The Excellent Reader Jr: 4th Grade Language Arts (Semester One) FLEX Version
In this Full Curriculum Fourth Grade English Language Arts (Semester One) FLEX course, Mrs. VZ uses excellent books to teach Reading, Grammar, and Creative Writing. Includes parental discussion guide, and both written and video feedback.
Evelyn VanZant: 4th and 5th Grade Language Arts
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What's included
Homework
2-4 hours per week. Homework is not required for this course, however, completing the homework assignments will result in more academic growth. Homework assignments will be uploaded before a unit begins and should take anywhere from 2-4 hours outside of class to complete depending on how fast your learner reads. (Readings may be completed using an audiobook or read aloud by a parent). Below is a sample of homework assignments for the first 2 weeks of class, each homework packet will be accompanied by an assignment sheet with explanations for each assignment. Please note this if a final grade is requested, I will need the homework uploaded to the teacher tab. No Pre-Class homework is needed. Week 1: My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Class 1 homework assignment: Complete before class 2. o Using your Thesaurus, find one-word definitions for your vocabulary on page 2. o Review Subjects and Predicates using the practice sheet on page 3. o Read Chapters 1 - 4 of My Father’s Dragon o Answer 4 of the 6 questions found on page 4. o Color your Dragon : ) Class 2 homework assignments: Complete before class 3 o Review the types of sentences using the practice sheets on pages 2 and 3. o Read Chapters 5-7 of My Father’s Dragon o Answer 4 of the 6 questions and the thinker question found on page 4. Week 2: My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Class 1 homework assignments: Complete before class 4 o Review subjects and predicates on pages 2 and 3 o Read Chapters 8-10 of My Father’s Dragon o Answer 4 of the 6 questions and the thinker question found on page 4 Class 2 homework assignments: Complete before class 5 o If you had a secret animal hidden on an island, what would it be and how would you take care of it? o See page 2 for further instructions. o Be prepared to share about your animal in our next class.Assessment
Reading and Grammar assignments will be given a completion grade. Writing assignments will be uploaded and graded for accuracy. Special projects will be graded for accuracy and completion. Comprehension will be graded through class discussion participation and homework answers. At the completion of the class, each student will be given a teacher evaluation in which I use class time and written examples to clearly communicate how much the student has advanced in their skills. If requested a letter or numerical grade will be provided to the parent. 4th Grade grading rubric 1/5 Homework Completion (These must be uploaded to the teacher tab for full credit) 1/5 Class Participation 1/5 Research Project (class 12 and following) 1/5 Process Paragraph (class 16 and following) 1/5 Imagine If Story (class 23)Grading
includedClass Experience
US Grade 4
Completion of this 12-week 4th Grade Language Arts (FLEX) course will have your student showing marked improvement in their reading comprehension, and verbal, and written communication skills. Lessons will be posted twice weekly (Mondays and Wednesdays) for twelve weeks. The class will be left open for one additional week for final homework uploads and communication purposes. The total length of the course will be 13 weeks, however, no lessons will be posted during week thirteen. The literature used in this course includes five grade-level books with weekly activities that include reading, writing, and grammar practice. My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet Twenty and Ten by Claire Hutchet Bishop The 21 Balloons by William Pene DuBois James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Borrowers by Mary Norton A two-week Poetry unit including, but not limited to works by Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Matsuo Basho (Japanese Haiku poet), and other haiku poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Walt Whitman, and Shel Silverstein. (Teacher provided materials for the Poetry Unit) Embedded within the course are grammar basics (teacher-provided materials) and writing skill lessons that will begin with simple sentences and end with students writing three clear paragraphs of material (teacher-provided materials). Detailed course syllabus: Week 1: My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett (2 weeks/4 classes) Class 1: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. My Father’s Dragon Vocabulary Introduction b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on Subjects and Predicates c. Enriching Pre-Reading Book Activity: Drawing Dragons Class 2: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. My Father’s Dragon Video Review b. Writing Skills Lesson part 1: Sentence types Week 2: My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett Class 3: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. My Father’s Dragon Vocabulary Practice b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on Compound Sentences c. Writing Skills Lesson Part 2: Parts of a sentence Class 4: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. My Father’s Dragon Video Review b. Enriching Post-Reading Book Activity: Video share of family stories Week 3: Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop (2 weeks/4 classes) Class 5: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. Twenty and Ten Vocabulary Introduction b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on nouns c. Enriching Pre-Reading Book Activity: World War II background Class 6: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. Twenty and Ten Video Review b. Writing Skills lesson Part 3: Writing sentences Week 4: Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop Class 7: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. Twenty and Ten Vocabulary Practice b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on possessives c. Writing Skills Lesson Part 4: Adding descriptive words to Sentences Class 8: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. Twenty and Ten Video Review b. Enriching Post-Reading Book Activity: Showing Kindness Family activity Week 5: The 21 Balloons (2 weeks/4 classes) Class 9: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The 21 Balloons Vocabulary Introduction b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on verbs part 1 c. Mid-Course Project Introduction: Choose a report category of sharks, volcanos, or balloon travel Class 10: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The 21 Balloons Video Review b. Writing Skills lesson Part 5: Parts of a paragraph Week 6: The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois Class 11: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The 21 Balloons Vocabulary Practice b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on verbs part 2 c. Writing Lesson Part 6: Deconstructing a paragraph Class 12:Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The 21 Balloons Video Review b. Mid-Course Video Project Presentations may be turned in Week 7: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Class 13: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. James and the Giant Peach Vocabulary Introduction b. Grammar Lesson: focus on adjectives c. Enriching Pre-Reading Activity: Scientific lesson about the peach including its purpose and the life cycle of a peach. Class 14: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. James and the Giant Peach Video Review b. Writing Lesson Part 7: Writing paragraphs Part 1. Week 8: James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Class 15: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. James and the Giant Peach Vocabulary Practice b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on adverbs c. Writing Lesson Part 8: Writing Paragraphs Part 2 Class 16: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. James and The Giant Peach Video Review b. Enriching Post-Reading Activity: Character Video Interviews Week 9: Poetry Unit 2 Weeks (4 classes) Class 17: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. Poetry Introduction b. Limericks: Focus on Rhyming a. Edward Lear c. Writing Lesson 9: Write your own Limerick Class 18: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. Introduce Poetry Readings Presentations b. Wacky Word Poems: focus on nonsense words. a. Lewis Carroll Week 10: Poetry Unit Class 19: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. Nature Poetry: Focus on Haiku a. Matsuo Basho b. Writing Lesson 10: Write your own Haiku Class 20: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. Narrative Verse: a. Tony Medina Poetry Readings Video Presentations may be uploaded b. Fun with Shel Silverstein narrative poetry Week 11: The Borrowers by Mary Norton (2 weeks/4 classes) Class 21: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. The Borrowers Vocabulary Introduction b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on punctuation part 1 c. Enriching Pre-Reading activity: Related to The Borrowers Class 22: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The Borrowers Video Review b. Writing Lesson 10: Combining 2 paragraphs Week 12: The Borrowers by Mary Norton Class 23: Video uploaded Monday @ 8:00 AM (CST). a. The Borrowers Vocabulary practice b. Grammar Lesson: Focus on punctuation part 2 c. Writing Lesson 11: Combining 3 paragraphs Class 24: Video Uploaded Wednesday @ 8:00 AM (CST) a. The Borrowers Video Review b. Enriching Post-Reading Activity: Related to The Borrowers Student Supplies include: My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet Twenty and Ten by Claire Huchet Bishop The 21 Balloons by William Pene du Bois James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl The Borrowers by Mary Norton The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms, Newest Edition, Mass-Market Paperback All of these may be purchased on Amazon or another book retailer. A Class 3 ring binder with loose-leaf paper (There will be weekly printable papers associated with this class) Grading: A numerical or letter grade is available upon request. Reading and Grammar assignments will be given a completion grade. Writing assignments may be uploaded to Outschool and graded for accuracy. Special projects will be graded for accuracy and completion. Comprehension will be graded through class discussion participation and homework answers. 4th Grade grading rubric 1/5 Homework Completion (These must be uploaded to the teacher tab for full credit) 1/5 Class Participation 1/5 Research Project (class 12 and following) 1/5 Process Paragraph (class 16 and following) 1/5 Imagine If Story (class 23) At the completion of the class, each student will be given a teacher evaluation in which I use class time and written examples to clearly communicate how much the student has advanced in their skills.
Learning Goals
In this 4th grade Language Arts (FLEX) course, students will improve their independent reading, comprehension, and writing skills by means of the five literature books, the two-week poetry unit, weekly vocabulary, grammar, and writing lessons.
Specifically, by the end of this course, students will have improved both their oral and written communication skills.
Other Details
Parental Guidance
To assist you in discussing these books with your learner, I will share a list of general book discussion questions that can be used by you and your student. These questions are in addition to the homework comprehension questions and are intended to assist you, as the teacher at home, in helping your learner better understand what they are reading.
In this course, your student will be reading five age-appropriate novels, and completing comprehension questions, and grammar assignments.
My Father's Dragon is the imaginary story of a boy who rescues a baby dragon from a group of unkind animals. Instead of reflecting on the animal's unkind choices, our hero helps each animal in turn, and through this process rescues the baby dragon.
Discussion Focus: We will enjoy discussing the imaginary factors in the story such as talking animals, unique solutions to their problems, as well as the bravery of Elmer, our hero. Additionally, we will focus on the kind and helpful choices of our hero.
The book Twenty and Ten is based on the true story of twenty children and their teacher, who show kindness and compassion as they shelter and protect ten child refugees during World War II. This book is set in France and has an excellent underlying theme of kindness and courage.
Literary Focus: Following a simple age-appropriate introduction to World War II (focused mainly on Germany's invasion of other countries), we will move into how the twenty children and their teacher show sacrificial kindness and compassion to the ten refugee children. Toward the end of this book, the students and I will discuss simple everyday scenarios in which we can show kindness to others. These will include, providing food for someone who has none, helping neighbors and lost animals, and assisting our own families as we show kindness to others.
The book The 21 Balloons is a fictional tale crafted around the true 1883 Krakatoa volcanic eruption. The story bears no resemblance to the actual event, but rather creates a fictional settlement on the Island of Krakatoa and focuses on the creativity with which it was settled. The story begins with Professor Sherman being rescued by a passing freighter following his exciting departure from San Francisco in a balloon. His adventures, or should I say, misadventures find him crash landing on the Island of Krakatoa and being rescued by its 80 eccentric citizens. The story is told in retrospect as Professor Sherman recounts his adventures for the Western American Explorers' Club of San Francisco.
Literary Focus: Following a simple recounting of the actual 1883 Krakatoa volcanic eruption, students will be guided through discussion surrounding the misadventures of Professor Sherman and the creative lifestyle in which the fictional eccentric Krakatoan citizens live. They have grand homes with unusual inventions and lots and lots of diamonds found in the fictional volcano. Through our discussion of this rollicking tale, we will focus on acceptance of one another no matter the circumstances. The citizens of Krakatoa offer unlimited hospitality to Professor Sherman and we will focus strongly on this character development.
The book James and the Giant Peach is the fictional tale of a boy, a giant peach, and 6 oversized insects who embark on exciting adventures. James, an orphan, living with his unkind aunts, finds himself climbing into a giant peach where he discovers the kind insects who live there. James, as the hero of our story, shows kindness and consideration for the insects even though he has not received kindness from his aunts.
Language Alert: In chapter 27 of James and the Giant Peach, the centipede rather annoyingly begins calling the cloud men names including the word "asses." If you are uncomfortable with this term, I suggest that you do a read-aloud of chapter 27 for the purpose of censoring the word.
Literary Focus: Following a brief scientific lesson of peaches, students will be comparing the unkind aunts with the kindness that James shows the insects in the giant peach. Through the adventures and James' help, we will see the insects and James comes to find a happier more accepting group of friends. Throughout the entire discussion, we will focus on the kindness of James and the insects.
The Poetry Unit: Following a brief lesson on the definition of poetry, students will be introduced to famous poets through their poetry. I will focus primarily on the following poets: Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Basho, and Shel Silverstein.
During this unit, students will learn about rhyming and non-rhyming poetry, writing their own poetry, and dramatically reading poetry.
The book The Borrowers is a fictional story featuring a family of tiny people who live secretly in the walls and floors of an English house and "borrow" from the big people in order to survive. The story more closely follows the tiny Arrietty Clock and her friendship with the boy who lives in the house.
Literary Focus: This book discussion will focus on friendships and how to be a better friend. What does a friend look like, how do they act, and how can we show kindness to our friends and others? Additionally, we will discuss how to respect others' property and make wise choices when we borrow another's property.
Updated May 23, 2023
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Bachelor's Degree in Education from Mississippi State University
Saving my profile will allow you to receive 4th and 5th Grade Language Arts class listing updates. I teach year-round with classes beginning mid-September, mid-January, and mid-May.
Having taught for many years, I have learned the key to being a great educator is to, "Never Stop Learning!" To that end, I am always making exciting discoveries that allow me to improve my knowledge and skills in a variety of areas. Specifically, I am passionate about Literature, Public Speaking, and Life Skills and truly believe that knowledge in these areas is particularly important to achieve a full and happy life.
Through Outschool, My passion is to provide excellent Language Arts classes for 4th and 5th-grade students. This is the time in a student's education when they move from learning to read to reading to learn.
I have now listed three age-appropriate classes per grade level. These classes are specifically designed to provide your student with a fun, educational, and exciting way to grasp all of the 4th and 5th-grade ELA Common Core expectations.
In the fall, your student may take either 4th or 5th-grade ELA (Semester One) courses. In the spring (January), your student may take either 4th or 5th grade ELA (Semester Two). In the summer, I'll be teaching my grade-specific eight-week Summer Reading and Writing Fun Courses.
Graduating with a degree in K-8 education and completing an emphasis in Reading and Math for all levels, I have had the privilege to teach public, private, and homeschooled students in grades k-12. Not only have I taught my three loves as listed above, but have enjoyed expanding my knowledge by teaching math, science, and history.
I believe learning should be an adventure worth taking and must include both teacher and learner engaging together. As a teacher, I am also a learner, and as a learner, your students are also teachers, by engaging together as a classroom of teachers and learners, my classes will work for a variety of learning styles including but not limited to the visual, auditory and tactile learning styles.
When I'm not teaching, I'm walking, reading, sewing, cooking, watching baseball, and loving on my family.Reviews
Live Group Class
$23
weekly13 weeks
Completed by 16 learners
No live video meetings
Ages: 8-10
