How to learn Grade 4: English language arts

Michigan academic standards: English language arts, Grade 4

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1. Language Standards

Discussing and Questioning New Words: Ask and answer questions about unknown words in texts; discuss word meanings and link new vocabulary to words already known
Domain Vocabulary Across Subject Areas: Acquire and use accurately academic and domain-specific vocabulary relevant to grade-level topics, including words that signal precise meaning in informational texts across subject areas
Advanced Figurative Language: Understand and interpret figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meaning — including allusion, irony, pun, oxymoron, and extended metaphor — and distinguish between connotation and denotation when analysing or choosing words
Using New Vocabulary: Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, being read to, and responding to texts in own speech and writing
Bullet Point Punctuation: Punctuate bullet points consistently to list information clearly, applying conventions for capitalisation, end punctuation, and parallel structure across items
Standard English: Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech

2. Speaking and Listening Standards

Adapting Speech to Context: Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation while adjusting tone, vocabulary, and style for different audiences
Multimedia Presentations: Include multimedia components and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes
Reporting & Recounting: Report on a topic or recount an experience with organised facts and descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace
Identifying Reasons Behind a Speaker's Points: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points, evaluating whether the reasoning is logical and the evidence is relevant
Paraphrasing What You Hear: Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, capturing the key ideas accurately in one's own words
Group discussions: Participate actively in collaborative conversations staying on topic; continue a conversation through multiple exchanges; maintain attention in discussions

3. Writing Standards

Writing for an audience: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organisation are appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience, maintaining a consistent style and structure throughout
Literary Evidence in Writing: Draw evidence from literary texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to literature
Evidence-Based Writing: Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research in writing, applying grade-level reading standards to non-fiction
Short Research Projects: Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic, gather information from print and digital sources, and take brief organised notes
Research & Note-Taking: Gather relevant information from print and digital sources, summarise or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a basic bibliography or list of sources
Sharing and Publishing Your Writing: Read own writing aloud clearly enough to be heard by peers and the teacher; use digital tools to produce and publish writing
Revising and editing (age 7+): Evaluate and edit writing by assessing effectiveness, proposing changes to grammar and vocabulary for consistency, and proof-reading for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors at Y3-4 level
Narrative Writing: Write narratives with developed settings, characters and plot, using dialogue and description to develop experiences and show character responses to situations
Basic Informational Writing: Compose informative or explanatory texts that introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section
Developed Informational and Explanatory Writing: Write informative and explanatory texts that examine a topic and convey ideas clearly — organising information logically with headings and formatting, developing the topic with relevant facts, definitions, details, and quotations, and using precise vocabulary
Structured Opinion Writing: Compose opinion pieces that introduce a topic, state a clear point of view, provide organised reasons linked with connecting words, and include a concluding statement or section

4. Reading Standards: Foundational Skills

Reading with Expression and Accuracy: Read aloud with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression (prosody), re-reading familiar texts to build fluency and confidence, and using context to self-correct

5. Reading Standards for Informational Text

Interpreting visual information in texts: Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively in informational texts (e.g., charts, graphs, diagrams, timelines, animations) and explain how it contributes to understanding the text
Combining information from texts: Integrate information from two texts on the same topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably, combining and comparing what each source contributes
How authors support their points: Explain how an author of an informational text uses reasons and evidence to support particular points, evaluating whether the reasoning is sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient
Supporting ideas with evidence: Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text, identifying which reasons and evidence support which specific points
Firsthand and Secondhand Accounts: Compare and contrast a firsthand account (autobiography, diary, letter) with a secondhand account (biography, textbook, news report) of the same event or topic, identifying differences in focus and information provided
Structure of information texts: Describe the overall structure of an informational text (chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) and explain how the author's chosen structure helps convey information and ideas
Comparing Structure in Information Texts: Compare and contrast the overall structure of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more informational texts, identifying patterns such as chronology, comparison, cause/effect, or problem/solution
Explaining Events & Ideas: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in an informational text, including what happened and why, by citing specific textual evidence about causes, effects, and steps in a process
Summarising Non-Fiction Main Ideas: Determine two or more main ideas of an informational text and explain how they are supported by key details, then summarise the text without personal opinions
Main Topic & Key Details: Identify the main topic of a multi-paragraph informational text, determine the focus of specific paragraphs, and explain how key details support the main idea

6. Reading Standards for Literature

Themes Across Cultures and Traditions: Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes, topics, and story patterns (e.g., good vs evil, quest narratives, trickster tales) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures
Text & Media Connections: Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions from the text
Narrator's Point of View: Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including distinguishing between first-person and third-person narration and explaining how the narrator's perspective shapes the reader's understanding
Poems, Drama & Prose: Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, identifying structural elements unique to each form: verse, rhythm, and meter in poetry; cast of characters, dialogue, and stage directions in drama; chapters and paragraphs in prose
Cultural Allusions and Word Meaning: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as used in literary texts, including understanding references to mythology and cultural allusions (e.g., Herculean, Achilles' heel)
In-Depth Character and Setting Analysis: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details from the text such as a character's thoughts, words, actions, and interactions
Finding Theme and Summarising: Determine the theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, and provide an objective summary that captures the key events without personal opinions

7. Students can investigate topics and present information. · Recall and sort information from personal experiences or a topic into given categories.

Shared Research Projects: Participate in shared research and writing projects; recall information from experiences or gather information from sources to answer a question

8. Students can communicate for a range of purposes and audiences. · Use language to achieve desired outcomes when communicating.

Choosing Form and Tone for Your Audience: Identify the audience for and purpose of writing before beginning, selecting the appropriate form, tone, and register to match the intended reader and communicative goal

9. Students can communicate for a range of purposes and audiences. · Demonstrate Standard English grammar and usage when communicating.

Formal and Informal English: Recognise and compare formal and informal uses of English, understanding that language choices vary based on audience, purpose and context

10. Students can communicate for a range of purposes and audiences. · Ask and answer questions about details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Summarising Spoken and Media Presentations: Summarise a written text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats including visually, quantitatively, and orally

11. Students can produce writing for a range of purposes and audiences. · Demonstrate understanding of conventions of Standard English

Starting and Ending Sentences: Begin sentences with a capital letter and end them with the appropriate mark (full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark); recognise and name end punctuation

12. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Demonstrate understanding of word relationships and use

Pictures and Text Working Together: Describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear; use pictures to support and extend comprehension

13. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Demonstrate knowledge of word meanings

Justifying Views About Texts: Provide reasoned justifications for views about texts, supporting interpretations and opinions with evidence and logical arguments

14. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Compare characters, settings or events in stories, myths or texts from different cultures.

Comparing Books: Make comparisons within and across books, identifying similarities and differences in themes, characters, settings, and authorial choices across multiple texts
Comparing Characters Across Stories: Compare and contrast the adventures and experiences of characters in familiar stories; identify similarities and differences between two texts on the same topic

15. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Identify the narrator of a story.

Different viewpoints in texts: Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described, recognising the difference between limited and omniscient narration and how perspective shapes storytelling

16. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Identify elements that are characteristic of stories.

Forms of Poetry and Performance: Recognise different forms of poetry (free verse, narrative poetry, haiku) and discuss their features; prepare poems and play scripts to read aloud and perform with understanding through intonation, tone, volume and action
Multimedia elements in texts: Analyse how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text such as graphic novels, multimedia presentations, or illustrated editions of fiction and poetry

17. Students can comprehend text in increasingly complex ways. · Use details from the text to recount what the text says.

Listening to Texts Read Aloud: Listen to and discuss poems, stories, and non-fiction at a level beyond independent reading; confirm understanding of texts read aloud by asking and answering questions about key details
Reading between the lines: Ask and answer questions about key details in literary and informational texts; make simple inferences based on what characters say and do