Year 4
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of language, literature and literacy. Teaching and learning programs should balance and integrate all three strands. Together, the strands focus on developing students' knowledge, understanding and skills in listening, reading, viewing, speaking, writing and creating. Learning in English builds on concepts, skills and processes developed in earlier years, and teachers will revisit and strengthen these as needed.
In Years 3 and 4, students experience learning in familiar contexts and a range of contexts that relate to study in other areas of the curriculum. They interact with peers and teachers from other classes and schools in a range of face-to-face and online/virtual environments.
Students engage with a variety of texts for enjoyment. They listen to, read, view and interpret spoken, written and multimodal texts in which the primary purpose is aesthetic, as well as texts designed to inform and persuade. These encompass traditional oral texts including Aboriginal stories, picture books, various types of print and digital texts, simple chapter books, rhyming verse, poetry, non-fiction, film, multimodal texts, dramatic performances and texts used by students as models for constructing their own work.
The range of literary texts for Foundation to Year 10 comprises Australian literature, including the oral narrative traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, as well as the contemporary literature of these two cultural groups, and classic and contemporary world literature, including texts from and about Asia.
Literary texts that support and extend students in Years 3 and 4 as independent readers describe complex sequences of events that extend over several pages and involve unusual happenings within a framework of familiar experiences. Informative texts include content of increasing complexity and technicality about topics of interest and topics being studied in other areas of the curriculum. These texts use complex language features, including varied sentence structures, some unfamiliar vocabulary, a significant number of high-frequency sight words and words that need to be decoded phonically, and a variety of punctuation conventions, as well as illustrations and diagrams that support and extend the printed text.
Students create a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive types of texts including narratives, procedures, performances, reports, reviews, poetry and expositions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
Receptive modes (listening, reading and viewing)
By the end of Year 4, students understand that texts have different text structures depending on purpose and context. They explain how language features, images and vocabulary are used to engage the interest of audiences. They describe literal and implied meaning connecting ideas in different textsÂ
They fluently read texts that include varied sentence structures, unfamiliar vocabulary including multisyllabic words. They express preferences for particular types of texts, and respond to others' viewpoints. They listen for and share key points in discussions.
Productive modes (speaking, writing and creating)
Students use language features to create coherence and add detail to their texts. They understand how to express an opinion based on information in a text. They create texts that show understanding of how images and detail can be used to extend key ideas.
Students create structured texts to explain ideas for different audiences. They make presentations and contribute actively to class and group discussions, varying language according to context. They demonstrate understanding of grammar, select vocabulary from a range of resources and use accurate spelling and punctuation, re-reading and editing their work to improve meaning.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
- Plus Plan
Writing a Persuasive Letter Poster
Use this writing a persuasive letter poster to teach your students the structure and features of persuasive letters.
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Story Sequencing - Template
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to sequence important events when reading.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Distinguishing Between Fact and Opinion
A set of comprehension task cards to help students distinguish between fact and opinion when reading.
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Reading Comprehension Strategies PowerPoint - Questioning
A 15 slide editable PowerPoint template explaining the reading comprehension strategy of questioning.
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NAPLAN-Style Assessment Rubric - Informative Writing
A NAPLAN-style rubric designed to help teachers to assess students' informative writing.
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Understanding Sequence - Jack and the Beanstalk
A worksheet to use when teaching students how to understand sequence when reading.
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Visual Literacy Analysis Slide Deck
Teach visual literacy analysis using this comprehensive slide deck featuring 20 stimulus images, each accompanied by thought-provoking question prompts.
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Author’s Purpose Game - Movement Activity
Explore Author’s Purpose in texts through movement using this fun and engaging Author’s Purpose Game.
- Free Plan
Monitoring Comprehension Strategies Text Annotations Poster
Help students monitor their comprehension with this Monitoring Comprehension Reading Strategy using text annotations.
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Persuasive Letter Prompts Task Cards
Use these persuasive letter prompts to get your students writing convincing persuasive letters on a variety of topics.
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Year 4 Grammar Review Task Cards
Download these Year 4 grammar review task cards perfect for literacy rotations.
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Editing Sentences – Year 4 Worksheets
Download these Year 4 editing worksheets to get your students identifying and fixing errors in sentences.
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Australian Conservationists: The Irwins – Comprehension Worksheet
Learn about the Irwin family and their conservation work with this 2-page reading passage and accompanying comprehension questions.
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Magical Story Starters Task Cards
Get your students writing magical stories with this set of story starter task cards.
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Fact File and Report Writing Scaffold Pack
Teach your students to write informative texts using this selection of animal, object and occupation fact files.
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Adverbial Phrases Roll and Write Activity
Along with your students, roll and write your way to hilarious silly sentences with adverb phrases with this printable worksheet!
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Year 4 Magazine – What’s Buzzing? (Issue 2)
A beautifully designed, 24-page reading magazine specifically designed for Year 4 students.
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Types of Adverbs Teaching Slides
Explore five types of adverbs in this action-packed adverb adventure teaching slide deck! This resource covers adverbs of time, place, manner, frequency and degree.
- Free Plan
Finding the Main Idea in a Literary Text Worksheet
Find the main idea and supporting story clues of a literary text passage and answer the comprehension questions.
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Roll to Create a Silly Book Title – Differentiated Writing Activity
Print a differentiated literacy activity using dice and a chart to create a silly book title and storybook.
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Wheely Wonderful Words – Emotional States Vocabulary
A word wheel of synonyms and similar words used to describe emotional states.
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Year 4 Magazine - "What's Buzzing?" (Issue 1) Task Cards
A set of five literacy rotation task cards to be used in conjunction with Issue 1 of Teach Starter's Year 4 magazine.
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Alliteration Poem Poster and Templates
Use this alliteration poem example and accompanying worksheets to teach your students how to write an alliteration poem.
- Free Plan
Hermes' Hocus Pocus – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet for a narrative from the Year 3 magazine (Issue 3).
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Year 4 Dictation Passages PowerPoint
Use this set of Year 4 dictation passages to promote listening and transcription skills in your students.
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Review Text Type Poster With Annotations
A poster about reviews, including an annotated example.
- Free Plan
Writing a Speech Poster
A poster highlighting the main parts to a speech.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Compare And Contrast
A set of comprehension task cards to help students compare and contrast when reading.
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Homophones Bingo
Make learning about homophones and their definitions an engaging whole-class activity with this homophones bingo game.
- Free Plan
Heroic Homophones Cloze Worksheet
Help your students select the correct homophone to use in context with this one-page cloze passage worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Story Archetypes Teaching Slides
Teach story archetypes with this engaging slide deck that introduces students to ten of the most common plot patterns in literature.
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Narrative Mood Teaching Slides
Explore narrative mood with this interactive presentation that helps students understand what mood is, why it matters and how to create it in their own writing.