Fourth graders can read independently. Fourth graders read for pleasure and for information. They continue to build their vocabularies and increase the number of words that they recognize. They will find the meaning of some new words by looking the word up in a dictionary. They will use many skills to help them understand what they have read.
Fourth graders react to what they have read.
Fourth graders discuss and write reports about their feelings and reactions to what they have read. They are able to identify the plot, theme, and main idea of a story or passage. They make inferences, draw conclusions, and summarize the major points of a text or passage. Characters' actions and motives are analyzed based on evidence from the piece of literature. Fourth graders focus on writing on a topic that is clear and well developed with a beginning, middle, and end.