4th Grade

4th grade reading expectations

If your child is struggling, email me! I answer all questions for freejudithearaujo@gmail.com. Please also check out my Help! How do I teach my child to read? page. Follow the steps on that page, and your child will catch up!

 

Jump down to 4th grade guided reading expectations.

1. Phonics

Here is a 4th grade workbook. It has:

Parents, teach syllabication rules. These are fun and will help your child to sound out any word! If you are really ambitious, check this out!

Teach decoding and spelling in this reading and spelling order. Master each column before moving on.

Also, check out phonics by grade level. Give your child some words to read and spell.

2. Read Decodable Texts – Tap and Blend to Figure Out Unknown Words!

If your child can read these Grade 4 Decodables, they are ready for grade 5! If those are tricky, check out these. Decodable texts will also help solidify phonics patterns for spelling!

Research shows decodable texts are the BEST way to learn to read!

Decodable text falls under the phonics approach of the science of reading. When students decode words, they break them down and figure out how to pronounce them. Whenever your child is struggling to read a word, have them sound it out. Not all words have regular spelling patterns, but most words have parts that are decodable.

When reading any text…

  • No more than 10 errors per 100 words, including words you had to tell your child, are acceptable.
  • The child must also demonstrate comprehension. 4th graders should be able to retell, state the author’s lesson, and describe the most important event and why in any story they read.
  • Reading at an appropriate rate (words per minute) is essential. When fluency is achieved, comprehension can occur.

    Words Per Minute for Grade 4

To calculate rate – WPM: ___words in the book divided by ___SECONDS it took to read X 60 = __WPM For example, say there are 207 words in a book. The child read it in 3 min. 25 seconds, which is 205 seconds. 207 divided by 205 is approximately 1.0 words per second x 60 = 60 WPM!

This table shows approximate percentile ranks for correct words per minute at 3 points during the school year. The average 4th grader should be reading 94 words correctly per minute in the fall, 120 in the winter, and 133 in the spring.

* WCPM = Words Correct Per Minute

3. Sight Words

By grade 4, your child should know how to read and spell all the Dolch sight words. If not, they should read, reread, and reread:

220 Dolch Words in One Story

For more sight word stories by grade level, click here.

4. Vocabulary for 4th Graders

4th graders need to know the meaning of these words taken from the Marzano list.

And the meaning of these words, taken from WORDS TO KNOW BY GRADE LEVEL.

5. Are you looking for a tech option?

Lexia Core 5 is a well-respected app used in many schools. It is available as a home version and costs $175 for a one-year subscription. My school uses it, and I highly recommend it! It goes up to grade 5 and addresses all areas of reading.

Lexia Core 5 is a research-proven computer program that accelerates the development of literacy skills for students of all abilities, helping them make the critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn. It has 21 levels, spanning from preschool through grade 5. It is based on the science of reading. Each level has 5 areas and includes automaticity/fluency, comprehension, phonics, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. Each level should be completed within 5.5 to 9 hours.

6. Read Aloud or Listen to Online Texts – Put the Closed Captioning On

Read aloud more complex books to your child, or have your child listen to books online – not decodable texts – on topics they enjoy to instill a love of reading, improve listening comprehension, and grow vocabulary. 4th-grade reading and listening comprehension are based on:

Here are Grade 4 Common Core State Standards Question Stems to help you discuss different books with your child. These stems are used in school.

We administer the FREE DIBELS 8 3x/year.

  • 1 Minute Oral Reading Fluency ~ Can the child read x number of words in a story with at least 96% accuracy?
  • 3-Minute Maze Comprehension ~ The student reads a story that is missing words. Each time a word is missing, the student selects the correct missing word from three words.

The minimum scores to pass: 

The oral reading numbers are words your child needs to read correctly.

Here are other free literacy assessments if you want to assess your child!

 


Does your child’s school use guided reading?  🙁

Guided reading is NOT a good way to learn to read. Parents, if your school uses guided reading and your child is struggling, please scroll to the top of this page and follow my “Grade Four Expectations and Recommendations.” If your child can decode and spell, then guided reading is fine. Just be sure that when your child is stuck on a word, they sound it out—not guess! 

Guided reading falls under the Fountas and Pinnell cueing system method, which is now frowned upon. Students do NOT sound out words when they are stuck; instead, as students read, you ask them to figure out unknown words by looking at the picture, looking at the beginning letter sound, thinking about what would look right/sound right/make sense or skipping the tricky word/reading on/going back. This makes reading a guessing game.

Even if your child is in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade, you can still read at home with them. Alternate reading pages or paragraphs aloud to each other. Borrow books on tape or CD from the library and have your child follow along.

To Meet the “Guided Reading” Benchmark, 4th-grade students should be instructional at:

Level Q in November (independent P)

Level R in March (independent Q)

Level S by June (independent R)

Get Q-S books at Amazon or the public library. Here is a book list!

AT LEVELS Q-S, A CHILD’S READING LEVEL IS DETERMINED BY THE FOLLOWING:

These bullet points are based on the DRA2 assessment.

• Is the child reading with accuracy? No more than 10 errors/100 words.

• The child is timed. Level Q students should read at least 90 words per minute. Level R and S at least 105 words per minute for fiction or 100 words per minute for nonfiction.

• Is the child reading expressing the text’s mood, pace, and tension? OR, if the text is nonfiction, is the child emphasizing key phrases and words?

• Does the child read in longer phrases and heed punctuation?

• For Level Q only, can the child stop and describe each character using 3 specific details after reading the first few paragraphs? OR, can the child interpret what some nonfiction text features show if the text is nonfiction?

• After reading the first few paragraphs, can the child make 3 thoughtful predictions of what might happen in the text? OR, if it is nonfiction, can they make 3 predictions of what they might learn in the text?

• For Levels R and S only, can the child form 3 questions from reading the first part of the text? OR, if the text is nonfiction, can the child use the title and table of contents page to think of 3 questions that may be answered in the book?

• After reading, can the child write a summary, including important characters, events, and details, from the beginning, middle, and end? Or, can the child write essential facts from each heading if the text is nonfiction?

• Does the child use the critical language and vocabulary from the text?

• Can the child answer literal questions?

• The child has to interpret the story’s meaning and support it with details. (For example: What did the character learn? OR Why did the character feel____? OR Why did the character say ____?) OR, if the text is nonfiction, a “why do you think…” question is asked.

• The child must determine the most important event in the story and why, giving an opinion that reflects higher-level thinking.

• The child at Levels R and S must check off one strategy used to help understand the text. FICTION: made connections, asked questions, visualized, thought of reasons why things happened, understood characters’ feelings, with two examples from the text where the strategy was used. NONFICTION: recalled what they knew about the topic, asked questions, made connections, decided what was important, thought of why things happened, and visualized, with two examples from the text where the strategy was used.

Nonfiction DRA2 options are available for Levels 16, 28, 38, 40, and 50. **40 is listed 3x, and 50 is listed 2x. The goal is to become a stronger/higher scorer at each assessment point and allow the student to be assessed in fiction and nonfiction at 40 and 50.

Reading Survey

Your child will be asked to fill out a Student Reading Survey:

  • What books have you finished reading lately?
  • What are you reading now at school?
  • What are you reading at home?
  • What are 3 things you do well as a reader?
  • What are 3 things you would like to work on to become a better reader?
. . . so make books at home part of your daily routine! 

No donations from my school, please! I am here to help you!  🙂

$10 for the Grade 4 Reading Expectations document.

Copyright 05/04/2012

Edited on 03/17/2024

References

I did not write those wonderful blurbs of what advanced students look like at each grade level. They came from an unknown source.

DRA2 Teacher Manual from Pearson Publishing, 2006.

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