English Language Arts
4th Grade
4th Grade ELA Course Summary
In 4th Grade English Language Arts, students explore how people's identities, values, and beliefs can shape their lives, and how courageous individuals can create change by standing up for what they believe. Students build their social-emotional skills in Finding Fortune and Believing in Yourself, explore the history of the United States in Heart and Soul, learn about natural disasters in Preparing for the Worst, and see how the Greeks used mythology to understand the world in Interpreting Perspectives. In each unit, students engage in process-based writing projects connected to the core texts that develop their narrative, informational, and opinion writing skills.
Using authentic, engaging read-aloud texts, teachers help students develop their language comprehension and address grade-level reading, writing, language, and speaking and listening standards. Over the course of 4th Grade ELA, students deepen their understanding of the world around them through thematically-aligned, knowledge-building units, embedded daily writing instruction, and frequent opportunities for in-class discussion.
4th Grade Scope and Sequence
Unit 1
2 options
Unit 1
Option A
37 Days
Finding Fortune: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
By reading and discussing Grace Lin's novel Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, students explore what it means to have good fortune and how families shape a person's identity, values, and beliefs.
Unit 1
Option B
33 Days
Taking a Stand: Shiloh
Students grapple with how a person develops values, identities, and beliefs and explore what it means to stand up for what you believe in while reading and discussing the novel Shiloh.
Unit 2
1 option
Unit 2
33 Days
Preparing for the Worst: Natural Disasters
Students learn the science behind natural disasters, such as volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires, with an emphasis on how natural disasters happen.
Unit 3
1 option
Unit 3
27 Days
Interpreting Perspectives: Greek Myths
Students dive into the world of Greek mythology with the classic myths of "Pandora," "Arachne," and "Echo and Narcissus," and explore how the Greeks used mythology to make sense of their world.
Unit 4
1 option
Unit 4
31 Days
Believing in Yourself: The Wild Book
Students explore the difficulties of having a learning disability and how that influences a person's self-image, enabling them to see the world as a diverse place, by reading the core text The Wild Book.
Unit 5
1 option
Unit 5
34 Days
Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans
Students read about and discuss United States history through the stories of Black Americans, from the times of enslavement through the civil rights movement and today, exploring how the fight for equality helped make for a stronger and more equal nation.
