Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Different strategies and skills are required to understand a variety of materials.

• People apply critical thinking skills when reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing.

• People access, read, evaluate, and use a variety of resources to get information.

• Throughout history, humans have used literature as a record of their experiences.

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• What does it mean to "understand"? Why do we need to understand what we read or hear? How do we use strategies and skills to understand a variety of materials?

• What is critical thinking? Why is critical thinking important? How do we apply critical thinking skills?

• Why do I need a variety of resources? How do I access information and use it responsibly? How do I evaluate resources?

• How and why do humans use literature to record their experiences? How has history influenced literature and vice versa?

CSAP Tested Standards
Highest Frequency High Frequency Other Standards & E-skills

Reading
Fluency: Use word recognition skills, strategies (e.g., predict) and resources to include, context clues, phonemic awareness, and structural analysis to decode. Apply word attack to read new and unfamiliar words.

Standard 1: Comprehension
1.b Summarize long text passages.
1.c Identify supporting details and main idea.
1.d Draw inferences using contextual clues.
1.e Identify sequential order in expository text.
1.f Set a purpose for reading.
1.g Use bold print, italics, titles, sub-titles, quotations, and underlined words to comprehend text.
1.h Use word recognition skills and resources (for example, phonics, context clues, picture clues, reference guides, roots, prefixes and suffixes of words) for comprehension. 
(Students will understand and generate vocabulary specific to content.  Students will use a range of strategies to build oral and reading vocabulary to include sight words and multi-syllabic words)
Fourth grade students will read all Kindergarten words, First Grade words, Second Grade words, Third Grade words and: At the end of quarter three, students will be able to read 150 of D11 sight words.

Standard 4: Thinking Skills
4.a Determine author’s purpose.
4.c Differentiate fact from opinion.
4.d Make predictions and draw conclusions about stories.
4f Recognize the author’s point of view.

Standard 5: Research
5.a Use organizational features of printed text (for example, page numbering, alphabetizing, glossaries, chapter heading, table of contents, indexes, captions) to locate information.
5.b Recognize organizational features of electronic information (for example, pull-down menus, keyword searches, and icons) to locate information.
5.d Sort information as it relates to a specific topic or purpose.

Standard 6:  Literature
6.b Identify setting, plot, character, problem, and solution.
6.c  Use new vocabulary from literature in another context.

Writing: Writes for a Variety of Purposes
When given a prompt for new writing, students will use the writing process:  plan, draft, revise, edit.
Generate topics and develop ideas for variety of purposes and audiences. 
Address authentic audiences by publishing a class newsletter, writing a letter to an adult, writing a book report, etc.

Conventions, Mechanics, and Grammar
Write complete sentences sentences.
Know subject/verb agreement.
Spell frequently used words correctly.
Use upper and lower case letters correctly.
Use punctuation correctly.
Go to 4^th/5^th Grade Rubric

Resources

The 4^th Grade Pacing Guide shows the dramatic shift in the Colorado Basic Literacy Act (CBLA) proficiencies and the increased rigor from the 3^rd Grade.  The CBLA proficiencies at 4^th Grade are the 4^th Grade Reading Standards and Frameworks.  Therefore, we no longer see the Five Components of Reading Instruction from the earlier years.  However, “Fluency” is still emphasized in every month because of the research showing that Fluency impacts comprehension.  In addition, Vocabulary is captured under Standard and framework 1h;  the Pacing Guides incorporate the instruction from the D11 Common Word Lists and those expectations in each quarter.  In addition, Vocabulary development is a non-negotiable school-wide effort.

Fluency Suggestions Page:  This page provides seven powerful ways to improve or enhance your child's reading fluency.  Reading research states that slow, word-by-word reading hampers word recognition and all but destroys comprehension.  Practicing these strategies will improve your child's fluency and provide valuable one-on-one time with your child.  
    -Paired Repeated Reading
    -Fluency Intervention

Student Reading Graph:  This page will provide a visual (mathematical) representation of how much your child is reading outside of school.  Students who score in the 90th achievement percentile read approximately 40.4 minutes per day (Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding, 1998).  Your child will enjoy creating their own bar graph using real personal reading time data.

Fiction and Nonfiction Retelling Hands:  When students read it is important that they can retell what they read. It shows they are comprehending the material. These retelling hands will guide your students so that they are sure to include all the important details. Please encourage your child to speak in complete sentences when retelling!
Fiction Retelling Hand:  Fiction selections contain story elements (characters, setting, problem, sequence of events, and solution). When students retell a fiction selection, they should include all the story elements. Instruct your child to begin at the “thumb” and go in order to the “pinky finger”. Doing this will ensure they include all the important details of the story. Make sure your child speaks in complete sentences!
Non Fiction Retelling Hand:  Non-fiction selections can be retold using these simple question words: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? Not every non-fiction selection incorporates all of these; therefore, encourage your child to answer as many as he/she can. For example, if the book is about reptiles, there probably won’t be a “who” but there will be a “what” to retell.  Encourage your child to speak in complete sentences and use vocabulary from the text when retelling!

Parts of Speech Rap:  This rap will teach your child the names, definitions, and examples of all eight parts of speech.
 

Lessons