Grade 4 English Language Arts
12 units matched to the New Brunswick Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Reading & Writing”.
Learning focus
- Interactions: Expression. Express and discuss thoughts, feelings, experiences, ideas, and opinions, and consider those of their peers.
- Interactions: Exchanges. Ask and respond to questions to clarify information, explore possibilities, and identify solutions to a problem.
- Interactions: Reception. Receive and critically reflect on the ideas and opinions of others.
- Reading: Word Study. Apply letter-sound knowledge and decoding strategies when reading unfamiliar connected text.
- Reading: Fluency. Read with accuracy and expression.
- Reading: Vocabulary. Use a range of vocabulary when communicating.
- Reading: Reading Comprehension. Construct meaning from printed text when reading independently.
- Reading: Text Analysis. Select and engage with a variety of text forms for specific uses.
- Representations: Spelling. Apply appropriate spelling conventions when creating written works.
- Representations: Sentence Structure. Compose sentences and short paragraphs.
- Representations: Composition. Organize ideas and create written and media texts collaboratively and independently.
- Representations: Text Analysis. Select information from multiple sources to support ideas and construct meaning.
Units
Unit 1
Listen, Speak & Read Aloud
Good listening and speaking habits (taking turns, asking questions, speaking clearly) and reading aloud with pauses at punctuation, stress on key words and a voice that rises or falls with the meaning.
Skill descriptor: Interactions: Expression · listening, speaking and reading aloud
Unit 2
Word Builders
Using word parts to work out meanings: prefixes like re- and mis-, suffixes like -able and -ment, finding the base word, and (at the stretch level) roots such as port and tele.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Word Study · prefixes, suffixes and root words
Unit 3
Sound-Alikes
Choosing between words that sound alike (there/their/they're, to/too/two, its/it's) and using context to tell which meaning of a word like “bark” or “bow” is meant.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Spelling · homophones and commonly confused words
Unit 4
Parts of Speech
Naming the job each word does in a sentence, with a focus on Grade 4's pronouns, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Easier levels stick to nouns, verbs, adjectives and pronouns.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure · nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs
Unit 5
Super Sentences
Joining sentences with and, but, or and so; spotting and fixing fragments and run-ons; and choosing verbs that agree with the subject and match the tense.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure, Representations: Composition · writing complete and interesting sentences
Unit 6
Punctuation Power
Writing possessives (the dog's bone, the girls' bikes, the children's toys), placing commas in dates, places and lists, and punctuating dialogue with quotation marks.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Sentence Structure · capitals, commas and quotation marks
Unit 7
Text Features
Using the parts of a nonfiction book to find information: reading a table of contents and index, knowing what glossaries, captions, labels and timelines are for, and choosing headings.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · using text features to find and understand information
Unit 8
Reading Detectives
Reading short original stories and articles, then finding the main idea and key details, making inferences from clues, working out word meanings and choosing the best summary.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Reading Comprehension · using reading strategies to understand a text
Unit 9
Point of View
Telling first-person stories (I, me, we) from third-person stories (he, she, they), finding pronoun clues, and noticing when dialogue uses “I” in a third-person story.
Skill descriptor: Reading: Text Analysis · who is telling the story and how it changes the story
Unit 10
Figurative Language
Spotting similes, metaphors, personification, onomatopoeia and alliteration (plus hyperbole at the stretch level), and explaining what figurative phrases really mean.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Composition · similes, metaphors and other figurative language
Unit 11
Paragraph Power
Choosing topic and concluding sentences, finding the sentence that doesn't belong, using transition words, identifying cause and effect, and putting sentences in order.
Skill descriptor: Representations: Composition · writing a paragraph with a main idea and details
Unit 12
Sharing Information Fairly
How to find trusted sources, put ideas in your own words, give credit, ask permission before sharing, keep personal information private and save work safely, on paper or on a device.
Skill descriptor: Interactions: Exchanges · sharing information fairly and clearly in different subjects
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