How to help 4th grader with writing: 4th grade writing Writing | GreatSchools.org

4th grade writing Writing | GreatSchools.org

In fourth grade, study skills play an important role in your child’s writing. Kids do research using multiple sources. They also learn to take notes on what they research, read. and hear. And even stories are more advanced, with more developed characters who show their feelings and react to what happens. And perhaps most important, your child is expected to analyze a book’s structure, logic, details, and evidence in their writing. It’s all pretty impressive!

Building 4th grade study skills

This year taking notes is an important skill. Fourth graders are expected to use books, periodicals, websites, and other digital sources to conduct research projects — both on their own and as part of group work with peers. Your child should keep track of all the sources they check — noting what they learn, the name of the source and page number or url so they can find it again and create a source list or bibliography later.

Also, taking notes while reading fiction will help your child when it comes time to analyze what they’ve read or to give an in-depth description of a character, setting, or story event drawing on specific details.

Check out this related worksheet:
• Finding key points

bttr, better, best!

Last year’s prewriting step — planning — becomes more essential in your child’s writing process this year. Before your child sits down to write, they should use their organized notes to help create the structure of whatever they’re writing. While planning, your child may brainstorm ideas for a story or decide how to organize facts into a cohesive set of points. The more knowledge your child builds during the prewriting stage, the easier it will be to write. Encourage reading and rereading, taking notes, finding additional sources, discussing aloud how new knowledge fits in with what your child knew before, and visually organizing what they plan to write about. After the first draft is written, the teacher and possibly other students will offer feedback: asking questions to elicit new details or clarify an argument or suggest new sources of information. They should check that there’s a clear introduction and conclusion, and that the order of points or events makes sense. Your child will then do a revision (or two), adding, reordering, and refining their writing to show deep understanding.

After making revisions, your child does a final edit focusing on spelling, grammar, punctuation, and strengthening word choices. These steps — planning, writing a first draft, revising, and editing the final piece — help fourth graders understand that research, organizing, clarifying ideas, and improving grammar and presentation are all essential to strong writing.

See what your fourth grade writing looks like

Fourth grade writing: opinion pieces

Your child’s opinions always need to be supported by evidence. Persuasive writing should start by clearly introducing an opinion on a topic. To support their opinion, kids need to present their argument, which is a list of reasons why they hold that opinion. Each of their reasons needs to be supported by facts and details (a.k.a. evidence). After presenting all of their research-supported reasons, kids should close their arguments with a concluding statement or paragraph that sums up how their evidence supports their opinion.

Check out this example of good fourth grade opinion writing:
• “Zoos should close”

Fourth grade writing: informative writing

This year, your child’s informative writing gets more organized, with headers, illustrations and even multimedia components to support specific points. To begin, your child should introduce the topic. Then they should use facts, definitions, details, quotes, examples, and other information to develop their topic into a few clear, well thought-out paragraphs. Your fourth grader should use advanced linking words (e.g. also, another, for example, because) to form compound and complex sentences connecting their research and ideas to the point they’re making. Finally, to wrap it up, your child should have a conclusion — either a statement or, if necessary, a section labeled conclusion.

Check out these three examples of good fourth grade informational writing:
• “John Cabot and the Rediscovery of North America”
• “Big Book of Evolution”
• “Book report: A Tale of Despereaux”

Can your fourth grader write an informational essay?

Fourth grade writing: narratives

A narrative means writing a story. This year your child will be expected to use storytelling techniques, descriptive details, and clear sequences to tell compelling tales. Whether inspired by a favorite book, real events, or your child’s imagination, your child’s story should use dialogue, descriptive words, and transitional language. Look for precise language and sensory details that bring characters to life. Finally, your child should keep pacing and sequence of events in mind. The events should unfold naturally, bringing the story to a natural conclusion. Are surprise endings okay? Sure… so long as the details and events plausibly lead there.

Check out this related worksheet:
• Putting sentences in order

Gettin’ good at grammar

You may want to review all those parts of speech your child learned last year because fourth grade grammar is expected to be quite accurate. Your child should know relative pronouns (e.g. who, whose, whom, which, that), relative adverbs (e.g. where, when, why), adjective ordering (e.g. short dark hair and small red bag), descriptive prepositional phrases (e.g. in the air, down the block, on the grass), progressive past, present, and future verbs (e.g. I was walking, I am walking, I will be walking), and verbs used with other verbs to express mood or tense (aka modal auxiliaries, e.g. can, may, must, should, would). Also, your child needs to master the distinctions between frequently confused words like to, too, and two and there, their, and they’re. Finally, your child should be able to recognize and correct run-on sentences.

Check out these related worksheets:
• Prepositions
• Compound sentences
• Punctuating a paragraph
• Its or it’s?

Learning to use language precisely

This means:

• Recognizing and explaining common idioms (e.g. bending over backwards)
• Distinguishing between similes and metaphors (e.g. quiet as a mouse and the sun is a yellow beach ball).
• Identifying and using synonyms and antonyms
• Using increasingly specific words in writing (e.g. glamorous instead of pretty, pre-dawn instead of morning, quizzed instead of asked)

Your fourth grader should now be using relevant academic words in informational writing and research reports. Although accurate spelling should be the norm in fourth grade, when faced with spelling more academic words, your child should use a dictionary and thesaurus (print and digital versions).

Check out these related worksheets:
• 4th grade weekly spelling lists
• Making metaphors
• Simile or cliché?

Sharing their work

Most classrooms will encourage (if not require) kids to use technology to produce and publish their writing. Your fourth grader should be able to type up to a full page in one sitting. While teachers should be there to help, your child should be doing the work. Students will also be expected to interact with peers about each other’s work. What might that look like? Your child might read a classmates’ published work online and comment on it, or cite a peer’s work when answering a question in class.

Updated August 2022

The Guide to 4th Grade: Reading and Writing

Congratulations: Your child is officially a member of the “upper” grades! As fourth graders, students deepen their skills to prepare for middle school. That being said, they still learn like elementary school students do. Most fourth graders are developmentally very much still children — they enjoy and learn from play, and they thrive in nurturing and warm environments. However, the content of most 4th grade curricula pushes students to think, analyze, and learn in more sophisticated and structured ways than they did in the “lower” grades.

In 4th grade, students learn how to deeply think about and make connections in new material, and grasp more complex concepts across all subjects. They also write with clarity, flow, and structure similar to that of traditional essays. Fourth graders are encouraged to be more independent in how they learn, and depend less on their teacher’s guidance. They research, plan, and revise their work more by themselves — setting the foundation to be lifelong, self-starting learners.

Read on for what to expect this year, and shop all books and resources for 4th grade at The Scholastic Store. 

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Reading in 4th Grade

Much of the 4th grade reading curriculum teaches students how to analyze the books they read. Rather than just understand the plot and information given in a text, students are encouraged to think about the messages and how they relate to their own lives. They also compare texts to each other and make connections both within one text and across multiple texts.

In short, 4th graders begin to learn how to think and talk about a text to find deeper meanings and messages. This is done both with texts students read independently and those read by the whole class or smaller groups of students. Teachers may often use a class read-aloud to show students strategies for thinking about and analyzing what they read, encouraging them to do this in their own reading. Students also do this as they write in more detail about the texts they read. 

To build reading skills, your 4th grader:

• Uses specific examples from the text to explain characters’ motivations, main events, central themes, or ideas about a text.
• Uses the context of a text to determine the meaning of a word.
• Understands and can explain the differences between narrative prose, drama, and poetry.
• Identifies and refers to the different parts of poems and plays, such as verses, settings, and characters.
• Interprets and connects information from illustrations, graphs, charts, or other sources related to the text.
• Identifies, compares, and contrasts different perspectives from which texts are written (for example, first and third person).
• Compares and contrasts the way different texts address the same issue, theme, or topic.
• Makes connections between people, events, or important ideas in a text.
• Uses previous knowledge to read unfamiliar multi-syllable words.
• Reads grade-level texts with accurate comprehension, pacing, and expression.

Fourth Grade Reading Activities

Read and Research Together: Read the same book as your child independently, together, or a combination of both. Talk about the book as you read it, reviewing main ideas and plots and expressing your opinions. Then read an additional book or books on the same subject and compare and contrast how they dealt with the same issue. 

Compare Perspectives: Read two texts — one written in first person and one in third person — about the same event. Talk with your child about the differences and why they thinks these differences exist. Or, try it yourself! After sharing an experience with your child, each of you can write about it from your own perspective. Talk about the differences between what you wrote to gain a better understanding of perspective.

Read magazine and newspaper articles. Focus on the illustrations, graphs, or charts. Point out to your child what they show, ask them to help you interpret them, and discuss how they help explain or elaborate on the text. 

Writing in 4th Grade

Much of the 4th grade writing curriculum focuses on developing writing that has clarity and structure, and that uses reasons, facts, and details to support and strengthen arguments. Fourth graders are taught to organize their writing, ensure that it flows well, and group together related components. As students learn to think more deeply about concepts they are taught, they are encouraged to write in deeper ways as well. They do this by going beyond simply stating the facts — they express ideas, make connections, and provide details and emotions when appropriate.

To build writing skills, your 4th grader:

• Writes opinion pieces that express a point of view; have an introduction, a conclusion, reasons, and facts to support the opinion; and group together related ideas.
• Writes informative/explanatory pieces that present information on a topic, use facts and details, and group together related topics; provides introductions and conclusions in these pieces.
• Writes narrative pieces that use specific details, descriptions, and dialogue to convey a real event; includes an introduction and conclusion in each piece.
• Plans, revises, and edits their writing.
• Uses technology to publish, research, and communicate with others under the proper guidance of an adult or teacher.
• Types with a beginner’s accuracy and ability (for example, types one page of text within one sitting).
• Completes research projects by taking notes, organizing them, and presenting them; lists the texts and resources used.
• Writes for both long (over weeks) and shorter (one sitting or a couple of days) periods of time.

Fourth Grade Writing Activities

Ask Why: When your child expresses their opinion about something, ask them why they think that or how they know it is true. This will help them learn to support their opinion with reasons and/or facts. Do the same when you express your opinion or ideas about something.

Email with your Child: Set up an email account for your child and write emails describing your days to each other. Include details, conversations, thoughts, and emotions you had. This can be done in addition to generally encouraging (and supervising) your child’s use of technology — helping them use it for research, writing, and communicating with others. As always, be cautious of your child’s technology use by monitoring and supervising how much it is used and with whom they communicate.

Practice Note Taking: When you and your child go somewhere like a museum or a new city, pretend to be reporters and take notes (give them a journal they’ll love to take notes in, like the Klutz: Decorate This Journal). Later on, use those notes to describe what you learned. You can even relay your “reports” like a newscaster would.

Shop the best resources for fourth grade below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store. 

Explore other grade guides: 

• Kindergarten
• First Grade
• Second Grade
• Third Grade
• Fifth Grade
• Sixth Grade
• Seventh Grade
• Eighth Grade

How to Help a Student Succeed in Grades 1-4 – Child Development

Parental support is the main secret of children’s success during their primary school years. Let’s take a look at 10 ways parents can help their children succeed in school.

1. Attend parent meetings

Children do better in school when their parents are involved in their school life. Parent-teacher conferences at the beginning of the school year are a good opportunity to get to know your child’s teachers and learn about their expectations. The head teacher of the school is sometimes present at parent-teacher meetings. From him you can learn about innovations in the school curriculum and what awaits the school in the coming academic year.

Meetings are also held during the school year. By visiting them, you get the opportunity to discuss with the teacher the progress of your child. Together you can form a strategy that will help your child improve academic performance. If you attend all parent-teacher meetings, the child will understand that you will learn about everything that happens at school.

If your child has special learning needs, you can arrange a separate meeting with the teacher to discuss this issue.

Remember that throughout the school year you can contact not only your child’s teacher, but also the school administration.

2. Visit the school in person and visit its website

Knowing how the school is equipped, where the child’s classroom, cafeteria, gym, etc. is located, you will better understand the child’s stories about how his day went. It will be useful for you to find out where the director’s office, first-aid post, gym, playground and other rooms where the child is during the day are located.

On the school website you can find information such as:

• lesson schedule;
• school phone;
• information about upcoming events (e.g. excursions), etc.

Some teachers maintain their own websites where you can find useful information and additional materials that your child can use to prepare.

3. Help your child with homework

Homework in primary school is one of the main challenges children face. However, they help the child develop responsibility and discipline. These skills will be useful to him in the future. You can help your child with homework by creating an environment for him to study. Any well-lit, comfortable and quiet workplace that has all the necessary supplies for studying will suit him. When a child learns lessons, nothing should distract him: for example, the TV should not work in the room. You must also set the time during which the child should do homework and not be distracted by anything.

When setting a time for homework for your child, follow the rule: allocate 10 minutes for each class of the school. For example, if your child is in fourth grade, set aside 40 minutes for homework. If your child needs much more than this time, talk to the teacher.

While the child is learning his lessons, be ready to explain the tasks to him, prompt, answer questions and check the completed tasks. But in no case do not give in to the temptation to do tasks for the child. Learning from your mistakes is part of the learning process. Don’t deprive your child of this.

4. Get your child ready for school

A nutritious breakfast will give your child energy before the school day. Children who eat breakfast before leaving the house are better able to concentrate on their studies and are less likely to complain of feeling unwell.

A student’s breakfast should consist of foods rich in fiber and protein. Their sugar levels should be low. If your child doesn’t have time to eat breakfast, give him fruit, nuts, yogurt, or a peanut butter and banana sandwich to go. Many schools provide meals in the morning.

Children also need enough sleep to stay focused throughout the school day. Most children need 10-12 hours of sleep per night. Lack of sleep can be due to various reasons: study, sports, extracurricular activities, computer games, etc. Lack of sleep can cause irritability or hyperactivity, as well as distract children. It is very important that children go to bed on time before the school day.

In the evening, the child should have enough time to relax before going to bed. At this time, the child should not watch TV or sit at the computer.

5. Keep your child organized

When children are organized, they can concentrate on their studies and not be distracted by extraneous things.

What does elementary organization mean for a child? When it comes to doing homework, the child should have a notebook, a textbook and the necessary school supplies at hand.

Check your child’s diary every evening to understand what homework was given to him. Check homework assignments when your child completes them. Teach your child how to organize his workspace so that he can quickly find the necessary supplies. It will also be useful to teach your child to make a to-do list so that he can properly allocate his time and prioritize.

6. Teach your child how to learn

Doing tasks for which the child receives marks can be intimidating. Teachers assume that parents will help the child in the first years of study. If you teach your child to learn, it will form a good habit for him for many years to come.

In primary school, children write tests in mathematics and other subjects. Find out test dates in advance so that you can help your child prepare well in advance, and not the day before the test itself. Remind your child to do all the homework given to them at school.

Teach your child to break down big tasks into smaller ones so they don’t overwork. You can also teach him to memorize new information. Remember that the child should take a break after every 45 minutes of study so that he can remember and process information effectively.

If studying and preparing for tests causes a lot of stress for the child, discuss this with the teacher or school psychologist.

7. Learn the school rules

Some schools have specific rules that include dress code, behavior, use of electronic devices in school, etc. It is important that the child knows what behavior is expected of him at school and what awaits him if he breaks the rules. Younger students are most easily accustomed to school rules if the same rules are followed at home. So the child perceives school as a safe place – the same as home.

8. Get involved in school life

No matter what grade a child is in, parents should be involved in school life. For example, parents can attend school activities that their children participate in or take part in them themselves. However, before that, talk to your child. If the child is embarrassed by your presence or participation in activities, do not attend them openly. Let the child know that you are not going to spy on the child – you just want to help him and the school.

Here are some ways parents can get involved in school life:

• accompany children on school trips;
• to take part in the organization of school holidays;
• attend parent meetings;
• participate in the parent class committee;
• attend school concerts, plays, etc.

Even if you devote a minimum of time to such activities, the child will like it very much.

9. Take your child’s attendance seriously

Your child should stay home if they are sick (for example, if they have symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea). If the child is lethargic, complains of feeling unwell or lack of appetite, it may also be better for him to stay at home for one day. In other cases, the child must go to school every day. If a child skips classes, the need to make up for lost time can cause him a lot of stress.

If a child is forced to miss school due to illness, be sure to ask the teacher what topics they cover in class and what homework assignments they give.

Sometimes children don’t want to go to school because they don’t do well in a subject, or because of problems with classmates or even teachers. This can cause real symptoms in the child, such as headaches or stomach pains. If you suspect that your child is reluctant to go to school because of these issues, talk to your child and possibly the teacher. This will give you a better understanding of what is causing your child’s anxiety. A school psychologist can also help.

Make sure your child goes to bed on time. If he goes to bed late, in the morning he feels tired during the day. Also, the child must adhere to a constant sleep schedule.

10. Talk to your child about school

Primary school students are usually willing to talk about what is happening in their classroom. You probably know what books the child reads and what topics he covers in mathematics. But sometimes parents are so busy that they forget to ask their child about his or her progress in school. Take time to talk with your child. He needs to know that his school life is important to you. When the children know that their parents are interested in his studies, he begins to take the lessons more seriously.

Communication is a two-way process. How you communicate with your child and listen to him affects how he reacts to your words. When your child tells you about their day at school, listen carefully, maintain eye contact, and avoid distractions. Be sure to ask your child clarifying questions.

You can talk to your child at family dinners, while driving (no eye contact), walking, or standing in line at the store.

The first years of study are an important period for parents. They support their child as he takes his first steps in his school life. The help of parents lays the foundation for the development of the child at this age.

what to do? – Child development

Learning to write is not an easy task. If your child has trouble translating thoughts into words or writing them, the process of mastering writing may be perceived as painful and unpleasant. The need to learn the rules or simply disinterest prevents the child from discovering the magic and uniqueness of the written word. Still, writing is one of the most important skills, and, be that as it may, we must help children master it in order to prevent the negative consequences associated with illiteracy.

Of course, parents would like to see their children grow up and learn to write confidently, competently, and also enjoy using written language. There is nothing impossible in this! In children, everything is dynamic, and often their disinterest is replaced by genuine enthusiasm. Although writing is not easy, it is a wonderful way to share stories and secrets, witticisms and jokes, express disturbing teenage thoughts, play, convince people and make up anything. All this opens up the opportunity for the child to fall in love with this amazing process.

Here are some ways parents can help their child overcome their reluctance to write.

Let the child work hard

Children sometimes feel that they should only do what they can do easily and naturally. If you praise children for a result, you reinforce their idea that hard work indicates a person’s inability to do something well. Learning to write is hard work, even harder for some kids than others, and that’s completely normal. It is impossible to do everything well and quickly. We can help children learn to write more confidently by recognizing their efforts, hard work, and even more, by expecting and rewarding it.

Writing should have meaning and meaning for children

If we ask children to do something difficult, it should at least make sense to them and be worth the effort. The ability to write greeting cards, secret notes, keep a diary, write a letter to Santa Claus, sign photographs, or write a convincing argument about the reasons for receiving a certain birthday present is much more important for a child than a school notebook. Provide the children with good writing materials. Ask to put your thoughts on paper more often. Help them find and find the meaning and value of doing their homework.

At the beginning we are visited by thoughts, so they should be a priority

Many children experience a psychological barrier before writing anything because they are afraid of making mistakes. Spelling and punctuation are important, but only to help us express our thoughts. Focus on the process itself, and leave the knowledge of the rules for later. Ingenuity, freely applied in writing their thoughts, allows children to use their entire vocabulary. If children are worried about spelling, encourage them to first write down their thoughts in the way they see fit, and only then check the spelling. Also, when you read children’s notes, first of all be interested in the thoughts contained in them, and only then the technical side of the process.

Mistakes are normal and there is nothing wrong with correcting them

Good writing does not mean doing it right the first time. Your child’s favorite book also went through many editorial changes before it became interesting and exciting. Encourage children to review and check completed work, seeing the process as more of an improvement than a correction and correction. When you yourself are correcting children’s mistakes, first of all pay attention to the causes of incorrect spelling. Help the children think of other possibilities. Teach them to look for the correct spelling of a compound word, familiarize them with lists of words in their normative spelling, that is, with existing dictionaries (including electronic ones). Children need to learn how to look for answers to spelling questions on their own, then they will better remember new information for themselves.

There are different ways to learn, respect your child’s needs

There are different ways of learning for different children. To count on good results, you need to help the child understand and decide which way of learning suits him best. Some children learn more effectively when they talk or jump. Others have better visual memory. Some need silence, while others need background noise. Some children take notes chaotically and schematically. Others approach this process systematically and logically. All methods are good, you need to use the one that suits your child the most.

Word games

Learning is effective when children enjoy it. Our language is very rich and interesting. Word games and simple speech games are a great way to have fun learning to write. Come up with puns. Choose homonyms. Remember antonyms. Solve anagrams. Give alliterative nicknames. Write funny poems. Play board games with words. With all this, pay more attention to speed and pleasure than correctness and accuracy – this will help children learn to write words with more willingness and zeal.

Words read and spoken

Artistic works are extremely important in teaching children to write well, they help to increase their vocabulary, develop thinking skills and perceive themselves as a thinking person. However, much of the above can also be learned orally. Oral storytelling, reading aloud, and audiobooks are all great ways to take in language and literature. Discussing what you have read helps develop the analysis and summarization skills that are essential for mastering writing.