Year-End Review of 4Th Grade Reading and Language Arts Common Core GA Performance Standards

Year-End Review of 4th Grade Reading and Language Arts Common Core GA Performance Standards (CCGPS)

UNRAAVEL: In order to answer questions about a passage, you must first UNRAAVEL it. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT SKILL YOU HAVE LEARNED TO CORRECTLY ANSWER QUESTIONS FROM A PASSAGE!!!! REMEMBER—IT’S LIKE TAKING AN OPEN BOOK TEST!!!!!

Use the following steps:

Underline the title (Read it while you underline it! The title is often the main idea of the passage.)

Now predict the passage

Run through and number the paragraphs

Are you reading the questions? (So important to do this before reading the passage…gives you a purpose for reading.)

Are the important words circled?

Venture through the passage (READ IT!!!)

Eliminate obviously wrong answers (You can probably get rid of at least one, and maybe even 2 choices…50/50 chance)

Let the questions be answered (YAY!!!!!)

Author’s Purpose: Remember PIE!

P—to persuade (to convince)

I—to inform (to teach)

E—to entertain

Point of View:

1st person—one of the character’s is the speaker in the story; uses “I, me, we, and us” (Examples: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever—Beth Bradley was the speaker; Because of Winn-Dixie—Opal was the speaker)

3rd person—the author or an unnamed narrator is the speaker; uses “she, he, they, them, and names”

2nd person—uses “you”; mainly see this point of view in cookbooks, “how-to” books, directions, etc. (THIS ONE IS NOT A 4TH GRADE CCGPS. I INCLUDED IT BECAUSE WE HAVE DISCUSSED IT BRIEFLY THIS YEAR.)

Organizational Structures in a text: Authors organize their writing in different ways and for different reasons. Below are several ways that text can be organized:

1. Chronological order—also called “Sequence of Events” or “time-order” (Look for KEY words, such as first, next, then, last, finally, after, before)
2. Cause/Effect—describes a cause/effect relationship (Look for words like "because," "then," "since," and "as a result.")
3. Problem and Solution—the author states a problem and how it was solved: Remember—if it doesn’t tell HOW THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED, it isn’t problem/solution (Look for words like "problem," "solution," "solve," and "plan.")
4. Question and Answer—The author asks a question to “the reader” and then provides answers to the questions.
5. Compare and Contrast—also called “Similarities and Differences” (Look for words like "best," "more," "better," "less," "worse," "easier," "than.")
6. Pro/Con— The text is divided into two parts: one part tells you why something is good, and the other part tells you why something is bad. (Look for words like "on the other hand" and words like "however" are clues that the text is organized using pro/con.)

Formal v. Informal Language: Your language is different based on the situation and your audience.

Formal Language / Informal Language
The school library is a good place to learn. / The school library is a rocking place to learn.
Cheetahs are one of the fastest animals in the world. / Dude, cheetahs can run super-fast.
The moon is many miles away from Earth. / The moon is like, really far away, you guys.
This is an exciting book about a girl and her dog. / This book is totally cool.

Example of Fact and Opinion:

Fact—Athens is a city in Georgia. (This can be PROVEN.)

Opinion—Savannah is the most beautiful city in Georgia. (Key word showing this is an opinion—beautiful)

***Key Opinion words—best, worst, beautiful, ugly, etc. ***

Synonyms and Antonyms:

Synonyms (same)—cold and freezing

Antonyms (opposite)—hot and cold

Figurative Language:

Simile—compares 2 things using the words “like” or “as” (Ex. 1 The baby is cute as a button. {In Ex. 1, the baby is compared to a button using the word “as.”} Ex. 2 The boy runs like the wind. {In Ex. 2, the boy is compared to the wind using the word “like.”})

Metaphor—compares 2 things without using “like” or “as” (Ex. The snow was a blanket of white. {The snow is being compared to a blanket. It does NOT use the words “like” or “as.”})

Personification—when the writer makes a non-human object seem like a person (Ex. 1—The flowers danced in the wind. FLOWERS ARE NOT PEOPLE, SO THEY CANNOT DANCE. THE AUTHOR MEANS THAT THE FLOWERS ARE SWAYING IN THE BREEZE. Ex. 2—The clouds were crying. CLOUDS ARE NOT PEOPLE SO THEY CANNOT CRY. THE AUTHOR MEANS THAT IT IS RAINING.)

Idiom—words or phrases that mean something different than what you think they should mean (Ex. “It’s raining cats and dogs. He’s pulling your leg. Don’t spill the beans.)

Adages/Proverbs—a saying that is believed to be true and is believed to share wisdom. It is usually short and is based on people’s experience over time. (Ex. Practice makes perfect. THIS MEANS THAT PRACTICE IS THE KEY TO BECOMING GOOD AT SOMETHING.)

Sensory Language—Words that paint a picture in the reader’s mind; describe something using the five senses of taste, sight, smell, touch, and hearing

Pun—a joke; a play on words that is usually funny because a word has more than one meaning or it sounds like another word.

(Ex. 1 Laffy Taffy jokes; Ex. 2 It was a terrible summer for Humpty Dumpty, but he had a great fall. REMEMBER: HUMPTY DUMPTY SAT ON A WALL. HUMPTY DUMPTY HAD A GREAT FALL. ALL THE KINGS. . .)

Palindrome—a word or words that is spelled the same both forward and backwards (Ex. racecar, mom, pop, level, yo banana boy)

Alliteration—Beginning sounds are repeated (Ex. Remember all of the warm-ups you do with Mr. Altman)

Parts of a story:

Characters: the “people” in a story (Ex. Imogene, Claude, Alice Wendleken—Best Christmas Pageant Ever)

Setting:where and when in a story

Plot: what happens in the story; the events; contains the problem and the solution

Problem/Conflict: the trouble that the characters face in the story

Solution/Resolution: how the problem is solved

Genres:

Realistic fiction: the events, setting, and characters could all be real (ex. Junie B. Jones, Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Historical fiction: events that could be real and is set in the past (ex. On the Banks of Plum Creek)

Fantasy: events, setting, and characters could not be real (ex. Harry Potter, Magic Tree House)

Fairytale: a type of short narrative that has characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and they usually contain some type of magic (Ex. Cinderella, Three Little Cyber Pigs, Beauty & the Beast)

Fable: a short story that is usually told orally and passed down from one generation to another. It usually has animal characters, and it teaches a lesson or “the moral of the story.” (Ex. The Tortoise and the Hare)

Legend: story that has been passed down for generations, especially one that is presented as history but is unlikely to be true (Ex. King Arthur; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)

Myth: a traditional or legendary story made up by the Greeks and Romans a long time ago, usually concerning someone being a hero; deals with gods and goddesses; usually explains something in nature; very powerful characters who could be either good or evil; Common Mythological characters—Achilles, Pandora, Hercules

Informational text/Nonfiction/Expository text: true text (ex. Textbooks, books used for projects)

MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PROSE, POEMS, AND DRAMAS (PLAYS)

Prose (Narratives/Nonfiction) / Poems / Dramas (Plays)
Ordinary writing—everyday writing / Has a rhythm (a beat) / Cast of characters
Narrative or expository (nonfiction) / May or may not rhyme / Gives description of settings
No rhythm or rhyme / Written in stanzas/verses (groups of lines) / Dialogue
Not poetic / Has meter—determined by # of syllables / Stage directions
The main thing we have read this year / Best to read aloud to hear the rhythm / A Reader’s Theater
Complete sentences / Uses a lot of figurative language / Divided into acts, or chunks

Main Idea and Details:

The main idea of a text is what the whole story is about. The supporting details of a story are the events in the story that support the main idea. The title of a story is often the main idea of the story.

Prefixes/Suffixes/Roots:

Definition of Prefix—a prefix is added to the beginning of a word AND it changes the words meaning

Examples of Prefixes—LEARN THE KEY WORDS!!!!

1. un—not (Keyword: untie)
2. mis—not (Keyword: misunderstand)
3. in—not (Keyword: incorrect)
4. im—not (Keyword: impossible)
5. re—again (Keyword: redo)
6. dis—not (Keyword: disappear)
7. pre –before (Keyword: preschool)

Definition of Suffix—added to the end of the word and affects the meaning

Examples of suffixes—

1. ful—to be full of something (ex. Thankful – to be full of thanks)
2. ed—makes the verb past tense (ex. Play-Played)
3. s—usually makes a noun plural (Cat-Cats)
4. ing—present tense; usually the suffix on a verb AFTER a helping verb (Ex. is jumping; was swimming)
5. ly—usually on the end of an adverb

Definition of Root word—the main part of the word; can also be called “main word” or “base word”; Can often stand alone

Examples of root words—run, aqua (means water), therm (means heat), phobia (fear), port (to carry)

Theme: the message or lesson in a story; similar to the main idea; clues could be found in the title, as well as throughout the entire story; the life lesson

Ex. Mighty Jackie—Theme: Hard work and determination can pay off in the end.

GW Socks—People in the past are not that different than people are today. Sometimes its hard to tell the good guys

from the bad guys.

The Boy who Cried Wolf—If you tell lies, no one will believe you when you are telling the truth.

The Tortoise and the Hare—Slow and steady wins the race.

Homophones:Words that sound the same, but have different spellings and meanings

Examples of common homophones:

pair/pear to/two/too know/no hair/hare knew/new so/sewwhere/wear

their/there/they’re bare/bearwrite/right bored/board by/buy/bye deer/dear

aunt/antone/wonate/eight peace/piece see/seablue/blew

REMEMBER: If you are unsure which homophone to use and one of the choices is a contraction, break the contraction into its 2 individual words!! (Ex. their/there/they’re—say “they are”) (Ex. 2 your/you’re—say “you are”) (Ex. 3 its/it’s—say “it is”)

Foreshadowing: clues/hints in a story that build suspense or helps the reader predict what might happen in a story (Ex. In The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the preacher said, “But I’m just afraid no one will come to the play.” But boy was he wrong! This gives the reader a clue that lots of people will show up to watch the play.)

Multiple-Meaning Words:one word (same spelling and pronunciation) that can have more than one meaning; must use context clues to figure out what meaning is used in the sentence

Ex. Bank—a river bank OR a place that keeps your money safe

Bed—a piece of furniture meant for sleeping OR a flower bed

Keys—a piece of metal used to unlock a door OR the buttons on a computer keyboard

4 types of writing:

Narrative—tells a story (can be real or made up)

Response to literature (written after reading a text; usually includes a summary and your reaction to the text or connections you made to the passage)

Informational—to inform the reader (written to teach your audience something about a topic)

Persuasive—tries to convince the reader of something (Ex. A letter convincing Mr. Kirsch that we should have more time at recess)

Steps in the Writing Process:

Step 1—Prewriting: Brainstorming; Getting your ideas down on paper

Step 2—Drafting: the rough draft

Step 3—Revising: adding details; making the story flow more smoothly; add transition words; improve the quality of the story

Step 4—Editing: correcting mistakes with capitalization, punctuation, and spelling

Step 5—Publishing: rewriting the final copy to incorporate all of the changes from the revising/editing steps; sharing the writing

with others

4 Types of Sentences:

Declarative—a statement; ends with a period (Ex. I went to the store to buy milk and eggs.) *Remember – I declare, let me tell you a story.

Interrogative—a question; ends with a question mark (Ex. Who is coming to the game?) *Remember – Interviews have questions and interrogative begins the same way as interview. Also, you find answers to questions on the Internet.

Exclamatory—shows excitement; ends with an exclamation point (Ex. I love your new car!) *Remember—Exclamatory begins like excitement and exclamation point.

Imperative—a command; ends with a period (Ex. Go brush your teeth, and get in the bed.) *Remember – an emperor makes commands, and Imperative “sounds like” emperor

Parts of Speech:

Noun—a person, place, or thing

Common noun—any person, place, or thing

Proper noun—a specific person, place, or thing (Names, places, states, countries, days of the week, months,holidays)

Pronoun—replaces nouns (Ex. You, I, me, they, them, he, she, her, him, our, we)

Relative pronouns—who, that, which, whose, whom, where, when (Remember: “that” can take the place of many of the

relative pronouns, but it is less formal)

Adjective—describes a noun (Pretty, cool, nice, blue (color words), helpful, mean

1. Order of Adjectives: Number, opinion, size, age, shape, color, origin, material, purpose

Examples: 1. An expensive antique silver mirror—(opinion)(age)(material)

2. Four gorgeous long-stemmed red roses—(number)(opinion)(shape)(color)

3. Her short black hair—(shape)(color)

4. Big old English sheepdog—(size)(age)(origin)

5. The square wooden hat boxes—(shape)(material)(purpose)

6. The expensive new wooden rocking chair—(opinion)(age)(material)(purpose)

1. Adjectives tell “what kind” and “how many” (Gives the reader a better picture of what the author is saying)

Verb—See below

Action verb—something you can do (Ex. hop, jump, sing, dance, run, build)

Linking verb—connects the subject with the predicate, but you cannot “act it out” (Ex. I am a girl.)

Helping verb—“helps” the main verb (Ex. She is jumping on the trampoline.) *Remember our helping verb chart

called Maybe Mr. Do Should Have a Will

Adverb—it “adds” to the verb; gives more information about the verb; usually ends with the suffix –ly (Ex. Quickly, smoothly, slowly, swiftly)

Conjunction—Remember FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so); In a compound sentence, you must have a COMMA and then a CONJUNCTION. (Ex. I like going to the mountains, but I enjoy the beach more.)

You also use conjunctions to connect parts of a sentence.

Ex. 1: The boy plays football and baseball.

Ex. 2: Do you like French fries or chips better?

Preposition—describes the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence; tells WHERE, TIME, PLACE, DIRECTION, WHEN, AND HOW

Ex. of prepositions—for, at, of, to, about, in, on, between, from, since

Ex. of prepositional phrases—at the game; in December; up the hill; between the bed and the wall

Interjection—word or phrase that expresses a strong emotion (Examples: Wow! Hey! Look out! Help! Yes, I’m coming over.)

Special helping verbs: can/could, may/might, will/would, shall/should, must

I can go to the party. (Able to do something)

I may go to the party. I might go to the party. (It’s a possibility.)

I must finish my chores. (It’s necessary.)

Vicki should rest since she has been sick. (It’s a suggestion.)

May I borrow a pencil? (Asking permission…it is incorrect to say “Can” I borrow a pencil?)

Subject/Predicate—Complete and Simple

Subject: tells WHO or WHAT does the action in the sentence (Ex. The dog is running.)

Predicate: tells WHAT the subject is doing (Ex. The dog is running.)

Complete subject: All of the words in the subject (Ex. The black and red bug climbed up the fence.)

Complete predicate: All of the words in the predicate—verb to the end of the sentence(Ex. The black and red bug climbed up the fence.)

Simple subject: also called “the subject noun”—the most important word in the subject (Ex. The black and red bug climbed up the fence.) ANSWERS THE QUESTION “WHO” OR “WHAT” DID SOMETHING

Simple predicate: the verb in a sentence (Ex. The black and red bug climbed up the fence.) ANSWERS THE QUESTION “WHAT DID THE SUBJECT DO?”

Compound Subject: Two or more simple subjects

Example: The dog and the cat jumped into the swimming pool.

Compound Predicate: Two or more simple predicates (verbs)