ConVal Language Arts Curriculum


	Grade 4 (pdf) STANDARD #1 – Students will demonstrate the interest and ability to read age appropriate materials fluently, with understanding and appreciation. PHONETIC ANALYSIS Students will: • recognize suffixes, prefixes, and roots within the context of reading. • apply sound/symbol relationships or syllabication patterns to decode unknown words for six types of syllables and rules for syllable division. (See Appendix.) • use dictionary to check pronunciation and syllabication. VOCABULARY Students will: • define and use vocabulary generated from all types of reading from all content areas. • infer word meaning using context clues. • know that suffixes and prefixes are syllables with meanings of their own. • recognize the modification of the meaning of roots by the addition of common prefixes and suffixes taught in grades 1-3. • use a thesaurus. • give multiple meanings for some words (e.g., bank, state). • recognize metaphors and understand similes, idioms, and personification as figurative language. • identify antonyms, homonyms, homophones, synonyms or shades of meaning (e.g., cold/freezing). • identify transition words and phrases. TEXT STRUCTURE Students will: • read handwritten cursive and a variety of cursive and italicized fonts. • locate information using the table of contents, index, titles, subtitles, captions, and fonts. • interpret information from graphic organizers (e.g., maps, diagrams, charts, graphs, and time lines). • use a glossary in books on specialized topics. • learn library skills and begin to use the internet for research and class projects. • analyze organizational framework or point of view structures in fiction or nonfiction texts. • begin to identify the elements of different genres. • skim as a means of quickly surveying a whole text to assess a specific purpose. • scan as a means of locating specific information. READING BEHAVIORS Students will: • read from a variety of sources. • read for specific purposes. • self-monitor for comprehension. • repair faulty comprehension. • read material appropriate for end of grade 4 with at least 90% accuracy. FLUENCY Students will: • read primarily in larger, meaningful phrases. • respond appropriately to punctuation. • read smoothly with appropriate pacing and expression METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES Students will: • use comprehension strategies (flexibly and as needed) while reading or listening to literary and informational text. CONNECTING Students will: • search for connections between what they know and the information found in a text. QUESTIONING Students will: • ask questions of themselves, the author, and text, before, during and after reading. VISUALIZING Students will: • use all senses to comprehend text. • visualize and describe setting, characters, and actions. DETERMINING IMPORTANCE Students will: • distinguish important from less important ideas in fiction and nonfiction texts. • begin to distinguish between cause and effect, fact and opinion, true/false, and main idea and supporting details. • summarize the conflict and resolution of a story. • summarize the main character(s) and setting of a story. • read and follow multi-step directions. INFERRING Students will; • draw inference(s) during and after reading. • evaluate predictions. SYNTHESIZING Students will: • combine reading information with prior knowledge to draw conclusions. • show understanding of character, theme, or plot through dramatization, illustration, or writing. • discuss a theme or concept in fiction/nonfiction. • synthesize information within or across text(s) (e.g., construct appropriate titles, or formulate assertions or controlling ideas). STANDARD #2 – Students will demonstrate the interest and ability to write effectively for a variety of purposes and audiences. CONTENT Students will: • write for a variety of purposes in a variety of subject areas with an emphasis on developing skills in writing: fiction; reviews of books, movies, or plays; poetry; simple expository pieces. • write appropriate responses to teacher-selected prompts. • bring at least 5 pieces to final copy with at least 1 in cursive. • produce fiction that includes: • a conflict and a solution. • a well-defined main character. • a clear description of the setting. • sequenced events to advance a simple plot. • a title. write a review of a book, movie or play that: • identifies title and author/director. • states opinion with recommendation. • supports opinion with examples, reasons, or details. • is organized. • produce poetry that: • expresses an idea or a feeling. • includes words that evoke a sensory image. • includes strong verbs and specific nouns. • uses figurative language. • produce exposition that • Gathers information from a variety of sources. • Selects information with a purpose in mind. • Provides general statements with supporting examples and details. • Is organized. • Categorizes information logically. • uses some transitional words (e.g., next, also, finally, in addition to). • includes interesting details. SPELLING Students will: • spell words with ou and ough (e.g., country, tough, thought, enough). • spell words with unusual letter pairs (e.g., knee, quick, quarter, photo, climb, number). • spell words with /z/ sound (e.g., lazy, puzzle, tease). • spell words ending with –le (e.g., simple, people). • spell words ending with the double consonant syllable pattern (e.g., better, supper, dinner). • spell words with the open syllable pattern (e.g., paper, super, tiny). • spell words that end in –ure (e.g., measure, adventure, picture). • spell words with end with –ion (e.g., vacation, division, million). • spell irregular verbs (e.g., knew, known, wrote, written, sleep, slept, catch, caught). • spell plural words ending in –ves (e.g., leaf/leaves, life/lives, knife/knives). • spell words with ei and ie (e.g., weigh, neither, field, chief). • spell words with the suffix of –y (e.g., cloudy, hungry, gloomy). • spell words with prefixes un-, dis- and non- (e.g., unable, disappear, nonsense). • spell words with suffixes – ful and –less (e.g., wonderful, careless). • spell words with suffix –ly (e.g., quickly, easily, gently). • spell correctly fourth grade list of Commonly Misspelled Words. (See Appendix.) PROCESS Students will: • free-write regularly to enhance fluency and ease in composing. • apply the writing process. (See Glossary.) • use prewriting strategies that include graphic organizers or an outline when beginning a fiction or nonfiction piece. • use information gathered to write an expository piece. • revise after receiving feedback from peers and teachers. In collaboration with others, use a variety of revising and editing strategies to improve the style and effectiveness of writing (e.g., carets, arrows, cutting and pasting, underlining in certain colors, and number inserts). • experiment with writing interesting lead sentences. • produce writing that sustains a clear focus. • produce a neat final copy independently. GRAMMAR/USAGE/MECHANICS Students will: • edit for spelling and items listed in Mechanics and Usage Grades K-4. • identify, define, and properly use nouns, pronouns, verbs, and adjectives. • self-edit for: subject-verb agreement, correct comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, and the correct case of pronoun. • self-edit for agreement of pronoun and referent (e.g., My dog has puppies. She has six.). • Capitalize: • titles of people. • titles of books, short stories, poems, plays, periodicals, articles, documents, songs, films, and major works of art. • first and last words of a title and major words in between. • first word in a direct quotation. • all proper nouns: people, cities, states, countries, holidays, streets, and official state nicknames. • Punctuate: • apostrophes to indicate contractions and possession. • periods after abbreviations except in states. • periods after numbers in a list. • quotation marks for a direct quotation. • commas to separate a direct quotation from the rest of a sentence. • titles of books by underlining or italicizing. • hyphens to divide a word at the end of a line with a dictionary and teacher support. HANDWRITING Students will: • practice and refine cursive writing for increased legibility and speed. • use cursive on a regular basis for written work. STANDARD #3 – Students will demonstrate the interest and ability to speak purposefully and articulately, as well as listen and view attentively and critically. Students will: • use appropriate articulation, pronunciation, volume, and inflection. • listen and view responsively by using eye contact, body language, and focus. • monitor understanding of the spoken message and seek clarification as needed. • respond appropriately to speaker's messages (both verbal and nonverbal), purposes, and perspectives. • listen to identify examples of rich language such as similes, rhyme schemes, and interesting vocabulary. • present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, and/or plays. • choose and adapt spoken language to the audience, purpose, and occasion. • demonstrate the ability to speak correctly. • listen for main points and supporting evidence. • view for main points and supporting evidence. • articulate and support a personal point of view. • make prepared presentations to a group. • integrate visuals to clarify and refine ideas before making a presentation (e.g., diagram, time line, picture). • Follow and give a multi-step direction. STANDARD #4 – Students will demonstrate competence in understanding, appreciating, interpreting, and critically analyzing classical and contemporary American and British literature as well as literary works translated into English. READING BEHAVIORS Students will: • begin to understand the characteristics of a variety of types of literature with an emphasis on poetry. • self-monitor comprehension. • stop, reread, and/or ask for help when difficulties are encountered in understanding the text. • repair faulty comprehension. • read to answer specific questions or for specific purposes. • begin to distinguish between cause and effect, true and false, main idea and supporting details, and fact and opinion. • demonstrate think-aloud behaviors as modeled by the teacher. • explain that literature can be used to better understand themselves and others. • review literary concepts and terms taught in previous grades. • understand literary terms and concepts: metaphor, climax, rising/developing action, exaggeration, conflict (add person vs. person), point-of-view (add 3rd person), and novel. • self-select appropriate reading materials with consideration for ability and interest. METACOGNITIVE STRATEGIES • use comprehension strategies (flexibly and as needed) while reading or listening to literature. CONNECTING Students will: • make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections about works they read, hear, and view. • explore new points-of-view outside their range of experience through their identification with characters. • develop an understanding of American culture and the world in which they live. QUESTIONING Students will: • ask questions about works including questions about plot, setting, character, theme, conflict and resolution, and point-of-view through works they read, hear, and view. • answer questions about works including questions about plot, setting, character, theme, conflict and resolution, and point-of-view through works they read, hear, and view. VISUALIZING Students will: • use all the senses to comprehend texts. • visualize from a vivid piece of text. • visualize in nonfiction texts to better understand the dimensions of size, shape, and time. DETERMINING IMPORTANCE Students will: • distinguish important from less important ideas in fiction and nonfiction texts. • begin to find evidence of character motivation in the text. • identify the conflict and its resolution. INFERRING Students will: • begin to independently identify author’s purpose or intent in written, spoken, or audio-visual texts. • make predictions based on explicit or implicit information from the text and/or personal experience. • evaluate predictions. SYNTHESIZING Students will: • compare and contrast literary works with a focus on character, setting, and conflict. • apply concepts from works to their personal experiences, to the local environment, to current events, and to historical topics. • understand that a single text, including poetry, novels, essays, spoken and audiovisual presentations, and accounts of events from real-life, may elicit a variety of responses and interpretations. STANDARD #5 – Students will demonstrate competence in using the interactive Language processes of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing to gather and organize information in a variety of subject areas. Students will: • continue to use a strategy to identify information. • begin to evaluate questions according to established purpose. • continue to use reference tools, including the thesaurus. • begin to access the internet. • continue to use organizational features including timelines. • continue to use organizational strategies such as timelines, highlighting, note-taking, and graphic organizers. • read, listen to, view, and understand a variety of informational resources at the appropriate grade level. • begin to paraphrase main idea in written, spoken, audio-visual, and graphic materials, and begin to discriminate between fact and opinion.

	Language Arts Curriculum Home \| Curriculum Home \| ConVal Home