TX ELA Standards (Grade 4)

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.

Identify and explain the use of anecdote.

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.

Compose correspondence that requests information.

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.

Develop drafts into a focused, structured, and coherent piece of writing by: (i) organizing with purposeful structure, including an introduction, transitions, and a conclusion; and (ii) 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.

Edit drafts using standard English conventions, including: (i) complete simple and compound sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments; (ii) past tense of irregular verbs; (iii) singular, plural, common, and proper nouns; (iv) adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms; (v) adverbs that convey frequency and adverbs that convey degree; (vi) prepositions and prepositional phrases; (vii) pronouns, including reflexive; (viii) coordinating conjunctions to form compound subjects, predicates, and sentences; (ix) capitalization of historical periods, events, and documents; titles of books; stories and essays; and languages, races, and nationalities; (x) punctuation marks, including apostrophes in possessives, commas in compound sentences, and quotation marks in dialogue; and (xi) correct spelling of words with grade-appropriate orthographic patterns and rules and high-frequency words.

Publish written work for appropriate audiences.

Establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts.

Generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information.

Make and correct or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures.

Create mental images to deepen understanding.

Make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society.

Make inferences and use evidence to support understanding.

Evaluate details read to determine key ideas.

Synthesize information to create new understanding.

Monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.

Demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by: (i) decoding words with specific orthographic patterns and rules, including regular and irregular plurals; (ii) decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables; (iii) decoding words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns such as VV; (iv) decoding words using knowledge of prefixes; (v) 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 (vi) identifying and reading high-frequency words from a research-based list.

Demonstrate and apply spelling knowledge by: (i) spelling multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables; (ii) spelling homophones; (iii) spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound-spelling patterns; (iv) spelling words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns; (v) spelling words using knowledge of prefixes; and (vi) 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.

Write legibly in cursive to complete assignments.

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.

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.

Work collaboratively with others to develop a plan of shared responsibilities.

The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.

Use print or digital resources to determine meaning, syllabication, and pronunciation.

Use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the relevant meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple-meaning words.

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.

Identify, use, and explain the meaning of homophones such as reign/rain.

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.

Use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.

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.

Recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including: (i) the central idea with supporting evidence; (ii) features such as pronunciation guides and diagrams to support understanding; and (iii) organizational patterns such as compare and contrast.

Recognize characteristics and structures of argumentative text by: (i) identifying the claim; (ii) explaining how the author has used facts for an argument; and (iii) identifying the intended audience or reader.

Recognize characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.

Infer basic themes supported by text evidence.

Explain the interactions of the characters and the changes they undergo.

Analyze plot elements, including the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Explain the influence of the setting, including historical and cultural settings, on the plot.

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.

Discuss specific ideas in the text that are important to the meaning.