Michigan State Standards for Language Arts: Grade 4

MI.R. Reading

R.1. Word Recognition and Word Study - Word Recognition

R.WS.04.01. Students will explain how to use word structure, sentence structure, and prediction to aid in decoding words and understanding the meanings of words encountered in context.

R.WS.04.02. Students will use structural, syntactic, and semantic cues including letter-sound, rimes, base words, affixes, and syllabication to automatically read frequently encountered words, decode unknown words, and decide meanings including multiple meaning words.

R.WS.04.03. Students will automatically recognize frequently encountered words in print with the number of words that can be read fluently increasing steadily across the school year.

R.WS.04.04. Students will know the meanings of words encountered frequently in grade-level reading and oral language contexts.

R.WS.04.05. Students will acquire and apply strategies to identify unknown words or word parts; self-monitor, and construct meaning by engaging actively in reading a variety of genre, self-correcting, and using a thesaurus.

R.2. Word Recognition and Word Study - Fluency

R.WS.04.06. Students will fluently read beginning grade-level text and increasingly demanding text as the year proceeds.

R.3. Word Recognition and Word Study - Vocabulary

R.WS.04.07. Students will in context, determine the meaning of words and phrases including similes, metaphors, content vocabulary, and literary terms using strategies and resources including context clues, semantic feature analysis, and a thesaurus.

R.4. Narrative Text

R.NT.04.01. Students will describe the shared human experience depicted in classic, multicultural, and contemporary literature recognized for quality and literary merit.

R.NT.04.02. Students will identify and describe the structure, elements, and purpose of a variety of narrative genre including poetry, myths, legends, fantasy, and adventure.

R.NT.04.03. Students will analyze characters' thoughts and motivation through dialogue, various character roles, and functions including hero, anti-hero, or narrator; know first person point of view and identify conflict and resolution.

R.NT.04.04. Students will explain how authors use literary devices including flash-forward and flashback to depict time, setting, conflicts, and resolutions to enhance the plot and create suspense.

R.5. Informational Text

R.IT.04.01. Students will identify and describe the structure, elements, features, and purpose of a variety of informational genre including autobiography/biography, personal essay, almanac, and newspaper.

R.IT.04.02. Students will identify and describe informational text patterns including compare/contrast, cause/effect, and problem/solution.

R.IT.04.03. Students will explain how authors use text features including appendices, headings, subheadings, marginal notes, keys and legends, figures, and bibliographies to enhance the understanding of key and supporting ideas.

R.6. Comprehension

R.CM.04.01. Students will connect personal knowledge, experiences, and understanding of the world to themes and perspectives in text through oral and written responses.

R.CM.04.02. Students will retell through concise summarization grade-level narrative and informational text.

R.CM.04.03. Students will explain relationships among themes, ideas, and characters within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by categorizing and classifying, comparing and contrasting, or drawing parallels across time and culture.

R.CM.04.04. Students will apply significant knowledge from grade-level science, social studies, and mathematics texts.

R.7. Metacognition

R.MT.04.01. Students will self-monitor comprehension when reading or listening to text by automatically applying and discussing the strategies used by mature readers to increase comprehension including: predicting, constructing mental images, visually representing ideas in text, questioning, rereading or listening again if uncertain about meaning, inferring, summarizing, and engaging in interpretive discussions.

R.MT.04.02. Students will plan, monitor, regulate, and evaluate skills, strategies, and processes to construct and convey meaning (e.g., decoding unknown words) and use graphic organizers to deepen their understanding of compare/contrast, and sequential organizational patterns.

R.8. Critical Standards

R.CS.04.01. Students will develop, discuss, and apply individual and shared standards using student/class created rubrics and begin to assess the quality, accuracy, and relevance of their own writing and the writing of others.

R.9. Reading Attitude

R.AT.04.01. Students will be enthusiastic about reading and do substantial reading and writing on their own.

MI.W. Writing

W.1. Writing Genre

W.GN.04.01. Students will write a cohesive narrative piece such as a myth, legend, fantasy, or adventure creating relationships among setting, characters, theme, and plot.

W.GN.04.02. Students will write poetry based on reading a wide variety of grade-appropriate poetry.

W.GN.04.03. Students will write an informational comparative piece that demonstrates understanding of central and supporting ideas using an effective organizational pattern (e.g., compare/contrast) and informational text features.

W.GN.04.04. Students will use the writing process to produce and present a research project using a teacher-approved topic; find and narrow research questions; use a variety of resources; take notes; and organize relevant information to draw conclusions.

W.2. Writing Process

W.PR.04.01. Students will set a purpose, consider audience, and replicate authors' styles and patterns when writing a narrative or informational piece.

W.PR.04.02. Students will apply a variety of pre-writing strategies for both narrative and informational writing (e.g., graphic organizers such as maps, webs, Venn diagrams) in order to generate, sequence, and structure ideas (e.g., plot, setting, conflicts/resolutions, definition/description, or chronological sequence).

W.PR.04.03. Students will draft focused ideas using a variety of drafting techniques composing coherent and mechanically sound paragraphs when writing compositions.

W.PR.04.04. Students will revise drafts based on constructive and specific oral and written responses to writing by identifying sections of the piece to improve sequence and flow of ideas (e.g., arranging paragraphs, connecting main and supporting ideas, transitions).

W.PR.04.05. Students will proofread and edit writing using appropriate resources (e.g., dictionary, spell check, grammar check, grammar references, writing references) and grade-level checklists both individually and in groups.

W.3. Personal Style

W.PS.04.01. Students will exhibit personal style and voice to enhance the written message (e.g., in narrative text: strong verbs, figurative language, sensory images; in informational text: precision, established importance, transitions).

W.4. Grammar and Usage

W.GR.04.01. Students will in the context of writing, correctly use simple and compound sentences; direct and indirect objects; prepositional phrases; adjectives; common and proper nouns as subjects and objects; pronouns as antecedents; regular and irregular verbs; hyphens between syllables; apostrophes in contractions; and commas in salutations to set off words; phrases and dialogue; quotation marks or italics to identify titles or names.

W.5. Spelling

W.SP.04.01. Students will in the context of writing, correctly spell frequently encountered words (e.g., roots, inflections, prefixes, suffixes, multi-syllabic); for less frequently encountered words, use structural cues (e.g., letter/sound, rimes, morphemic) and environmental sources (e.g., word walls, word lists, dictionaries, spell checkers).

W.6. Handwriting

W.HW.04.01. Students will write neat and legible compositions.

W.7. Writing Attitude

W.AT.04.01. Students will be enthusiastic about writing and learning to write.

MI.S. Speaking

S.1. Conventions

S.CN.04.01. Students will use common grammatical structures correctly when speaking including appositives, participial phrases, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases to express ideas in more complex sentences.

S.CN.04.02. Students will adjust their use of language to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes including community-building, appreciation, invitations, and cross-curricular discussions.

S.CN.04.03. Students will speak effectively using facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language in narrative and informational presentations.

S.CN.04.04. Students will present in standard American English if it is their first language. (Students whose first language is not English will present in their developing version of standard American English.)

S.CN.04.05. Students will understand, providing examples of how language differs from region to region of the United States as a function of linguistic and cultural group membership.

S.2. Discourse

S.DS.04.01. Students will engage in interactive, extended discourse to socially construct meaning in book clubs, literature circles, partnerships, or other conversation protocols.

S.DS.04.02. Students will discuss narratives (e.g., fantasy, myths, legends, adventures, poetry), conveying the story grammar (e.g., various character roles, plot, story level theme) and emphasizing facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language.

S.DS.04.03. Students will respond to multiple text types by reflecting, making connections, taking a position, and/or showing deep understanding.

S.DS.04.04. Students will plan and deliver presentations focusing on a key question using an informational organizational pattern (e.g., descriptive, problem/solution, cause/effect); supportive facts and details reflecting and emphasizing facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language.

MI.L. Listening and Viewing

L.1. Conventions

L.CN.04.01. Students will ask substantive questions of the speaker that will provide additional elaboration and details.

L.CN.04.02. Students will listen to or view critically while demonstrating appropriate social skills of audience behaviors (e.g., eye contact, attentive, supportive) in small and large group settings.

L.CN.04.03. Students will distinguish between and explain how verbal and non-verbal strategies enhance understanding of spoken messages and promote effective listening behaviors.

L.CN.04.04. Students will recognize and analyze the various roles of the communication process (e.g., to persuade, critically analyze, flatter, explain, dare) in focusing attention on events and in shaping opinions.

L.2. Response

L.RP.04.01. Students will listen to or view knowledgeably and discuss a variety of genre and compare their responses to those of their peers.

L.RP.04.02. Students will select, listen to or view knowledgeably, and respond thoughtfully to both classic and contemporary texts recognized for quality and literary merit.

L.RP.04.03. Students will respond to multiple text types listened to or viewed knowledgeably, by discussing, illustrating, and/or writing in order to clarify meaning, make connections, take a position, and/or show deep understanding.

L.RP.04.04. Students will combine skills to reveal strengthening literacy (e.g., viewing then analyzing in writing, listening then giving an opinion orally).

L.RP.04.05. Students will respond to and summarize the major ideas and evidence presented in spoken messages and formal presentations.