Grade 4. English language arts curriculum

Reading

• 2 recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning;
  • 1 explain how the particular characteristics of various text forms help communicate meaning, with a focus on literary texts such as a diary or journal (e.g., first-person record of events, thoughts, and feelings, usually in prose, gives a personal perspective on events; dated daily or weekly entries provide context), graphic texts such as a brochure (e.g., headings, subheadings, text boxes, photographs, lists, and maps clarify and highlight important material), and informational texts such as an encyclopedia (e.g., table of contents, glossary, index, headings, and subheadings help the reader use key words to locate information)
  • 2 recognize a variety of organizational patterns in texts of different types and explain how the patterns help readers understand the texts (e.g., comparison in an advertisement; cause and effect in a magazine or newspaper article)
  • 3 identify a variety of text features and explain how they help readers understand texts (e.g., the back cover copy for a book helps readers decide whether the book will interest them; titles, subtitles, captions, labels, a menu allow the reader to skim a text to get a general idea of what it is about)
  • 4 identify various elements of style – including alliteration, descriptive adjectives and adverbs, and sentences of different types, lengths, and structures – and explain how they help communicate meaning (e.g., alliteration and rhythm can emphasize ideas or help convey a mood or sensory impression)
    • Is the sentence declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamatory? (4-A.1)
    • Is the sentence simple or compound? (4-A.8)
    • Does the adjective tell you what kind or how many? (4-F.1)
    • Identify the adjective that describes the noun (4-F.2)
    • Identify adjectives (4-F.3)
    • Order adjectives (4-F.4)
    • Does the adverb tell you how, when or where? (4-F.5)
    • Identify adverbs (4-F.6)
    • Use relative adverbs (4-F.7)
    • Choose between adjectives and adverbs (4-F.8)
    • Is the word an adjective or adverb? (4-F.9)
    • Use adjectives to compare (4-F.10)
    • Spell adjectives that compare (4-F.11)
    • Use adjectives with more and most (4-F.12)
    • Use adverbs to compare (4-F.13)
    • Identify similes and metaphors (4-O.5)
    • Determine the meanings of similes and metaphors (4-O.6)
  • 3 use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently;
    • 1 automatically read and understand high-frequency words, most regularly used words, and words of personal interest or significance in a variety of reading contexts (e.g., words from grade-level texts; terminology used regularly in discussions and posted on anchor charts; words from shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts and some regularly used resource materials in the curriculum subject areas)
    • 2 predict the meaning of and rapidly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including:
      • semantic (meaning) cues (e.g., prefixes, suffixes, base words, phrases, sentences, and visuals that activate existing knowledge of oral and written language);
        • Identify base words, prefixes and suffixes (4-K.1)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with pre-, re- or mis- (4-K.2)
        • Use the prefixes pre-, re- and mis- (4-K.3)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -ful or -less (4-K.4)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -ly or -ness (4-K.5)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -able or -ment (4-K.6)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with a suffix: review (4-K.7)
        • Prefixes and suffixes: review (4-K.8)
        • Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words (4-L.1)
        • Use the meanings of words as clues to the meanings of Greek and Latin roots (4-L.2)
        • Determine the meanings of Greek and Latin roots (4-L.3)
        • Determine the meanings of words with Greek and Latin roots (4-L.4)
        • Which definition matches the sentence? (4-N.14)
        • Which sentence matches the definition? (4-N.15)
      • syntactic (language structure) cues (e.g., word order; language patterns such as those for regular and irregular plurals, possessives, and contractions; punctuation);
        • Which word is a noun? (4-B.1)
        • Identify nouns (4-B.2)
        • Identify nouns – with abstract nouns (4-B.3)
        • Identify common and proper nouns (4-B.4)
        • Form regular plurals with -s, -es and -ies (4-B.5)
        • Use regular plurals with -s, -es and -ies (4-B.6)
        • Form regular plurals with -s, -es, -ies and -ves (4-B.7)
        • Use regular plurals with -s, -es, -ies and -ves (4-B.8)
        • Is the noun singular or plural? (4-B.9)
        • Form and use irregular plurals (4-B.10)
        • Identify plurals, singular possessives and plural possessives (4-B.11)
        • Form the singular or plural possessive (4-B.12)
        • Identify and correct errors with plural and possessive nouns (4-B.13)
        • Identify personal pronouns (4-C.1)
        • Identify possessive pronouns (4-C.5)
        • Identify action verbs (4-D.2)
        • Identify main verbs and helping verbs (4-D.3)
        • What does the modal verb show? (4-D.4)
        • Which sentence is in the regular past tense? (4-D.10)
        • Identify verbs in the regular past tense (4-D.11)
        • Form and use the regular past tense (4-D.12)
        • Identify the irregular past tense (4-D.13)
        • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 1 (4-D.14)
        • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 2 (4-D.15)
        • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 3 (4-D.16)
        • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 4 (4-D.17)
        • Change the sentence to future tense (4-D.21)
        • Does the adjective tell you what kind or how many? (4-F.1)
        • Identify the adjective that describes the noun (4-F.2)
        • Identify adjectives (4-F.3)
        • Does the adverb tell you how, when or where? (4-F.5)
        • Identify adverbs (4-F.6)
        • Is the word an adjective or adverb? (4-F.9)
        • Use adjectives to compare (4-F.10)
        • Use adverbs to compare (4-F.13)
        • Identify prepositions (4-G.1)
        • Identify prepositions and their objects (4-G.2)
        • Identify prepositional phrases (4-G.3)
        • Prepositions: review (4-G.4)
        • Pronoun-verb contractions (4-I.1)
        • Contractions with “not” (4-I.2)
        • Commas with dates (4-J.1)
        • Commas with direct addresses and after introductory words (4-J.2)
        • Greetings and closings of letters (4-J.8)
        • Punctuating dialogue (4-J.12)
      • graphophonic (phonological and graphic) cues (e.g., familiar words within larger words: highlight, enlighten; recognizable sequences of letters within long words: spacious, conscious, delicious)
        • Spell adjectives that compare (4-F.11)
        • Identify base words, prefixes and suffixes (4-K.1)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with pre-, re- or mis- (4-K.2)
        • Use the prefixes pre-, re- and mis- (4-K.3)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -ful or -less (4-K.4)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -ly or -ness (4-K.5)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with -able or -ment (4-K.6)
        • Determine the meaning of a word with a suffix: review (4-K.7)
        • Prefixes and suffixes: review (4-K.8)
        • Use Greek and Latin roots as clues to the meanings of words (4-L.1)
        • Use the meanings of words as clues to the meanings of Greek and Latin roots (4-L.2)
        • Determine the meanings of Greek and Latin roots (4-L.3)
        • Determine the meanings of words with Greek and Latin roots (4-L.4)
        • Form compound words (4-N.7)
        • Form and use compound words (4-N.8)
      • 3 read appropriate texts at a sufficient rate and with sufficient expression to convey the sense of the text readily to the reader and an audience (e.g., read orally in role as part of a readers’ theatre, using appropriate phrasing and expression)

Writing

• 1 generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience;
  • 1 identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing forms (e.g., a cinquain or shape poem modelled on the structures and style of poems read, to contribute to a student poetry anthology for the school library; a set of directions to complete a science experiment on pulleys and gears, for a class presentation; a timeline of significant events in the writer’s life, to accompany a biography for a class collection)
  • 2 generate ideas about a potential topic using a variety of strategies and resources (e.g., brainstorm; formulate and ask questions to identify personal experiences, prior knowledge, and information needs)
  • 3 gather information to support ideas for writing using a variety of strategies and oral, print, and electronic sources (e.g., identify key words to help narrow their searches; cluster ideas; develop a plan for locating information; scan texts for specific information, including teacher read-alouds, mentor texts, reference texts, shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts, and media texts)
  • 4 sort and classify ideas and information for their writing in a variety of ways (e.g., by underlining key words and phrases; by using graphic and print organizers such as mind maps, concept maps, timelines, jot notes, bulleted lists)
  • 5 identify and order main ideas and supporting details and group them into units that could be used to develop a summary, using a variety of graphic organizers (e.g., a Venn diagram, a paragraph frame) and organizational patterns (e.g., generalization with supporting information, cause and effect)
  • 6 determine whether the ideas and information they have gathered are relevant and adequate for the purpose, and do more research if necessary (e.g., discuss material with a peer or adult using a KWHLW organizer: What do I know? What do I want to learn? How will I find out? What have I learned? What do I still want to know?; compare their material to the content of similar texts)
• 2 draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience;
  • 1 write more complex texts using a variety of forms (e.g., a storyboard using captions and photographs or drawings to recount a significant event in their life; a report, including jot notes, comparing the environments of two or more regions in Canada; a letter to the author about the student’s reaction to a particular text; a summary of the role of a medieval person; a review of a book or website; an original folk tale, fairy tale, or tall tale, or an extension of an existing tale; a board game related to a unit of study)
  • 2 establish a personal voice in their writing, with a focus on using words and stylistic elements that convey a specific mood such as amusement (e.g., use simple irony to poke fun at themselves: “Lucky me. I got to do the dishes.”)
    • Determine the meaning of idioms from context: set 1 (4-O.1)
    • Identify the meaning of idioms and adages: set 1 (4-O.2)
    • Determine the meaning of idioms from context: set 2 (4-O.3)
    • Identify the meaning of idioms and adages: set 2 (4-O.4)
    • Identify similes and metaphors (4-O.5)
    • Determine the meanings of similes and metaphors (4-O.6)
  • 3 use specific words and phrases to create an intended impression (e.g., comparative adjectives such as faster; words that create specific effects through sound, as in alliteration for emphasis: rotten rain)
    • What does the modal verb show? (4-D.4)
    • Use the correct modal verb (4-D.5)
    • Use adjectives to compare (4-F.10)
    • Spell adjectives that compare (4-F.11)
    • Use adjectives with more and most (4-F.12)
    • Use adverbs to compare (4-F.13)
  • 4 use sentences of different lengths and structures (e.g., complex sentences incorporating conjunctions such as because, so, if)
    • Is the sentence declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamatory? (4-A.1)
    • Is the sentence simple or compound? (4-A.8)
    • Use coordinating conjunctions (4-H.1)
    • Identify coordinating conjunctions (4-H.2)
    • Use subordinating conjunctions (4-H.3)
    • Identify subordinating conjunctions (4-H.4)
  • 5 identify their point of view and other possible points of view on the topic, and determine whether their information sufficiently supports their own view
  • 6 identify elements of their writing that need improvement, using feedback from the teacher and peers, with a focus on specific features (e.g., logical organization, depth of content)
  • 7 make revisions to improve the content, clarity, and interest of their written work, using several types of strategies (e.g., reordering sentences; removing repetition or unnecessary information; changing the sequence of ideas and information and adding material if appropriate; adding transition words and phrases to link sentences and/or paragraphs and improve the flow of writing; adding or substituting words from other subject areas, word lists, and a variety of sources, such as a dictionary or thesaurus and the Internet, to clarify meaning or add interest; checking for and removing negative stereotypes, as appropriate)
    • Use dictionary entries (4-M.6)
    • Use dictionary definitions (4-M.7)
    • Use thesaurus entries (4-M.8)
    • Choose the synonym (4-N.1)
    • Which sentence has the same meaning? (4-N.2)
    • Find synonyms in context (4-N.3)
    • Choose the antonym (4-N.4)
    • Which sentence uses an antonym? (4-N.5)
    • Find antonyms in context (4-N.6)
    • Describe the difference between related words (4-N.9)
    • Positive and negative connotation (4-N.10)
  • 8 produce revised, draft pieces of writing to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style, and use of conventions
    • Is it a complete sentence or a fragment? (4-A.5)
    • Is it a complete sentence or a run-on? (4-A.6)
    • Is it a complete sentence, a fragment or a run-on? (4-A.7)
    • Capitalizing the names of people and pets and titles of respect (4-J.3)
    • Capitalizing days, months and holidays (4-J.4)
    • Capitalizing the names of places and geographic features (4-J.5)
    • Capitalizing the names of historical events, periods and documents (4-J.6)
    • Capitalizing proper adjectives, nationalities and languages (4-J.7)
  • 3 use editing, proofreading, and publishing skills and strategies, and knowledge of language conventions, to correct errors, refine expression, and present their work effectively;
    • 1 spell familiar words correctly (e.g., words from their oral vocabulary, anchor charts, and shared-, guided-, and independent-reading texts; words used regularly in instruction across the curriculum)
      • Homophones with pictures (4-N.11)
      • Identify homophones (4-N.12)
      • Use the correct homophone (4-N.13)
    • 2 spell unfamiliar words using a variety of strategies that involve understanding sound-symbol relationships, word structures, word meanings, and generalizations about spelling (e.g., pronounce the silent letters in words: k-now; divide long words into manageable chunks; make connections between words with similar spellings; apply knowledge of vowel patterns to new words; apply knowledge of letter patterns and rules for forming regular and irregular plurals and possessive contractions; identify roots in related words: explore, explorer, exploration; highlight the differences between similar words; use mnemonics: twin is two)
      • Form regular plurals with -s, -es and -ies (4-B.5)
      • Use regular plurals with -s, -es and -ies (4-B.6)
      • Form regular plurals with -s, -es, -ies and -ves (4-B.7)
      • Use regular plurals with -s, -es, -ies and -ves (4-B.8)
      • Form and use irregular plurals (4-B.10)
      • Form the singular or plural possessive (4-B.12)
      • Identify and correct errors with plural and possessive nouns (4-B.13)
      • Form and use the regular past tense (4-D.12)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 1 (4-D.14)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 2 (4-D.15)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 3 (4-D.16)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 4 (4-D.17)
      • Pronoun-verb contractions (4-I.1)
      • Contractions with “not” (4-I.2)
      • Identify base words, prefixes and suffixes (4-K.1)
      • Determine the meaning of a word with pre-, re- or mis- (4-K.2)
      • Use the prefixes pre-, re- and mis- (4-K.3)
      • Determine the meaning of a word with -ful or -less (4-K.4)
      • Determine the meaning of a word with -ly or -ness (4-K.5)
      • Determine the meaning of a word with -able or -ment (4-K.6)
      • Determine the meaning of a word with a suffix: review (4-K.7)
      • Prefixes and suffixes: review (4-K.8)
      • Form compound words (4-N.7)
      • Form and use compound words (4-N.8)
    • 3 confirm spellings and word meanings or word choice using different types of resources appropriate for the purpose (e.g., locate words in online and print dictionaries using alphabetical order, entry words, guide words, pronunciation, and homographs; use a variety of dictionaries such as a dictionary of idioms or homonyms; use a thesaurus to find alternative words)
      • Order alphabetically based on the first letter (4-M.1)
      • Order alphabetically based on the first two letters (4-M.2)
      • Order alphabetically based on the first three letters (4-M.3)
      • Order alphabetically: challenge (4-M.4)
      • Use guide words (4-M.5)
      • Use dictionary entries (4-M.6)
      • Use dictionary definitions (4-M.7)
      • Use thesaurus entries (4-M.8)
    • 4 use punctuation appropriately to help communicate their intended meaning, with a focus on the use of: the apostrophe to indicate possession, and quotation marks to indicate direct speech
      • Identify plurals, singular possessives and plural possessives (4-B.11)
      • Form the singular or plural possessive (4-B.12)
      • Identify and correct errors with plural and possessive nouns (4-B.13)
      • Commas with dates (4-J.1)
      • Commas with direct addresses and after introductory words (4-J.2)
      • Punctuating dialogue (4-J.12)
    • 5 use parts of speech appropriately to communicate their meaning clearly, with a focus on the use of: common and proper nouns; verbs in the simple present, past, and future tenses; adjectives and adverbs; subject/verb agreement; prepositions; and conjunctions (e.g., since, through, until)
      • Identify the complete subject of a sentence (4-A.2)
      • Identify the complete predicate of a sentence (4-A.3)
      • Identify the simple subject or predicate of a sentence (4-A.4)
      • Which word is a noun? (4-B.1)
      • Identify nouns (4-B.2)
      • Identify nouns – with abstract nouns (4-B.3)
      • Identify common and proper nouns (4-B.4)
      • Is the noun singular or plural? (4-B.9)
      • Form and use irregular plurals (4-B.10)
      • Identify personal pronouns (4-C.1)
      • Choose between subject and object personal pronouns (4-C.2)
      • Replace the noun with a personal pronoun (4-C.3)
      • Identify possessive pronouns (4-C.5)
      • Use possessive pronouns (4-C.6)
      • Choose between personal and reflexive pronouns (4-C.7)
      • Use reflexive pronouns (4-C.8)
      • Identify relative pronouns (4-C.9)
      • Use relative pronouns: who and whom (4-C.10)
      • Use relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which and that (4-C.11)
      • Use action verbs (4-D.1)
      • Identify action verbs (4-D.2)
      • Identify main verbs and helping verbs (4-D.3)
      • What does the modal verb show? (4-D.4)
      • Use the correct modal verb (4-D.5)
      • Is the subject singular or plural? (4-D.6)
      • Use the correct subject or verb (4-D.7)
      • Pronoun-verb agreement (4-D.8)
      • Use the correct subject or verb – with compound subjects (4-D.9)
      • Which sentence is in the regular past tense? (4-D.10)
      • Identify verbs in the regular past tense (4-D.11)
      • Form and use the regular past tense (4-D.12)
      • Identify the irregular past tense (4-D.13)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 1 (4-D.14)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 2 (4-D.15)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 3 (4-D.16)
      • Form and use the irregular past tense: set 4 (4-D.17)
      • To be: use the correct form (4-D.18)
      • To have: use the correct form (4-D.19)
      • Is the sentence in the past, present or future tense? (4-D.20)
      • Change the sentence to future tense (4-D.21)
      • Use the progressive verb tenses (4-D.22)
      • Form the progressive verb tenses (4-D.23)
      • Choose between the past tense and past participle (4-D.24)
      • Use the perfect verb tenses (4-D.25)
      • Form the perfect verb tenses (4-D.26)
      • Use the correct article: a or an (4-E.1)
      • Use the correct article: a, an or the (4-E.2)
      • Identify articles (4-E.3)
      • Does the adjective tell you what kind or how many? (4-F.1)
      • Identify the adjective that describes the noun (4-F.2)
      • Identify adjectives (4-F.3)
      • Order adjectives (4-F.4)
      • Does the adverb tell you how, when or where? (4-F.5)
      • Identify adverbs (4-F.6)
      • Use relative adverbs (4-F.7)
      • Choose between adjectives and adverbs (4-F.8)
      • Is the word an adjective or adverb? (4-F.9)
      • Use adjectives to compare (4-F.10)
      • Spell adjectives that compare (4-F.11)
      • Use adjectives with more and most (4-F.12)
      • Use adverbs to compare (4-F.13)
      • Identify prepositions (4-G.1)
      • Identify prepositions and their objects (4-G.2)
      • Identify prepositional phrases (4-G.3)
      • Prepositions: review (4-G.4)
      • Use coordinating conjunctions (4-H.1)
      • Identify coordinating conjunctions (4-H.2)
      • Use subordinating conjunctions (4-H.3)
      • Identify subordinating conjunctions (4-H.4)
    • 6 proofread and correct their writing using guidelines developed with peers and the teacher (e.g., an editing checklist specific to the writing task; a posted class writing guideline)
      • Is it a complete sentence or a fragment? (4-A.5)
      • Is it a complete sentence or a run-on? (4-A.6)
      • Is it a complete sentence, a fragment or a run-on? (4-A.7)
      • Capitalizing the names of people and pets and titles of respect (4-J.3)
      • Capitalizing days, months and holidays (4-J.4)
      • Capitalizing the names of places and geographic features (4-J.5)
      • Capitalizing the names of historical events, periods and documents (4-J.6)
      • Capitalizing proper adjectives, nationalities and languages (4-J.7)
      • Capitalizing titles (4-J.9)
      • Formatting titles (4-J.10)
      • Formatting and capitalizing titles (4-J.11)
    • 7 use some appropriate elements of effective presentation in the finished product, including print, script, different fonts, graphics, and layout (e.g., use legible printing and some cursive writing; use a variety of font sizes and colours to distinguish headings and subheadings from the body of the text; supply detailed labels for diagrams in a report; include graphs such as a bar graph or a pie graph)
    • 8 produce pieces of published work to meet identified criteria based on the expectations related to content, organization, style, use of conventions, and use of presentation strategies