Chicopee Public School
Academic Benchmarks
Grade 4
Language Strand
1. Students will use agreed-upon rules for informal and formal discussion in small and large groups.
2. Students 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 knowledge.
3. Students will make oral presentations that demonstrate appropriate consideration of audiences, purposes, and the information to be conveyed.
4. Students will understand and acquire new vocabulary and use it correctly in reading and writing.
5. Students will analyze standard English grammar and usage and recognize how its vocabulary has developed and been influenced by other languages.
6. Students will describe, analyze, and use appropriately formal and informal English.
Students who have acquired an extensive vocabulary have a much better chance of becoming successful readers, writers, and spellers. Research has shown that comprehension improves when students have multiple experiences with essential vocabulary words. Direct instruction in vocabulary strategies as well as exposing students to vocabulary in reading and oral story telling facilitate vocabulary acquisition.
Listed below are possible categories of vocabulary instruction that can be used from grade one through grade five. Students can be helped to acquire vocabulary through the use of:
dictionaries, thesauruses, glossaries
word walls,
word banks (words that describe events or places such as a birthday party, amusement park, etc.)
vocabulary journals,
word categories (lists of words that denote size, number, texture, color, etc.),
word of the day, etc.
Throughout the year at every grade level.
Word Meaning Introduce and define vocabulary.
Synonyms Develop synonym lists through word walls or individual vocabulary journals.
Antonyms Develop antonyms lists through word walls or individual vocabulary journals.
Context Clues Identify words in the
sentence that helps student to understand the meaning. Give students oral
or written
sentence and
choice of three definitions)
Classify & Categorize Have students sort words. Provide choices. (Which word tells about an animal? Which word shows an action?
Compare & Contrast How are two words alike? How are two words different?
Word Families List words that belong to a word family and what are their shades of meaning (jump, jumps, jumped, jumping)?
Figurative Language Similes, Metaphors, Personification
Multiple Meaning words Provide sentences for multiple meaning words and have students distinguish between the words.
Content-Area Words Have students identify in what subject they would learn about a particular word. Science, Math, Social Studies, Art, Gym, etc. The farmer bartered ten bushels of corn for a new pair of shoes from cobbler.
Rhyming Words Have students identify rhyming words and think of new rhyming words.
Prefixes & Suffixes Have students explain how the meaning of a word changes when a prefix or suffix s added.
Titles for People Discuss the meaning of titles such as president, governor, ambassador, etc.
Abbreviations Discuss the purpose of abbreviations and have
students match the abbreviation to the word
(street = St., United States of America U.S.A., September = Sept. etc.).
Onomatopoeia Have students identify
words that make sounds (ex. - words that make animal sounds - moo, chirp, cluck,
meow, oink, roar, buzz, etc.)
Alliteration Have students practice
tongue twisters. Have students create lists of words that all start the
same and then
select words that have similar meaning to make up their own sentences with
alliteration.
Homophones Define meanings of homophones and have students practice placing correct homophone in sentences context clues.
Grade 4
Language Arts Strand
First Term Academic Benchmarks
Students will be able to:
1.2 Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run
small group discussions.
Demonstrate role of leader, scribe and listener in small groups.
Contribute appropriately to classroom interactions through active listening.
2.2 Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop ideas for a class project
and generate interview questions to be used as part of the project.
Contribute actively and effectively to group discussions by questioning or adding information.
3.3 Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.
Understand the skills needed to successfully speak to persuade.
Present a persuasive speech.
3.4 Give oral presentations about experiences or interests using eye contact, proper place,
adequate volume and clear pronunciation.
Understand skills needed for a successful oral report.
Present an oral report on a topic or process to the class.
3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
Participate in oral book reports
.
3.6 Express an opinion of a literary work or film in an organized way, with supporting
detail.
Offer opinions and draw conclusions of read or listened to text.
3.7 Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.
Use student checklist or rubric.
4.9 Identify the meaning of common prefixes.
Define and use correctly the prefixes un, re, and dis, im, in, mis, non, pre, re.
Define and use correctly the suffixes er, -or, -ful, -less, -able, -ion, -ly, -y, ment,ness..
4.10 Identify the meaning of common Greek and Latin roots to determine the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
Define, identify the roots tele, rupt, sign, spect.
4.11 Identify the meaning of common idioms and figurative phrases.
Recognize and use similes, metaphors, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and personification.
Identify and understand meanings of idioms found in literature.
4.13 Determine the meaning of unknown words using their context.
Deduce word meaning from sentence or paragraph content.
4.14 Recognize and use words with multiple meanings and be able to determine which
meaning is intended from the context of the sentences.
Use context to select among multiple meanings.
4.15 Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or
thesaurus.
Demonstrate knowledge of when to use each.
Effectively use guide and entry words.
Read entries for multiple meanings and choose correct meaning from context.
4.16 Identify and apply the meaning of the terms antonym, synonym and homophone.
Identify synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
Use sentence context to choose appropriate synonym to be used.
Select correct homonym from 2 or more choices.
5.4 Recognize the subject-predicate relationship in sentences.
Define, identify, and write sentences as declarative, interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory.
Define and identify complete subject and complete predicate.
Complete sentences missing either a complete subject or a complete predicate.
Define and identify simple subject and simple predicate.
Define, identify, and correct sentence fragments.
5.6 Identify the four basic parts of speech.
Define, identify, and use correctly: nouns, common and proper nouns, singular and plural nouns.
5.7 Identify correct mechanics, usage, and sentence structure.
Define, identify, and use correctly end marks of punctuation.
Correctly capitalize sentences.
5.8 Identify words or word parts from other languages than have been adopted into the English language.
Identify and use correctly words from other countries that we use in the English language.
6.3 Identify formal and informal language use in advertisements read, heard, and/or seen.
Understand the appeal of advertisements.
Grade 4
Language Arts Strand
Second Term Academic Benchmarks
Students will be able to:
After assessment, review previous skills as necessary for mastery.
1.2 Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run
small group discussions.
Demonstrate role of leader, scribe and listener in small groups.
Contribute appropriately to classroom interactions through active listening.
2.2
Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop ideas for a class
project and generate interview
questions to be used as part of the project.
Contribute actively and effectively to group discussions by questioning or adding information.
3.3 Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.
Understand the skills needed to successfully speak to persuade.
Present a persuasive speech.
3.4 Give oral presentations about experiences or interests using eye contact, proper place,
adequate volume and clear pronunciation.
Understand skills needed for a successful oral report.
Present an oral report on a topic or process to the class.
3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
Participate in oral book reports.
3.7 Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.
Use student checklist or rubric.
4.9 Identify the meaning of common prefixes.
Define and use correctly the prefixes un, re, and dis, im, in, mis, non, pre, re.
Define and use correctly the suffixes er, -or, -ful, -less, -able, -ion, -ly, -y, ment, ness.
4.11 Identify the meaning of common idioms and figurative phrases.
Recognize and use similes, metaphors, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and personification.
Identify and understand meanings of idioms found in literature.
4.12 Identify the playful uses of language (puns, jokes, palindromes).
Recognize the humor involved and authors reason for usage.
.
4.13 Determine the meaning of unknown words using their context.
Deduce word meaning from sentence or paragraph content.
4.14 Recognize and use words with multiple meanings and be able to determine which meaning is intended from the context of the sentences.
Use context to select among multiple meanings.
4.16 Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or thesaurus.
Demonstrate knowledge of when to use each.
Effectively use guide and entry words.
Read entries for multiple meanings and choose correct meaning from context.
4.16 Identify and apply the meaning of the terms antonym, synonym and homophone.
Identify synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
Use sentence context to choose appropriate synonym to be used.
Select correct homonym from 2 or more choices.
5.4 Recognize the subject-predicate relationship in sentences.
Define, identify, and correct run-on sentences.
5.6 Identify the four basic parts of speech.
Define, identify, and use correctly: singular possessive nouns, and plural possessive nouns.
Define, identify, and use action and helping verbs, and verb tenses.
5.7 Identify correct mechanics, usage, and sentence structure.
Define, identify, and use correctly: commas in a series and commas in a friendly letter.
Punctuate and capitalize a friendly letter correctly.
Identify and organize the parts of a letter.
Spell and punctuate abbreviations correctly.
6.2 Recognize dialect in conversational voices in American folk tales.
Understand dialects and reason for usage in literature.
Grade 4
Language Arts Strand
Third Term Academic Benchmarks
Students will be able to:
After assessment, review previous skills as necessary for mastery.
1.2 Follow agreed-upon rules for class discussion and carry out assigned roles in self-run small group discussions.
Demonstrate role of leader, scribe and listener in small groups.
Contribute appropriately to classroom interactions through active listening.
2.2 Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop ideas for a class project
and generate interview questions to be used as part of the project.
Contribute actively and effectively to group discussions by questioning or adding information.
3.3 Adapt language to persuade, to explain, or to seek information.
Understand the skills needed to successfully speak to persuade.
Present a persuasive speech
.
3.4 Give oral presentations about experiences or interests using eye contact, proper place,
adequate volume and clear pronunciation.
Understand skills needed for a successful oral report.
Present an oral report on a topic or process to the class.
3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
Participate in oral book reports.
3.6 Express an opinion of a literary work or film in an organized way, with supporting
detail.
Offer opinions and draw conclusions of read or listened to text.
3.7 Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.
Use student checklist or rubric.
4.9 Identify the meaning of common prefixes.
Define and use correctly the prefixes un, re, and dis, im, in, mis, non, pre, re.
Define and use correctly the suffixes er, -or, -ful, -less, -able, -ion, -ly, -y, ment, ness.
4.10 Identify the meaning of common Greek and Latin roots to determine the meaning of
unfamiliar words.
Define, identify the roots cycle, write, meter, photo, ped, and port.
4.11 Identify the meaning of common idioms and figurative phrases.
Recognize and use similes, metaphors, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and personification.
Identify and understand meanings of idioms found in literature.
4.12 Identify the playful uses of language (puns, jokes, palindromes).
Recognize the humor involved and authors reason for usage.
4.13 Determine the meaning of unknown words using their context.
Deduce word meaning from sentence or paragraph content.
4.14 Recognize and use words with multiple meanings and be able to determine which
meaning is intended from the context of the sentences.
Use context to select among multiple meanings.
4.15 Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or
thesaurus.
Demonstrate knowledge of when to use each.
Effectively use guide and entry words.
Read entries for multiple meanings and choose correct meaning from context.
4.16 Identify and apply the meaning of the terms antonym, synonym and homophone.
Identify synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms.
Use sentence context to choose appropriate synonym to be used.
Select correct homonym from 2 or more choices.
5.6 Identify the four basic parts of speech.
Define, identify, and correctly use irregular verbs.
Define, identify, and correctly use adjectives.
5.7 Identify correct mechanics, usage, and sentence structure.
Punctuate and capitalize titles correctly.
Use commas in the appositive.
Use commas after introductory words and interjections.
Identify and correct subject-verb agreement.
5.8 Identify words or word parts from other languages than have been adopted into the
English language.
Identify and use correctly words from other countries that we use in the English language.
6.2 Recognize dialect in conversational voices in American folk tales.
Understand dialects and reason for usage in literature.
Grade 4
Language Arts Strand
Fourth Term Academic Benchmarks
Students will be able to:
After assessment, review previous skills as necessary for mastery.
2.2 Contribute knowledge to class discussion in order to develop ideas for a class project
and generate interview questions to be used as part of the project.
Contribute actively and effectively to group discussions by questioning or adding information.
3.4 Give oral presentations about experiences or interests using eye contact, proper place,
adequate volume and clear pronunciation.
Understand skills needed for a successful oral report.
Present an oral report on a topic or process to the class.
3.5 Make informal presentations that have a recognizable organization (sequencing, summarizing).
Participate in oral book reports.
3.7 Use teacher-developed assessment criteria to prepare their presentations.
Use student checklist or rubric.
4.13 Determine the meaning of unknown words using their context.
Deduce word meaning from sentence or paragraph content.
4.14
Recognize and use words with multiple meanings and be able to determine which
meaning is intended from the
context of the sentences.
Use context to select among multiple meanings.
4.15 Determine meanings of words and alternate word choices using a dictionary or thesaurus.
Demonstrate knowledge of when to use each.
Effectively use guide and entry words.
Read entries for multiple meanings and choose correct meaning from context.
5.6 Identify the four parts of speech.
Define, identify and correctly use adverbs.
5.7 Identify correct mechanics, usage, and sentence structure.
Define, identify, spell, punctuate, and correctly use contractions.
Define, identify, and use correctly quotation marks in conversation and titles.
Punctuate and capitalize quotations correctly.
5.9 Identify the eight parts of speech.
Define, identify, and use pronouns correctly.
|
Return to Chicopee Home Page | Return to ELA K-5 Curriculum |