English Language Arts-4th Grade

Catholic Standards for Writing

Writing Standards

Catholic Standards for Language

Language Standards

Catholic Standards for Speaking and Listening

Speaking and Listening Standards

Create written works that glorify the Creator, reflect the heart of the Redeemer and are inspired by the Spirit. 

Share well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Write in ways to order our thoughts, align them with truth, and accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2

Text Types and Purposes 

Production and Distribution of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Range of Writing

Exhibit an understanding that words are important to the Word

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1 

Use language to order our thoughts and to accurately express knowledge and feelings. CSWS2 

Conventions of Standard English

Knowledge of Language

Vocabulary Acquisition and Use

Listen attentively and display appropriate reverence during prayer time and in Church. 

Use language as a bridge for communication for the betterment of all involved. CSWS1

Share beautifully told and well-crafted works, especially those with elements of unity, harmony, and radiance of form. CSDS4 

Delight and wonder through reading aloud or listening to creative, sound, and healthy stories, and poems and plays. CSDS7 

Share the beauty and cadence of poetry for its impact on human sensibilities and formation of the soul. CSDS9 

Comprehension and Collaboration

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

CSIS2: Write how spiritual knowledge and truth are represented and communicated through fairy tales, fables, myths, parables, and stories.  

CSIS8: Write to develop personal judgment based on truth, goodness and virtue. 

CSIS14: Write to explore reasoning and intent 

Write opinion pieces on topics or texts (including but not limited to a Catholic/religious topics), supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic (including but not limited to a Catholic/religious topics) and convey ideas and information clearly. 

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. 

Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience (include prayers and meditations). 

With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting. 

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. 

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing. 

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on Grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings. 

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led), building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly

Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See Grade 4 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)

CSIS5: Recite prayers and poems of substance that encourage all to strive for virtue and goodness. 

Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.

Provide reasons that are supported by facts and details.

Link opinion and reasons using words and phrases (e.g., for instance, in order to, in addition).

Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.  

Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.

Link ideas within categories of information using words and phrases (e.g., another, for example, also, because).

Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.

Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.

Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters; organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.

Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of characters to situations. 

Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events. 

Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events precisely.

Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.

Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when, why). 

Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking; I will be walking) verb tenses.

Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.

Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag rather than a red small bag).

Form and use prepositional phrases.

Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and run-ons.

Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).

Use correct capitalization.

Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.

Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed. 

Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.

Choose punctuation for effect.

Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., smallgroup discussion). 

Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Use common, grade-appropriate Greek and Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word (e.g., telegraph, photograph, autograph).

Consult reference materials (e.g., dictionaries, glossaries, thesauruses), both print and digital, to find the pronunciation and determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context. 

Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs. 

Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).

Prepare for discussions (having read or studied required material); explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions and carry out assigned roles. 

Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others in a respectful manner.

Review the key ideas expressed and explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.