Fourth Grade - ELA
1: Interdependence
Unit 1: Little House in the Big Woods
Lesson 4
The Long Rifle
The Skills section asks students to "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, audience, and appropriate format for an oral presentation" and to "Adapt speech communication to the audience, purpose, and occasion," which directs students to consider context. Activities ask students to rehearse and share a storytelling oral project with family and to listen to a professional storyteller, giving students practice speaking in different situations (family storytelling vs a presentation). The lesson also includes an objective to "Share an oral project through presentation," creating an opportunity for a more formal speaking situation.
Lesson 11
Finishing the Book
The lesson asks students to discuss differences between formal and informal letters, noting that informal letters often use slang and everyday speech. Students read "A Letter from the Author" and are asked to decide whether the author's letter is formal or informal and explain why (noting it is more formal because it is written to the public). Students are instructed to write a letter to children of the future using a rubric that requires formal letter format and correct comma usage in dates, greetings, and closings.
Unit 2: The Sign of the Beaver
Lesson 8
The Bear
The Skills section requires students to "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for an oral or written task," and to "Share written and oral products in a variety of ways," which involves thinking about audience and form. Activity 2 (Option 2) has students practice telling a personal event "as if he were sitting around the campfire," using exciting words and body language, which gives students practice with informal oral discourse. The reading and discussion tasks ask students to prepare and share responses, which gives opportunities to consider how to present ideas orally or in writing.
Final Project
The Sign of the Beaver Movie
The skills list asks students to "identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for an oral or written task," which prompts attention to choosing an appropriate form. Students are asked to produce a variety of products— a movie poster sentence, a movie synopsis, and a scripted dialogue—which present different communicative contexts. Students are also asked to share written and oral products and to present dramatic interpretations, providing opportunities to practice different speaking and writing situations.
Unit 3: Native American Animal Stories
Lesson 3
The Natural World
Students are asked to "choose and adapt spoken language appropriate to the audience, purpose, and occasion" in the Skills list, and to "present dramatic interpretations of experiences, stories, poems, or plays." Students retell the butterfly story to someone who has never heard it, using props, body language, and varied tone (Activity 3). Students write a short script, practice a puppet show, and then present it to the family (Activity 8), which gives practice in preparing spoken presentations.
2: Force and Power
Unit 1: Ben and Me
Lesson 3
Swimming
The lesson asks students to "write in different forms for different purposes and audiences" and includes options to write an advertisement paragraph or a commercial script, which ask students to examine and discuss the language used in magazine ads and commercials. Students are also asked to "communicate with an audience through print and dramatic interpretations" and to produce oral and written reports or dramatizations, providing occasions for different registers. The reading activities include guided discussion questions that prompt small-group or teacher-facilitated discussion.
Lesson 7
France
Students are asked to "Write in different forms for different purposes and audiences," which prompts consideration of audience in their writing. Students plan a step-by-step rescue and are told to include illustrations for mice that do not read English, requiring them to adapt content for a specific audience. Students complete a "Varying Sentence Beginnings" activity that has them rewrite sentences to improve style and sentence-level tone.
Lesson 8
Amos's Account
The lesson explicitly asks students to "revise drafts in order to achieve a sense of audience, refine word choices, and create vivid images," and it instructs students to read Amos's account to family or "any other audience". The Writing Rubric and editing steps require students to check vocabulary, descriptive language, and mechanics, which prompts attention to word choice and presentation. The activities ask students to consider audience when revising and to produce a final copy that could be shared aloud.
Final Project
An Interview or Party for Ben
Students are asked to "identify (with assistance) the purpose, audience, and appropriate form for oral or written presentation," which directs them to consider context and audience. Students write and practice a formal interview (writing ten questions, answering as Ben, dressing and presenting to an audience) and also plan informal activities (making a birthday card, devising a party game, writing a song for a party). Students prepare written products for different audiences (card vs. interview Q&A) and rehearse delivering an interview to an audience.
Unit 2: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Lesson 10
Back Through the Wardrobe
The lesson's Skills list includes "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for the oral or written task," which invites consideration of register. Activities require students to "share written and oral products," to act out scenes (informal performance), and to write a movie review or casting explanations (written products that could require different tones). The wrapping-up discussion and the compare/contrast activity between book and movie provide contexts where students must consider audience and purpose.
Final Project
Narnia Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to 'write six text messages' between characters, which requires producing informal discourse. Students are also asked to share projects and summarize the book for an audience and 'share written and oral products in a variety of ways,' which implies preparing a more formal presentation. The skills list explicitly includes 'Use oral and written language to share information and ideas' and 'Share written and oral products in a variety of ways.'
Unit 3: The BFG
Lesson 3
The BFG
The lesson repeatedly presents the giant's nonstandard speech and tells students that the giant "does not know correct English grammar," prompting students to rewrite his lines using correct subject-verb agreement on the "Giant Talk" worksheet. Students are given specific sentences from the giant to correct (e.g., "Just because I is a giant..." to a grammatically correct form) and are asked to circle correct helping verbs in sample sentences. The lesson also has students identify and record exact quotes, reinforcing attention to quoted speech versus corrected forms.
Final Project
Recipe for a Dream or Newspaper Report
The lesson explicitly tells students that "newspaper articles use formal English, meaning that the reporters avoid slang and contractions..." and instructs them to use correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar for the newspaper option. The skills list includes that students will "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, audience, and appropriate form for the oral or written task," which directs students to consider formality. The newspaper rubric requires correct capitalization and punctuation and avoidance of slang/contractions, providing concrete expectations for formal register.
3: Similarities and Differences
Unit 1: Stories from Africa and Asia
Lesson 5
A Good Idea
Students are asked to "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, the audience, and the appropriate form for the oral or written assignment" in the Skills list. Students produce both oral and written work: they sustain conversation and discuss chapters, write a journal paragraph about a personal challenge, and create a poster or short story for an audience. Activities also ask students to consider what someone could learn from their account and to present information in a sequenced, logical manner.
Lesson 10
Kenji
Students are asked to "Review the form for letter writing (initial greeting, date, first person, closing, and signature)" and to "Discuss the difference between a personal and formal letter." Students are prompted to "think of situations where people would write formal letters and those where people would write personal letters," and to write a get-well card of at least eight sentences. Students are also directed to answer questions and participate in a discussion, and to develop their own questions to use in that discussion.
Unit 2: Holes
Lesson 13
Innocent
Students are asked to discuss the difference between a business (formal) letter and a friendly (informal) letter and to use that discussion to guide their writing. The Skills section directs students to "Write personal and formal letters" and Activity 1 requires students to compose a business letter using a Student Activity Page that outlines formal letter parts (sender, address, date, recipient, greeting, body, closure, signature). Students are given two options to produce the formal letter (handwritten on the organizer or typed on a computer), ensuring they practice composing in a formal register.
Unit 3: Stories from Europe
Lesson 4
The Snow Queen
Students are prompted to discuss differences between speaking to an audience and having a conversation with a friend (Activity 4). They are asked how they may speak differently when speaking formally and given concrete features to consider (being prepared, practicing, using advanced vocabulary, speaking in complete sentences, standing when speaking). Students are also asked to describe situations where informal talk is more appropriate and to identify whether they are using formal or informal English during the discussion.
4: Exploration and Survival
Unit 1: Abel's Island
Lesson 5
Perseverance
The lesson explicitly asks students to "Identify (with assistance) the purpose, audience, and appropriate form for the oral or written task," and asks them to write reflective three-paragraph essays using a planner and rubric. Students are asked to share their writing with family and to revise using a rubric that focuses on grammar, organization, and ideas, which addresses use of conventional language. The activities require students to plan, compose, and edit writing for a specified audience and form.
Final Project
Your Own Deserted Island
Students are asked to "identify (with assistance) the purpose, audience, and appropriate form for the oral or written task," which prompts consideration of audience and form. Students write a letter that is assessed for "greeting, date, tone," which requires them to attend to tone and address. Students are also asked to share a written and an oral project (for example, presenting to family), giving them opportunities to produce both spoken and written language in different settings.
Unit 2: Pedro's Journal
Lesson 5
Journal Writing
The lesson asks students to write a personal journal entry and notes that journals are usually private and may not be shared, emphasizing an informal context for that form of writing. The Skills list includes "Write to communicate with a variety of audiences" and "Write in different forms for different purposes," which connects to choosing appropriate language for different contexts. The Wrapping Up prompts students to "Discuss the difference between writing in a journal and writing a letter or report," explicitly calling for comparison between informal and more formal forms.
Lesson 10
February
Activity 3 asks the student to write a firsthand report from Pedro's perspective and deliver it to an audience, which provides a presentation context. The lesson directs the student to answer journal questions and to use remaining questions in a discussion, providing small-group or informal discussion contexts. The Skills list includes sharing written and oral products and using oral or written language to recount or narrate, indicating multiple modes of speaking and writing practice.
Unit 3: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Final Project
The Next Chapter or Book Float
Students are asked to write dialogue that is realistic and representative of character speech and to use commas and quotation marks correctly, which engages them in producing informal discourse for characters. Students are instructed to share written and oral products in a variety of ways and to read their finished chapter aloud to a family member, providing an occasion for an oral presentation. The parade float option asks students to assemble, decorate, and present a float (including choosing a song) for family observation, creating another context for public presentation.
