examples of cause and effect used in informational text. Benchmark C. Create a list of sources used for oral, visual, written or multimedia reports. 5. Draw conclusions from information in maps, charts, graphs and diagrams Benchmark D. Communicate findings orally, visually and in writing or through multimedia. 6. Clarify steps in a set of instructions or procedures for completeness |
Communication: Oral and Visual
| Students learn to communicate effectively through
exposure to good models and opportunities for practice. By speaking, listening
and providing and interpreting visual images, they learn to apply their communication
skills in increasingly sophisticated ways. Students learn to deliver presentations
that effectively convey information and persuade or entertain audiences.
Proficient speakers control language and deliberately choose vocabulary to
clarify points and adjust presentations according to audience and purpose. |
| Benchmark A. Demonstrate active listening
strategies by asking clarifying questions and responding to questions with
appropriate elaboration. 1. Demonstrate active listening strategies (e.g., asking focused questions, responding to cues, making visual contact). Benchmark B. Respond to presentations and media messages by stating the purpose and summarizing main ideas. 2. Recall the main idea, including relevant supporting details, and identify the purpose of presentations and visual media. Benchmark C. Use clear and specific vocabulary to communicate ideas and to establish tone appropriate to the topic, audience and purpose. 4. Demonstrate an understanding of the rules of the English language. 5. Select language appropriate to purpose and audience. 6. Use clear diction and tone, and adjust volume and tempo to stress important ideas. 7. Adjust speaking content according to the needs of the audience. Benchmark D. Identify examples of facts and opinions and explain their differences. 3. Distinguish between a speaker’s opinions and verifiable facts. Benchmark E. Organize presentations to provide a beginning, middle and ending and include concrete details. 8. Deliver informational presentations (e.g., expository, research) that: a. Present events or ideas in a logical sequence and maintain a clear focus; b. Demonstrate an understanding of the topic; c. include relevant facts, details, examples, quotations, statistics, stories and anecdotes to clarify and explain information; d. organize information to include a clear introduction, body and conclusion; e. use appropriate visual materials (e.g., diagrams, charts, illustrations) and available technology; and f. draw from several sources and identify sources used. Benchmark F. Clarify information in presentations through the use of important details from a variety of sources, effective organization and a clear focus. 8. Deliver informational presentations (e.g., expository, research) that: a. Present events or ideas in a logical sequence and maintain a clear focus; b. Demonstrate an understanding of the topic; c. include relevant facts, details, examples, quotations, statistics, stories and anecdotes to clarify and explain information; d. organize information to include a clear introduction, body and conclusion; e. use appropriate visual materials (e.g., diagrams, charts, illustrations) and available technology; and f. draw from several sources and identify sources used. Benchmark G. Deliver a variety of presentations, using visual materials as appropriate. 9. Deliver formal and informal descriptive presentations recalling an event or personal experience that convey relevant information and descriptive details. |
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