Fourth Grade Reading Lesson Plans for Parents and Teachers

Lessons for Fourth Grade Reading

What a Fourth Grader Must Know

Core reading standards can vary depending on your location and school, but there tends to be many similarities. By the fourth grade, students should be able to engage in analytical discussions of a variety of texts and read them fluently. Fourth graders are usually able to compare and contrast different texts to one another. Your child or class will also be expected to distinguish between different genres, like comedies, dramas and fairy tales.

The Importance of Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills 4th grade students will work on because it is used in every subject. Since comprehension is so important, you should try to incorporate some instruction or practice into all of your reading lessons.

When your child or class reads a novel, you can support comprehension by assigning a short written summary at the end of each chapter. Encourage your child or students to write a summary that's as concise as possible. One or two sentences should be enough for a child to demonstrate comprehension of a chapter's essential points.

Your child or students can also practice comprehension by studying vocabulary words. From a passage, select several words that you think will be unfamiliar and ask your child or class to use the context to figure out the meaning. An activity like this not only teaches vocabulary but will also help students focus on the meaning of the text.

If you're a teacher in a classroom, divide your students into small groups and give them each the same discussion question about a text. Provide them with 10-15 minutes to discuss the question and come to a group consensus. Then, have each group present their conclusions to the rest of the class.

Teaching Fluency with Sight Words

Fluency, or the ability to read clearly and without pausing, is integral to a child's ability to read by the fourth grade. One of the most common ways to help fourth graders become fluent readers is by teaching them sight words. Sight words are words that can be instantly recognized without sounding them out, such as 'the' and 'as'. Lessons built around flash cards are very useful for helping children increase the number of sight words they know.