4th Grade Core Standards Guide- Writing Unit 1Instructional Period 1
Creating Extraordinary Sentences
Improving sentence fluency, conventions and word choice
Rationale: This unit provides an opportunity for students to learn the grammatical structures and
conventions of the English language in order to become proficient writers.
Big Idea: We communicate our thoughts, feelings, and knowledge through writing.
Unit Outcome: TSW craft sentences, chunks, stories and essays using descriptive, fluent, and
grammatically correct sentences.
Learner Evidence:
1. TSW write simple, compound, and complex sentences having a complete thought, correct
capitalization, conventions, and grammar.
2. TSW write connected sentences varying in length and complexity.
Performance Based Assessment: TSW write in a variety of genres of varying length using correct
conventional English. Students will identify parts of speech and the function of each part.
Approximate Length of Unit:
 Introduction 15-20 days
 Continue to spiral for mastery through-out year.
Year-Long Components:
 Handwriting- cursive
 Six-Traits
 Text organization and structure
Unit Specific Components:
 Simple sentence (main sentence trunk)
 Verb Modifiers (action expanders- where, when, why, how)
 Noun Modifiers (surround-the-noun)
 Predicates (three-action)
 Appositive (renamer)
 Compound sentences using multiple modifiers
Academic Vocabulary:
Simple sentence, main sentence trunk, verb modifier, action expander, noun modifier, surroundthe-noun, three-action predicate, appositive, renamer, compound sentence
GESD Core Standards Guide
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4th Grade Core Standards Guide- Writing Unit 1Instructional Period 1
Common Core Standards
4.L.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific
words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g.,
quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation,
and endangered when discussing animal preservation).
4.W.3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
a. Orient the reader by establishing a situation and introducing a narrator and/or characters;
organize an event sequence that unfolds naturally.
b. Use dialogue and description to develop experiences and events or show the responses of
characters to situations.
c. Use a variety of transitional words and phrases to manage the sequence of events.
d. Use concrete words and phrases and sensory details to convey experiences and events
precisely.
e. Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events.
4.L.2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation,
and spelling when writing.
a. Use correct capitalization.
b. Use commas and quotation marks to mark direct speech and quotations from a text.
c. Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
d. Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
4.L.1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when
writing or speaking.
a. Use relative pronouns (who, whose, whom, which, that) and relative adverbs (where, when,
why).
b. Form and use the progressive (e.g., I was walking; I am walking’ I will be walking) verb
tenses.
c. Use modal auxiliaries (e.g., can, may, must) to convey various conditions.
d. Order adjectives within sentences according to conventional patterns (e.g., a small red bag
rather than a red small bag).
e. Form and use prepositional phrases.
f. Produce complete sentences, recognizing and correcting inappropriate fragments and runons.
g. Correctly use frequently confused words (e.g., to, too, two; there, their).
4.L.5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in
word meanings.
a. Explain the meaning of simple similes and metaphors (e.g., as pretty as a picture) in context.
b. Recognize and explain the meaning of common idioms, adages, and proverbs.
c. Demonstrate understanding of words by relating them to their opposites (antonyms) and to
words with similar but not identical meanings (synonyms).
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4th Grade Core Standards Guide- Writing Unit 1Instructional Period 1
4.W.4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
4.L.3. Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or
listening.
a. Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
b. Choose punctuation for effect.
c. Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and
situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion).
4.W.10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision)
and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks,
purposes, and audiences.
Arizona State Standards:
S1C3PO3 Rearrange words, sentences, and paragraphs to clarify meaning
S1C3PO4 Use a combination of sentence structures (simple, compound) to improve sentence
fluency in the draft.
S1C4PO1Identify punctuation, spelling, and grammar and usage errors in the draft
S2C4PO1 use a variety of specific and accurate words that effectively convey the intended
message
S2C4PO2 Use descriptive words and phrases that energize the writing
S2C5PO1 Write simple and compound sentences
S2C5PO2 Write sentences that flow together
S2C5PO3 Cary sentence beginnings, lengths, and patterns to enhance the flow of the writing
S2C6 Conventions
GESD Core Standards Guide
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August 2012