The California Language Arts Content Standards
GRADE 4
Reading
1.0 Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development
Students understand the basic features of reading. They select letter patterns and know how to translate them into spoken language by using phonics, syllabication, and word parts. They apply this knowledge to achieve fluent oral and silent reading.
Word Recognition
1.1 Read narrative and expository text aloud with grade-appropriate fluency and accuracy and with appropriate pacing, intonation, and expression.
Vocabulary and Concept Development
1.2 Apply knowledge of word origins, derivations, synonyms, antonyms, and idioms to determine the meaning of words and phrases.
1.3 Use knowledge of root words to determine the meaning of unknown words within a passage.
1.4 Know common roots and affixes derived from Greek and Latin and use this knowledge to analyze the meaning of complex words (e.g., international).
1.5 Use a thesaurus to determine related words and concepts.
2.0 Reading Comprehension
Students read and understand grade-level-appropriate material. They draw upon a variety of comprehension strategies as needed (e.g., generating and responding to essential questions, making predictions, comparing information from several sources). The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. In addition to their regular school reading, students read one-half million words annually, including a good representation of grade-level-appropriate narrative and expository text (e.g., classic and contemporary literature, magazines, newspapers, online information).
Structural Features of Informational Materials
2.1 Identify structural patterns found in informational text (e.g., compare and contrast, cause and effect, sequential or chronological order, proposition and support) to strengthen comprehension.
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
2.2 Use appropriate strategies when reading for different purposes (e.g., full comprehension, location of information, personal enjoyment).
2.3 Make and confirm predictions about text by using prior knowledge and ideas presented in the text itself, including illustrations, titles, topic sentences, important words, and foreshadowing clues.
2.4 Evaluate new information and hypotheses by testing them against known information and ideas.
2.5 Compare and contrast information on the same topic after reading several passages or articles.
2.6 Distinguish between cause and effect and between fact and opinion in expository text.
3.0 Literary Response and Analysis
Students read and respond to a wide variety of significant works of children's literature. They distinguish between the structural features of the text and the literary terms or elements (e.g., theme, plot, setting, characters). The selections in Recommended Readings in Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Eight illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students.
Structural Features of Literature
3.1 Describe the structural differences of various imaginative forms of literature, including fantasies, fables, myths, legends, and fairy tales.
Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
3.2 Identify the main events of the plot, their causes, and the influence of each event on future actions.
3.3 Use knowledge of the situation and setting and of a character's traits and motivations to determine the causes for that character's actions.
3.4 Compare and contrast tales from different cultures by tracing the exploits of one character type and develop theories to account for similar tales in diverse cultures (e.g., trickster tales).
3.5 Define figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) and identify its use in literary works.
Writing
1.0 Writing Strategies
Students write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose. Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g., prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).
Organization and Focus
1.3 Use traditional structures for conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause and effect, similarity and difference, and posing and answering a question).
Research and Technology
1.5 Quote or paraphrase information sources, citing them appropriately.
1.6 Locate information in reference texts by using organizational features (e.g., prefaces, appendixes).
1.7 Use various reference materials (e.g., dictionary, thesaurus, card catalog, encyclopedia, online information) as an aid to writing.
2.0 Writing Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students write compositions that describe and explain familiar objects, events, and experiences. Student writing demonstrates a command of standard American English and the drafting, research, and organizational strategies outlined in Writing Standard 1.0.
Using the writing strategies of grade four outlined in Writing Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Write narratives:
a. Relate ideas, observations, or recollections of an event or experience.
b. Provide a context to enable the reader to imagine the world of the event or experience.
c. Use concrete sensory details.
d. Provide insight into why the selected event or experience is memorable.
2.2 Write responses to literature:
a. Demonstrate an understanding of the literary work.
b. Support judgments through references to both the text and prior knowledge.
2.4 Write summaries that contain the main ideas of the reading selection and the most significant details.
Written and Oral English Language Conventions
The standards for written and oral English language conventions have been placed between those for writing and for listening and speaking because these conventions are essential to both sets of skills.
1.0 Written and Oral English Language Conventions
Students write and speak with a command of standard English conventions appropriate to this grade level.
Sentence Structure
1.1 Use simple and compound sentences in writing and speaking.
1.2 Combine short, related sentences with appositives, participial phrases, adjectives, ad-verbs, and prepositional phrases.
Grammar
1.3 Identify and use regular and irregular verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions in writing and speaking.
1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies Students listen critically and respond appropriately to oral communication. They speak in a manner that guides the listener to understand important ideas by using proper phrasing, pitch, and modulation.
Comprehension
1.1 Ask thoughtful questions and respond to relevant questions with appropriate elaboration in oral settings.
1.2 Summarize major ideas and supporting evidence presented in spoken messages and formal presentations.
2.0 Speaking Applications (Genres and Their Characteristics)
Students deliver brief recitations and oral presentations about familiar experiences or interests that are organized around a coherent thesis statement. Student speaking demonstrates a command of standard American English and the organizational and delivery strategies outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0.
Using the speaking strategies of grade four outlined in Listening and Speaking Standard 1.0, students:
2.1 Make narrative presentations:
a. Relate ideas, observations, or recollections about an event or experience.
b. Provide a context that enables the listener to imagine the circumstances of the event or experience.
c. Provide insight into why the selected event or experience is memorable.
2.2 Make informational presentations:
a. Frame a key question.
b. Include facts and details that help listeners to focus.
c. Incorporate more than one source of information (e.g., speakers, books, newspapers, television or radio reports).
2.3 Deliver oral summaries of articles and books that contain the main ideas of the event or article and the most significant details.
2.4 Recite brief poems (i.e., two or three stanzas), soliloquies, or dramatic dialogues, using clear diction, tempo, volume, and phrasing.