Grade 4 English Language Arts
12 units matched to the Nova Scotia Curriculum. Kids see this subject as “Reading & Writing”.
Learning focus
- A1 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply listening, speaking, and non-verbal communication skills and strategies to understand and communicate meaning for various audiences, purposes, and cultural contexts.
- A2 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply understanding of foundational language knowledge and skill when reading and writing.
- A3 Foundations of Language: Learners will apply knowledge of sentence structure, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation when reading and writing.
- B1 Comprehension: Learners will apply knowledge of text forms and organizational structures to comprehend texts.
- B2 Comprehension: Learners will use reading, listening, and viewing strategies to comprehend a variety of texts that represent diverse perspectives, cultures and experiences.
- B3 Comprehension: Learners will analyse a variety of texts that represent individuals with diverse identities, perspectives, cultures and experiences.
- C1 Composition: Learners will apply pre-writing skills and strategies to develop various texts for a range of authentic audiences and purposes.
- C2 Composition: Learners will apply knowledge and understanding of text forms to write a variety of texts.
- C3 Composition: Learners will use suitable and effective media, techniques, and tools to publish and present final texts in a range of text forms.
- D1 Content areas: Learners will apply literacy skills to comprehend and communicate ideas in the content areas.
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.
Learning outcome: A1 · 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.
Learning outcome: A2 · 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.
Learning outcome: A2 · 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.
Learning outcome: A3 · 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.
Learning outcome: A3, C2 · 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.
Learning outcome: A3 · 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.
Learning outcome: B1 · 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.
Learning outcome: B2 · 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.
Learning outcome: B3 · 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.
Learning outcome: C2 · 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.
Learning outcome: C2 · 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.
Learning outcome: D1 · sharing information fairly and clearly in different subjects
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