LAFS.4.W.3.9Archived Standard

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
  1. Apply grade 4 Reading standards to literature (e.g., “Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text [e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions].”).
  2. Apply grade 4 Reading standards to informational texts (e.g., “Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points in a text”).
General Information
Subject Area: English Language Arts
Grade: 4
Strand: Writing Standards
Idea: Level 3: Strategic Thinking & Complex Reasoning
Date Adopted or Revised: 12/10
Date of Last Rating: 02/14
Status: State Board Approved - Archived

Related Courses

This benchmark is part of these courses.
5020050: Science - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5002000: Introduction to Computers (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2019 (course terminated))
5010010: English for Speakers of Other Languages-Elementary (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022 (course terminated))
5010020: Basic Skills in Reading-K-2 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2021, 2021 and beyond (current))
5010030: Functional Basic Skills in Communications-Elementary (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
5021060: Social Studies Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
5010045: Language Arts - Grade Four (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7720050: Access Science Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))
7710015: Access Language Arts - Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2022, 2022 and beyond (current))
7721015: Access Social Studies - Grade 4 (Specifically in versions: 2014 - 2015, 2015 - 2018, 2018 - 2023, 2023 and beyond (current))

Related Access Points

Alternate version of this benchmark for students with significant cognitive disabilities.

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this benchmark.

Lesson Plans

What Did You Say Happened to the Everglades?:

In this lesson, students will conduct a close reading of an informational article about pythons in the Everglades. Students will use a variety of strategies to determine the meaning of selected academic words in context, and they will sort selected tier 3 words into categories and examine the relationships between words in a category. Students will also answer text-dependent questions about the article and identify and describe the cause/effect structure used throughout the article. Students will complete an informational paragraph about the events that are occurring in the Everglades using text evidence to support their ideas. Graphic organizers, answer keys, and a writing rubric have been provided with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Amazon Rainforest:

In this lesson, students will read an informational article about the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest. Students will identify and describe the cause/effect structure used throughout the article. Students will write an expository paragraph about events occurring in the Amazon Rainforest.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Tree that Saved the Day!:

In this lesson, students will read an informational picture book about a community in Africa that plants mangrove trees to help the community. Students will use a variety of strategies to determine the meaning of selected academic words in context. Students will also identify and describe the central idea and relevant details used throughout the book in order to write a summary paragraph.

Type: Lesson Plan

Examining How the Setting Impacts the Plot of a Story:

In this lesson, students will explain how the setting impacts the plot of a story. The teacher modeling and guided practice phases feature the story The Three Brothers: A German Folktale by Carolyn Croll. In the independent practice, students will read the passage "A New Home," which is provided with the lesson, and identify the setting and explain how the details of the time and place affect the plot. This lesson is part one of a two part unit on setting; the other lesson has been attached as a related resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

Using Setting to Make Predictions about Characters:

This is the second of two lessons in a unit on setting. The lesson features "Forest Ghosts" from Even More Short and Shivery retold by Robert D. San Souci to make predictions about characters. The first lesson in the unit has been attached as a related resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

Motivating Students to Write for an Authentic Audience:

In this lesson, students will brainstorm survival tips for future fourth graders and incorporate these tips into a "how-to" essay. Students will use an online tool for creating an outline, and a graphic organizer and proofreading checklist are also included to help students edit their writing. A rubric is provided in this resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

Civil Rights for All: Women and the Fight for Voting Rights:

In this lesson, students will learn about the history of the women's suffrage movement and what it took for women in America to get the right to vote. Throughout the lesson, the teacher and students will look at primary sources such as pictures and original documents, as well as videos about the movement and a PowerPoint to help build students' background knowledge. Then students and the teacher will work through a Reader's Theatre script called "Failure is Impossible" that describes the evolution of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Text-dependent questions for the script have been included. At the end of the lesson, students will work in groups to complete a timeline (an answer key is included) and then individually write an opinion piece on this topic. A rubric is provided to help teachers assess students' writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

Who's to Blame? Me or My Parents?:

This is an integrated science and reading lesson. This lesson is intended as a beginning of year lesson to give students the foundation in some of the practice of science and writing standards. Students will conduct an investigation on inherited traits and use evidence from a research article and their investigation to support their findings.

Type: Lesson Plan

Cause and Effect Relationships in Historical Fiction:

In this lesson, students will identify multiple causes and effects in a work of historical fiction. The lesson features the text Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco.

Type: Lesson Plan

Close Reading Exemplar: "The Making of a Scientist":

The goal of this two to three day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to absorb deep lessons from Richard Feynman's recollections of interactions with his father. By reading and rereading the passage closely, and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will identify how and why Feynman started to look at the world through the eyes of a scientist. When combined with writing about the passage, students will discover how much they can learn from a memoir.

Type: Lesson Plan

Examining Cause and Effect Relationships in Myths:

In this lesson, students will work with the teacher to identify cause and effect relationships in the text Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears: A West African Tale retold by Verna Aardema. Students will then independently identify cause and effect relationships in a myth called "Why the Cat Purrs" and write a paragraph response using evidence from the text. The passage for students to practice with is provided with the lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Examining the Qualities of Historical Fiction in the Text Meet Addy: An American Girl:

In this resource, students will identify and describe evidence in a text showing that it is historical fiction. In guided and independent practice activities students will use the text Meet Addy: An American Girl, by Connie Porter.

Type: Lesson Plan

Exploring the Relationship Between the Protagonist and Antagonist:

This is the third of three lessons in a fourth grade unit on characters. Students will identify and describe how the relationship between the protagonist and antagonist affects the plot. The teacher modeling and guided practice uses the story Hansel and Gretel retold by Rika Lesser. The other lessons in this unit are attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identifying and Describing the Antagonist of a Story:

This is the second lesson in a fourth grade unit on characters. Students will identify and describe the antagonist in a story using text evidence. The lesson uses Hansel and Gretel retold by Rika Lesser in the teacher modeling and guided practice. The other lessons in this unit have been attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identifying and Describing the Protagonist in a Story:

This is the first lesson in a fourth grade unit on characters. Students will identify and describe the protagonist in a story using text evidence. The lesson uses Hansel and Gretel retold by Rika Lesser in the teacher modeling and guided practice. The other lessons in this unit have been attached as related CPALMS resources.

Type: Lesson Plan

Identifying Elements of a Biography:

In this resource, students will identify and describe evidence in a text showing that it is a biography. In guided and independent practice activities students will use A Picture Book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler.

Type: Lesson Plan

Teaching Idea

Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure:

In this lesson, students will use a comic-strip format for pre-writing to reinforce plot structure and create their own personal narratives. Students will learn to differentiate between random or background events and events that are significant to the plot of the story. Handouts and a virtual manipulative are included in this lesson.

Type: Teaching Idea

Text Resources

Green Invaders!:

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This National Geographic Kids article explains how the invasion of non-native plants is threatening native food webs.

Type: Text Resource

Metamorphosis:

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article describes the complete and incomplete metamorphosis stages.

Type: Text Resource

Weathering:

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. This article describes chemical, biological and mechanical weathering and includes causes and examples for each.

Type: Text Resource

Another Link in the Food Chain:

This informational text resource is intended to support reading in the content area. The article describes how energy passes through food chains. Examples of each link in the chain and a description of its role in the food chain are given.

Type: Text Resource

Student Resources

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Parent Resources

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