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4th Grade ELA Curriculum Menu
Literature, Media Literacy, Nonfiction, Foundations, Speaking & Listening, Vocabulary, Writing Process, Writing Genres, Writing Handwriting, Writing Conventions, Research Process
Guiding Principle
Students read a wide range of fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works, to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They read a wide range of literature in many genres from a variety of time periods and cultures from around the world to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, and reading skills that they have developed and refined.1
1 Adapted from Standards for the English Language. National Council of Teachers of English and International Reading Association, 1996. Available at http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf.
Reading: Literature
There are three key areas found in the Reading: Literature section for grades 6-12: Key Ideas and Textual Support, Structural Elements and Organization, and Synthesis and Connection of Ideas. By demonstrating the skills listed in each section, students should be able to meet the Learning Outcome for Reading: Literature.
Infusion of the Catholic Faith
Through Catholic education, we seek to better understand human nature, the choices we face, and the role our faith plays in these decisions. Through our study of Language Arts, we strive to better understand our role and identity as Christians, and our responsibility to social justice. Human virtues and a Catholic worldview are explored through reading, writing, discussion and reflection.
The Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Charleston examine each subject in the context of the Catholic faith. Our students learn and are formed through the infusion of Gospel Values into all disciplines. Through the diocesan curriculum and standards, our teachers seek to promote the synthesis of faith, life, and culture to form students as disciples of Jesus. This document has been created to serve as a curriculum guide for English Language Arts. The ELA Standards are supported through the infusion of the Cardinal Newman Society standards. Resources to support the infusion of our faith can be found through the links below.
Ways to Infuse the Faith
Ways to Infuse the Faith
The DOC ELA Standards align with the Cardinal Newman Society Catholic Curriculum Standards. Click HERE to infuse our faith into the ELA curriculum through literature, scripture, parables, and saints.
Learning Outcome RL-4: Read and comprehend a variety of literature within a range of complexity appropriate for grades 4-5. By the end of grade 4, students interact with texts proficiently and independently at the low end of the range and with scaffolding as needed at the high end.
Essential Question: How does the text measure up to God’s plan or expectations of it as revealed in Christ? How do my examples and details show how this character is beautiful, truthful, or good? Does my summary show the beauty of the text? How does the theme measure up in terms of Catholic worldview and values? How does the main idea measure up in terms of Catholic morality and virtue?
Cross- Curricular Suggestions
Cross- Curricular Suggestions
Students read literature about people of a variety of races and cultures and with ideological differences from their own (How My Parents Learned to Eat, Esperanza Rising) and grow in their understanding of the family of God. (Religion, Social Studies)
Books to Teach Reading Literature Skills
Inference
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Chris Van Allsburg
Babushka’s Doll, Patricia Polacco
Going Home, Eve Bunting
How Many Days to America, Eve Bunting
Duck!Rabbit!, Amy Krause Rosenthal
Two Bad Ants, Chris Van Allsburg
The Stranger, Chris Van Allsburg
The Wretched Stone, Chris Van Allsburg
The Wreck of the Zephyr, Chris Van Allsburg
Knock Knock: My Dad’s Dreams for Me, Daniel Beaty
Summarize
Going Home, Eve Bunting
Koala Lou, Mem Fox
A Chair for my Mother. Vera Williams
The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats
Water Dance, Thomas Locker
Someday a Tree, Eve Bunting
Compare and Contrast
Thank you Mr. Falker, Patricia Polacco
More Than Anything Else, Marie Bradby
Grandfather’s Journey, Allen Say
My Freedom Trip, Frances Park
I was Dreaming to Come to America, Veronica Lawlor
Journey to Ellis Island, Carol Bierman
*Fairy Tales and Folktales are wonderful to use, especially the newer versions comparing different points of views from characters
Character Traits
Because of Winn Dixie, Kate DiCamilio
Wonder, RJ Palacio
A Day’s Work, Eve Bunting
Amazing Grace, Mary Hoffman
My Rotten, Redheaded Older Brother, Patricia Polacco
Plot
Julius Baby of the World, Kevin Henkes
Thank you Mr. Falker, Patricia Polacco
The Patchwork Quilt, Valerie Flournoy
Millions of Cats, Wanda Gag
Come on, Rain, Karen Hesse
The Island of Skog, Steven Kellogg
Main Idea
Exploring the Titanic, Robert Ballard
Leah’s Pony, Elizabeth Friedrich
The Important Book, Margaret Wise Brown
The Paperboy, Dav Pilkey
Swimmy, Leo Lionni
Setting
All the Places to Love, Patricia Maclachlan
Canoe Days, Gary Paulsen
Great Kapok Tree, Lynn Cherry
Owl Moon, Jane Yolan
Because of Winn Dixie, Kate DiCamilio
The Polar Express, Chris Van Allsburg
Zathura, Chris Van Allsburg
Theme
Salt in his Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream, Deloris Jordan
More than Anything Else, Marie Bradby
Those Shoes, Maribeth Boelts
The Invisible Boy, Trudy Ludwig
The Hungry Coat, Demi
The Empty Pot, Demi
One Green Apple, Eve Bunting
Mr. Peabody’s Apples, Madonna
A Day’s Work, Eve Bunting
Comparing & Contrasting Point of View
The Day the Crayons Quit, Drew Daywalt
Voices in the Park, Anthony Browne
*Compare and contrast mixed-up fairy tales with original versions.
Reading Genres
Fiction: Classic and Contemporary
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
The BFG, Roald Dahl
Bridge to Terabithia, KatherinePeterson
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Charlotte’s Web, E.B. White
Esperanza Rising, Pam Muñoz Ryan
The Family Under the Bridge, Natalie Savage Carlson
Flora & Ulysses, Kate DiCamillo
Frindle, Andrew Clements
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Harriet the Spy, Louise Fitzhugh
Henry Huggins, Beverly Cleary
The Invention of Hugo Cabret: A Novel in Words and Pictures, Brian Selznick
Jumanji, Chris Van Allsburg
The Lemonade War (series), Jacqueline Davies
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
Maniac Magee, Jerry Spinelli
Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, Kate DiCamillo
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Florence and Richard Atwater
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert O’Brien
Poppy, Avi
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Shiloh (trilogy), Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Sidekicks, Dan Santat
Sounder, William Howard Armstrong
Tiger Rising, Kate DiCamillo
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
The Wizard of Oz, Frank Baum
Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
The Whipping Boy, Sid Fleischman
Historical Fiction
Abigail, Portia Howe Sperry and Lois Donaldson
And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?, Jean Fritz
Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis
Crispin, Avi
Forge by Anderson, Laurie Halse
Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O’Dell
Johnny Tremain, Esther Forbes
The Journal of William Thomas Emerson: A Revolutionary War Patriot, Barry Denenberg
The Keeping Room, Anna Myers
Lily’s Crossing, Patricia Reilly Giff
Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Mighty Miss Malone, Christopher Paul Curtis
Moon Over Manifest, Clare Vanderpool
Number The Stars, Lois Lowry
One Crazy Summer, Rita Williams-Garcia
P.S. Be Eleven, Rita Williams-Garcia
Riding Freedom, Pam Muñoz Ryan
Salt, Helen Frost
The Secret Soldier: The Story of Deborah Sampson, Ann McGovern
The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare
Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963, Christopher Paul Curtis
The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777, Kristiana Gregory
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy, Gary Schmidt
Short Stories
“Rikki Tikki Tavi” Rudyard Kipling
Selections from Baseball in April and Other Stories, Gary Soto
“Zlateh the Goat”, Isaac Bashevis Singer
Poetry
“A Barefoot Boy”, James Whitcomb Riley
Leaf by Leaf, Barbara Rogasky
“My First Memory (of Librarians)”, Nikki Giovanni
“Casey at the Bat”, Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Words with Wings: A Treasury of African American Poetry and Art, Belinda Rochelle
Folklore/Mythology
Aesop’s Fables, Aesop
The Days When the Animals Talked. William J. Faulkner
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Howard Pyle
The Rough-Face Girl, Martin Rafe
Biography/Autobiography
Lost Star: The Story of Amelia Earhart, Patricia Lauber
James Whitcomb Riley: Young Poet, Minnie Bell Mitchell and Montrew Dunham
Nelson Mandela, Kadir Nelson
The Story of Jackie Robinson, Bravest Man in Baseball, Margaret Davidson
The Story of Thomas Alva Edison: The Wizard of Menlo Park Margaret Satchel Paige Cousins
Don’t Look Back, David Adler
Considerations for Learning Differences
English Language Learner Strategies
ELA 4th Grade Curriculum Guides
ELA 4th Grade Curriculum Guides
ELA 4th Grade Standards
ELA 4th Grade Standards
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