Oral language, vocabulary, reading habits and, in the early grades, phonics, spelling, fluency and handwriting: the building blocks of reading and writing.
4.1 Oral language foundations: grow spoken-language skill by listening, speaking, and discussing
4.1B Follow, restate, and give spoken directions involving a series of related actions
4.1C Express an opinion backed by accurate information, using eye contact, rate, volume, enunciation, and language conventions to convey ideas
4.1D Collaborate with others to build a plan of shared responsibilities
4.2 Early reading and writing foundations: word-structure knowledge via morphology, phonics, print concepts, and phonological awareness, for decoding, spelling, and communicating
4.2A Decode words with specific spelling patterns and rules, regular and irregular plurals included; multisyllabic words with closed, open, VCe, vowel-team (digraphs, diphthongs), r-controlled and final stable syllables; advanced syllable division (for example, VV); prefixes; suffixes, including how they change base words (for example, dropping e); and research-backed high-frequency words
4.2B Spell multisyllabic words with closed, open, VCe, vowel-team (digraphs, diphthongs), r-controlled and final stable syllables; homophones; multisyllabic words with several sound-spelling patterns; advanced syllable division patterns; prefixes; and suffixes, including how they change base words, for example dropping e or changing y to i
4.2C Write legibly in cursive for assignments
4.3 Vocabulary foundations: use newly learned vocabulary when speaking and writing
4.3A Use print or digital references to find meaning, syllable breaks, and pronunciation
4.3B Work out the relevant meaning of unfamiliar and multiple-meaning words from context in and beyond the sentence
4.3C Determine meanings for, and use, words with affixes like mis-, sub-, -ment, -ity/ty and roots like auto, graph, meter
4.3D Identify, use, and explain homophones such as reign/rain
4.4 Fluency foundations: read texts at grade level smoothly and with understanding, using suitable rate, accuracy, and prosody
4.4A Read grade-level text with suitable fluency: rate, accuracy, and prosody
4.5 Independent reading foundations: choose grade-appropriate texts and read them on your own
4.5A Pick your own text and read on your own for a long, sustained period
Comprehension Skills
Using reading strategies to understand, summarize and make sense of what students read and hear.
4.6 Comprehension: apply metacognitive strategies to build and deepen understanding of increasingly complex texts
4.6A Set a purpose for reading both assigned and self-selected texts
4.6B Ask questions ahead of, throughout, and following reading to deepen understanding and gather information
4.6C Make predictions, then correct or confirm them, using text features, genre characteristics, and structures
4.6D Form mental images to deepen understanding
4.6E Connect the text to personal experiences, other texts, and society
4.6F Draw inferences and cite evidence to support understanding
4.6G Weigh the details read in order to identify key ideas
4.6H Synthesize information to build new understanding
4.6I Monitor comprehension and adjust when it breaks down: re-read, use background knowledge, ask questions, annotate
Response Skills
Responding to texts in speaking and writing, with evidence and personal connections.
4.7 Response: respond to an increasingly demanding range of sources people read, hear, or view
4.7A Describe personal connections with varied sources, including self-selected texts
4.7B Respond in writing to show comprehension, including comparing and contrasting ideas from different sources
4.7C Support an appropriate response with evidence from the text
4.7D Retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts, keeping meaning and logical order
4.7E Interact with sources meaningfully, for example by notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating
4.7F Use newly learned vocabulary in responses where appropriate
4.7G Discuss the specific ideas in a text that are key to its meaning
Multiple Genres
Reading and analyzing fiction, poetry, drama, informational texts and media, and what makes each genre work.
4.8 Literary elements: recognize and analyze literary elements within and across texts of many kinds: traditional, contemporary, classical, diverse
4.8A Infer basic themes backed by text evidence
4.8B Explain how characters interact and the changes they undergo
4.8C Analyze plot elements, including climax, resolution, rising action, and falling action
4.8D Explain how a setting, including historical and cultural ones, shapes the plot
4.9 Genres: recognize and analyze genre traits, structures, and aims within and across traditional, contemporary, classical, and varied texts
4.9A Show knowledge of the traits of familiar children's literature, for example tall tales, myths, legends, fables, and folktales
4.9B Explain how poets create images through figurative language like simile, metaphor, and personification
4.9C Explain how drama is structured, for example with stage directions, scenes, acts, and character tags
4.9D Recognize informational text traits, including: central idea with evidence; features like pronunciation guides and diagrams; patterns like compare and contrast
4.9E Recognize argumentative text traits: identify the claim, explain how an author uses facts in an argument, and identify the intended audience or reader
4.9F Recognize traits of multimodal and digital texts
Author's Purpose and Craft
How authors choose words, structure and techniques to inform, persuade and entertain.
4.10 Author's craft: analyze authors' choices and how they shape meaning, then apply craft in your own products and performances
4.10A Explain the message and purpose the author conveys in a text
4.10B Explain how text structure supports the author's purpose
4.10C Analyze how the author's print and graphic features serve specific purposes
4.10D Describe how imagery, literal and figurative language (simile, metaphor), and sound devices like alliteration and assonance serve the author's purposes
4.10E Identify and understand literary devices, including point of view told in first or third person
4.10F Discuss how an author's language choices add to voice
4.10G Identify and explain anecdotes in text
Composition and Writing
Writing process, genres of writing, and the conventions of grammar, usage, punctuation and spelling.
4.11 Composition, writing process: cycle back through the stages of writing to produce multiple legible texts using suitable conventions
4.11A Plan a first draft: pick a genre suited to topic, purpose, and audience, drawing on strategies like mapping, brainstorming, and freewriting
4.11B Develop drafts into focused, structured, coherent writing: purposeful organization with introduction, transitions, and conclusion, building an engaging idea supported by relevant details
4.11C Revise drafts to improve sentences and word choice: add, delete, combine, and rearrange ideas for coherence and clarity
4.11D Edit drafts: complete simple and compound sentences (subject-verb agreement; no comma splices, run-ons, fragments); irregular past tense; frequency and degree adverbs; reflexive pronouns; capitals for historical periods, events, documents, titles, languages, races, nationalities; dialogue quotation marks; plus grade 3 nouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, apostrophes, commas and spelling
4.11E Publish finished writing for suitable readers
4.12 Composition, genres: draw on genre features and craft when composing multiple meaningful texts
4.12A Write literary texts such as poetry and personal narratives, applying genre features and craft
4.12B Write informational texts, including brief pieces conveying information on a topic, with one clear central idea, genre features, and craft
4.12C Write argumentative texts, including opinion essays, applying genre features and craft
4.12D Write correspondence requesting information
Inquiry and Research
Asking questions, finding and evaluating sources, and presenting what was learned.
4.13 Inquiry and research: pursue both brief and extended recursive inquiry for varied purposes
4.13A Develop and clarify questions about a topic to guide formal and informal inquiry
4.13B Create a research plan and carry it out, with adult support
4.13C Locate and collect relevant information from varied sources
4.13D Identify primary and secondary sources
4.13E Show understanding of the information gathered
4.13F Tell paraphrasing apart from plagiarism when using source materials
4.13G Develop a bibliography
4.13H Present results in a suitable mode of delivery: written, oral, or multimodal
There are 63 4th Grade TEKS ELAR Standards on this page, in 7 strands: Foundational Language Skills, Comprehension Skills, Response Skills, Multiple Genres, Author's Purpose and Craft, Composition and Writing, and Inquiry and Research.
How do I write an assessment for a 4th Grade TEKS ELAR standard?
Pick a standard on this page and choose Make a quiz or Make an exit ticket. AssessmentWiz opens the generator with the standard's code and text filled in, so every question targets that standard.
What does a code like 4.1A mean?
TEKS ELAR codes read grade, knowledge and skills statement, student expectation. In 4.1A, the first number is the grade (K for kindergarten), the next number is the knowledge and skills statement, and the letter is the student expectation under it.