English Grade4

PAN-ASIA ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS: GRADE 4

Oral Presentation and Discussion

Standard One: Students will follow agreed-upon rules for formal and informal discussions. They will pose questions, listen to the ideas of others and contribute their own information or ideas in group discussions or interviews in order to acquire new knowledge. They will make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audience, purpose and the information to be conveyed.

1. Benchmarks:
1.1. Follow agreed-upon rules for large and small group discussions.
1.2. Participate in small group discussions, book clubs, literature circles and class projects; carry-out assigned roles.
1.3. Use listening skills to obtain information.
1.4. Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.
1.5. Give organized formal and informal oral presentations using eye contact, proper pace, volume and clear enunciation of an informational nature.
1.6. Express an opinion of a literary work or film in an organized way, with supporting details.
1.7. Retell a story with a beginning, middle and end, including important details and story elements with subject related information and vocabulary.
1.8. Use teacher developed criteria to prepare presentations.
1.9. Contribute knowledge to class discussions in order to develop ideas for a class project and generate interview questions to be used as a part of the project.
1.10. Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
1.11. Explain multi-step directions on how to do something.

Language

Standard Two: Students will understand and acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing. They will analyze standard English grammar and usage and recognize how its vocabulary has developed and been influenced by other languages. Students will describe, analyze, and appropriately use formal and informal English.

2. Benchmarks:
2.1. Identify the meaning of common prefixes, suffixes and root words.
2.2. Identify common idioms and figurative phrases.
2.3. Identify unknown words using their context.
2.4. Use knowledge of word origins; synonyms, antonyms, homonyms; multiple meaning of words.
2.5. Identify playful uses of language: puns, jokes and palindromes.
2.6. Use the meaning of common Greek and Latin roots to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
2.7. Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or thesaurus.
2.8. Differentiate between formal and informal language in advertisements read, seen and heard.
2.9. Understand and use fundamental skills: sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.

Reading and Literature

Standard Three: Students will understand the nature of written English and the relationship of letters and spelling patterns to the sounds of speech. They will identify the basic facts and main ideas in a text and use them as the basis for interpretation.

3. Benchmarks:
3.1. Use comprehension strategies to access text: accessing prior knowledge, predicting, questioning, visualization, summarizing and structural analysis.
3.2. Read grade appropriate narrative and expository text with comprehension, fluency, accuracy, intonation and appropriate timing and phrasing.
3.3. Identify similarities and differences between characters or events in a literary work.
3.4. Identify the different forms of literature such as poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction and drama in reading and apply this knowledge as a strategy for comprehending text.
3.5. Identify themes as lessons in folk tales, fables and Greek myths for children.
3.6. When reading literary text, identify and show the relevance of foreshadowing clues, sensory details and figurative language, and the speaker of a poem or story.
3.7. Locate facts that answer the reader’s questions, distinguish cause from effect, distinguish fact from opinion and summarize main ideas and supporting details when reading informational text
3.8. Make judgments about setting, characters, events and support them with evidence from the text.
3.9. Identify story and analyze plot, character and setting in the stories they read and write.
3.10. Identify and use knowledge of common textual and graphic features and organizational structures in order to gain meaning from a variety of informational materials.
3.11. Identify rhyme, rhythm, repetition, similes, visual and auditory images in poetry read aloud.
3.12. Identify the adventures or exploits of a character type in literature.
3.13. Identify phenomena explained in origin myths (Prometheus/fire; Pandora/evils).
3.14. Recognize the subject-predicate relationship.
3.15. Identify the four basic parts of speech.
3.16. Identify the correct mechanics (end marks, commas) correct usage and correct sentence structure.
3.17. Identify words or word parts from other languages that have been adopted into English.

Writing and Composition

Standard Four: Students will write with clear focus, coherent organization and sufficient detail. They will write for different audiences and purposes. They will demonstrate improvement in organization, content, paragraph development, level of detail, style, tone and word choice in their compositions.

4. Benchmarks:
4.1. Take seed ideas from the writing notebook and bring through the drafting, revising and editing process to a published product.
4.2. Use appropriate language for different audiences.
4.3. Understand and use writers’ craft in their writing utilizing elements of style, including word choice, tone, voice and sentence variation.
4.4. Write several related paragraphs on the same topic.
4.5. Understand and use writers’ craft in their writing utilizing elements of style, including word choice, tone, voice and sentence variation.
4.6. Print legibly and use correct mechanics and grammatical conventions.
4.7. Use knowledge of word study to monitor and check spelling.
4.8. Spell common homophones correctly in their writing.
4.9. Organize plot events in an order that leads to a climax in their writing.
4.10. Write personal narratives in a way that makes sense.
4.11. Write in different genre: personal narrative, nonfiction and poetry and a friendly letter, informal notes, thank-you notes, diary entries and journals.
4.12. Write a response to a key question from a piece of literature.
4.13. Write an explanation of a title or statement.
4.14. Write a brief interpretation or explanation of a literary or informational text using evidence from the text as support.
4.15. Write an account based on personal experience that has a clear focus and supporting detail.
4.16. Use appropriate language for different audiences and purposes.
4.17. Revise their writing; determine what could be added or deleted; improve the level of detail.
4.18. Make up an open-ended question on a research topic.
4.19. Evaluate his/her own research.

Media and Technology

Standard Five: Students will design and create coherent media productions (audio, video, television, multimedia) with a clear controlling idea, adequate detail and appropriate consideration of audience, purpose and medium.

5. Benchmarks:
5.1. Create presentations using computer technology, posters, reports, and graphic design
5.2. Develop and apply criteria for assessing the effectiveness of presentations
5.3. Gather information using the Internet
5.4. Use their understanding of television to distinguish between fact and fiction
5.5. Examine and explain advertising
5.6. View, understand and discuss informational media productions
5.7. Compare stories in print with their filmed adaptations, describing the similarities and differences in the portrayal of characters, plot, and settings
5.8. View, understand, and discuss informational media productions.

Oral Presentation and Discussion

Benchmark:

1.1 Follow agreed-upon rules for large and small group discussions.
1.2 Participate in small group discussions, book clubs, literature circles and class projects; carry-out assigned roles.
1.3 Use listening skills to obtain information.
1.4 Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.
1.5 Give organized formal and informal oral presentations using eye contact, proper pace, volume and clear enunciation of an informational nature.
1.6 Express an opinion of a literary work or film in an organized way, with supporting details.
1.7 Retell a story with a beginning, middle and end, including important details and story elements with subject related information and vocabulary.
1.8 Use teacher developed criteria to prepare presentations.
1.9 Contribute knowledge to class discussions in order to develop ideas for a class project and generate interview questions to be used as a part of the project.
1.10 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
1.11 Explain multi-step directions on how to do something.

Language

Benchmarks:

2.1 Identify the meaning of common prefixes, suffixes and root words.
2.2 Identify common idioms and figurative phrases.
2.3 Identify unknown words using their context.
2.4 Use knowledge of word origins; synonyms, antonyms, homonyms; multiple meaning of words.
2.5 Identify playful uses of language: puns, jokes and palindromes.
2.6 Use the meaning of common Greek and Latin roots to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.
2.7 Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or thesaurus.
2.8 Differentiate between formal and informal language in advertisements read, seen and heard.
2.9 Understand and use fundamental skills: sentence structure, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling for grade four as defined in the BPS Course Guides.

Reading and Literature

Standard Three: Students will understand the nature of written English and the relationship of letters and spelling patterns to the sounds of speech. They will identify the basic facts and the main ideas in a text and use them as the basis for interpretation.

Benchmarks:

3.1 Use comprehension strategies to access text: accessing prior knowledge, predicting, questioning, visualization, summarizing and structural analysis.
3.2 Read grade appropriate narrative and expository text with comprehension, fluency, accuracy, intonation and appropriate timing and phrasing.
3.3 Identify similarities and differences between characters or events in a literary work.
3.4 Identify the different forms of literature such as poetry, prose, fiction, nonfiction and drama in reading and apply this knowledge as a strategy for comprehending text.
3.5 Identify themes as lessons in folk tales, fables and Greek myths for children.
3.6 When reading literary text, identify and show the relevance of foreshadowing clues, sensory details and figurative language, and the speaker of a poem or story.
3.7 Locate facts that answer the reader’s questions, distinguish cause from effect, distinguish fact from opinion and summarize main ideas and supporting details when reading informational text
3.8 Make judgments about setting, characters, events and support them with evidence from the text.
3.9 Identify story and analyze plot, character and setting in the stories they read and write.
3.10 Identify and use knowledge of common textual and graphic features and organizational structures in order to gain meaning from a variety of informational materials.
3.11 Identify rhyme, rhythm, repetition, similes, visual and auditory images in poetry read aloud.
3.12 Identify the adventures or exploits of a character type in literature.
3.13 Identify phenomena explained in origin myths (Prometheus/fire; Pandora/evils).
3.14 Recognize the subject-predicate relationship.
3.15 Identify the four basic parts of speech.
3.16 Identify the correct mechanics (end marks, commas) correct usage and correct sentence structure.
3.17 Identify words or word parts from other languages that have been adopted into English.

Writing and Composition

Benchmarks:

4.1 Take seed ideas from the writing notebook and bring through the drafting, revising and editing process to a published product.
4.2 Use appropriate language for different audiences.
4.3 Understand and use writers’ craft in their writing utilizing elements of style, including word choice, tone, voice and sentence variation.
4.4 Write several related paragraphs on the same topic.
4.5 Understand and use writers’ craft in their writing utilizing elements of style, including word choice, tone, voice and sentence variation.
4.6 Write legibly in cursive and use correct mechanics and grammatical conventions.
4.7 Use knowledge of word study to monitor and check spelling.
4.8 Spell common homophones correctly in their writing.
4.9 Organize plot events in an order that leads to a climax in their writing.
4.10 Write personal narratives in a way that makes sense.
4.11 Write in different genre: personal narrative, nonfiction and poetry and a friendly letter, informal notes, thank-you notes, diary entries and journals.
4.12 Write a response to a key question from a piece of literature.
4.13 Write an explanation of a title or statement.
4.14 Write a brief interpretation or explanation of a literary or informational text using evidence from the text as support.
4.15 Write an account based on personal experience that has a clear focus and supporting detail.
4.16 Use appropriate language for different audiences and purposes.
4.17 Revise their writing; determine what could be added or deleted; improve the level of detail.
4.18 Make up an open-ended question on a research topic.
4.19 Evaluate his/her own research.

Media

Standard Five: Students will identify, analyze and apply knowledge of the conventions ,elements and techniques of film, radio, video, television and multimedia.

Benchmarks:

5.1 Create presentations using computer technology, posters and reports, using the internet and CD-ROM on informational topics from social studies and science.
5.2 Use their understanding of television to distinguish between fact and fiction.
5.3 Examine and explain advertising.
5.4 View, understand, and discuss informational media productions.