What does a student learn in StateDelaware,GradeGrade 4,SubjectEnglish Language Arts?

Students read a story carefully, then back up their answers with specific lines or details from the text. They learn to tell the difference between what the story says directly and what they have to figure out on their own.

Students find the main message or lesson a story is built around, then trace how it grows through key moments in the text. They also summarize the most important details that support it.

Students explain how a character changes across a story and what drives that change. They look at how one event leads to the next and why characters act the way they do.

Students figure out what words mean based on how an author uses them in a story or poem. They notice when a word carries an extra feeling or works as a figure of speech, and how that choice changes the mood of the whole passage.

Students look at how a story is built, noticing how one paragraph sets up the next and how individual sentences connect to the bigger picture of the whole text.

Students figure out who is telling the story and how that choice changes what gets included, left out, or emphasized. A narrator who is part of the story notices different things than one watching from the outside.

Students compare what a story says in words with what a picture, map, or illustration shows. They explain what each version adds or changes.

Students read a passage and decide whether the author's argument holds up. They check if the reasons make sense and if the details given actually support the point being made.

Students read two stories or poems on the same topic and explain how each author handles it differently. They look at what the authors chose to include, how the stories are structured, and what ideas both texts share.

Grade 4 students read full stories, novels, and poems on their own, without help on every word or sentence. The goal is steady, confident reading across different kinds of books.

Students read a nonfiction passage closely, then back up their answers with specific lines or details from the text. They don't just say what they think; they point to the words that support it.

Students find the main point of a nonfiction passage and explain how the details support it. Then they sum up what the text says in their own words, without just copying sentences back.

Students read a nonfiction passage and explain how a person, event, or idea changes from beginning to end. They also look at how two of those things affect each other.

Students figure out what tricky or unusual words mean in a nonfiction passage, including words used as figures of speech. They also look at why an author chose certain words and how that choice changes the feeling or meaning of the writing.

Students look at how a paragraph connects to the rest of an article, and how the opening and closing sections support the middle. It's about seeing how the pieces fit together, not just what each part says.

Reading the same event in two different articles can feel very different, depending on who wrote each one. Students learn to ask why an author wrote a piece and how that purpose changes what details get included and how the writing sounds.

Students look at a chart, photo, or diagram alongside a written passage and explain what the visual adds to the words. They practice pulling meaning from pictures and numbers, not just sentences.

Students read a nonfiction passage and decide whether the author's argument holds up. They check if the reasons make sense and if the facts given actually support the point being made.

Students read two nonfiction pieces on the same topic and compare what each author chose to include, leave out, or explain differently. The goal is to understand the topic more fully by seeing how two writers approached it.

Students read longer, harder nonfiction texts on their own, without much help. By the end of fourth grade, they can work through a challenging article or chapter book and understand what it says.

Grade 4 students already know how print works. This standard confirms they can read a page with confidence, following text left to right, recognizing sentence boundaries, and understanding how punctuation guides meaning.

Students listen to spoken words and identify syllables and individual sounds within them. This is the foundation for spelling and reading words accurately.

Students use what they know about letter patterns, word parts, and spelling rules to read unfamiliar words on their own. This is the decoding work that makes reading faster and more independent in fourth grade.

Students read aloud smoothly and accurately enough that understanding the text comes naturally. When reading doesn't trip over words, the meaning has room to land.

Students write a paragraph or short essay that takes a clear position on a topic or text, then back it up with reasons and details pulled from what they read. The argument has to hold up, not just state an opinion.

Students write to explain a topic clearly, using facts and details that help a reader understand something new. The focus is on accuracy and organization, not opinion.

Students write a story, real or made-up, with a clear sequence of events and specific details that make the story feel complete. The focus is on choosing the right details and keeping the plot moving in order.

Students write in a way that fits the assignment: the right level of detail, a clear order, and a tone that matches who will read it. A report sounds different from a story, and both sound different from a letter.

Planning, drafting, and revising are all part of writing. Students learn to go back to their work, fix what isn't clear, and try a different approach when the first one isn't working.

Students type and share their writing using a computer or tablet, and use the internet to work on projects with classmates. The focus is on getting words published somewhere others can read them, not just saved in a folder.

Students pick a focused question and spend time researching it, gathering enough information to show they understand the topic. Think book reports or science inquiry projects that go deeper than a quick Google search.

Students find facts from books and websites, check whether each source can be trusted, and put the information into their own words instead of copying it.

Students find specific lines or details from a book or article that back up what they're saying in their writing. The quote or detail should connect clearly to the point they're making.

Students practice writing often, both in quick bursts and over longer projects. They write for different reasons and different readers, building the habit of putting ideas on paper regularly.

Students come to discussions ready to talk, listen to what classmates say, and build on those ideas with their own. The goal is a real back-and-forth conversation, not just waiting for a turn to speak.

Students watch, listen to, or read information presented in different formats, like a video, a chart, or a speech, then pull the key ideas together to form one clear picture of the topic.

Students listen to a speaker and decide whether the speaker's argument makes sense. They look at the reasons given and ask whether the evidence actually backs up the point.

Students organize their ideas and supporting details into a clear spoken presentation that fits the topic and the audience. Listeners should be able to follow the reasoning from start to finish without getting lost.

Students add charts, images, or short video clips to a presentation to make the information clearer for their audience. The visuals are chosen on purpose, not just dropped in.

Students adjust how they speak depending on the situation, using formal language in a presentation or class discussion and more casual language with a friend. They learn when each style fits.

Students apply the rules of standard English when they write and speak. That means using the right verb forms, pronouns, and sentence structures so their meaning comes through clearly.

Students apply capitalization rules, punctuation marks, and correct spelling in their own writing. This covers titles, proper nouns, commas, quotation marks, and commonly misspelled words at the fourth-grade level.

Students learn to choose words and sentences that fit the situation, whether writing a letter, telling a story, or explaining an idea. Reading and listening get sharper too, because students notice how word choices shape meaning.

When students hit an unfamiliar word, they figure out the meaning by reading the surrounding sentences, breaking the word into parts like roots or prefixes, or looking it up in a dictionary or glossary.

Students explain what figurative language means in a sentence, like why "it's raining cats and dogs" doesn't mean animals are falling from the sky. They also sort words by how they relate and notice shades of meaning between similar words.

Students learn and correctly use words that show up across subjects, like terms found in science chapters, history books, and classroom discussions. Strong vocabulary helps students read harder texts and write and speak with more precision.