English Language Arts — Grade 4

Blackbeard: The Most Feared Pirate of the Atlantic

Students will acquire information about Blackbeard through primary resources and apply their knowledge to create a newspaper article concerning his life.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Information Skills, English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)

By Carol Holden and Tanya Klanert.

A Circular Journey To Imaginative Narrative Writing

This lesson will help the teacher show students how to bring their imaginative narratives to a logical ending. Students often have difficulty while writing imaginative narratives. They tend to get off to a good beginning and then cannot maintain focus well enough to bring their story to an end. Two well-known stories will be used as effective models. The first story will be analyzed by the whole class and the second will be used in an individual hands-on practice activity. Finally, students will summarize what they have learned and how they can use this information when they write an imaginative narrative.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By Sharon MacKenzie.

Connecting Folktales and Culture in North Carolina and Beyond

Students will explore connections to North Carolina culture as they engage in reading and analyzing three folktales of North Carolina Literary Festival author, William Hooks. After comparing these stories to other versions of the traditional tales, students will become authors and storytellers themselves as they rewrite a tale from a new cultural point of view. Opportunities are also included to extend this study to world cultures and folktales.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)

By Jeanne Munoz.

Creature creation - an elaboration writing activity

This lesson will focus on the writing element of elaboration. It will also tap into higher order thinking skills with the creation of a Coastal Plain imaginary animal and a creative story about the creature. This lesson could be linked to 4th grade Science and Social Studies objectives. For more in-depth knowledge in those other subjects, go to the lesson entitled Researching the Coastal Plain

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and English Language Development)

By Ana Sanders and Heather Ennis.

Diamante Poetry Using Environments Day 3

This lesson will introduce and reinforce learners' understanding of habitat components within an environment.

This lesson is one in a series of lessons: Understanding Animal Adaptation (Day 1), Animal Environments (Day 2), Diamante Poetry Using Environments (Day 3).

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Science)

By Cheri Cole.

Native American poetry workshop

This weeklong set of lessons uses four different center activities to help students respond to poetry written by American Indians. This lesson plan was written with ESL (English as a second language) students in mind, so there are many opportunities to practice vocabulary, discuss and talk with others, and model expectations.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Liz Mahon.

Non Halloween Activity for October 31

Students will rewrite the lyrics to a well-known song focusing on Autumn sounds, smells and sights, but without any of the usual Halloween trappings.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts)

By Vince Floriani.

North Carolina Regional Travel Brochure

The students will cooperatively design travel brochures that describe major physical and cultural characteristics of the regions in North Carolina.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Visual Arts Education, Social Studies, and Computer Technology Skills)

By Deborah Harrell.

Observing connections: Art, poetry and the environment

Students will explore the poem of Pat Lowery Collins, “I Am An Artist” and create their own poem from what they see and experience. They will then illustrate their poems with a visual design. This is the first lesson in a series of three in which students are creating art based on their observations: Lesson 1 Observing Connections —Art, Poetry, and the Environment; Lesson 2 Observing Connections—Changing Landscapes; Lesson 3 Observing Connections—North Carolina Pottery and Face Jugs

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Visual Arts Education)

By Lisa Mitchell.

Sweet Potato Fun

These activities allow students to gain knowledge of the North Carolina state vegetable and have fun while doing it! Activities include describing, analyzing and comparing facts about sweet potatoes, creative writing and dramatization, taste testing and completing an online scavenger hunt.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Computer Technology Skills)

By Amy Luna and Kathy Beck.

Trees of North Carolina

Students complete activities including tree and leaf identification, species comparison, online research, measurement, and creative writing in conjunction with monthly visits to the "Iredell County Outdoor Education Site"

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts, Computer Technology Skills, Mathematics, and Science)

By Amy Luna and Kathy Beck.

"Write On!!!" --"Hooking the Reader"

Students will recognize new and innovative ways to write a narrative by discovering various ways to "hook" the reader with catchy beginnings and using figurative language and writing components to write an interesting story.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts and Computer Technology Skills)

By Tina Duckwall.

Lesson plans on the web

All about our town: Using brochures to teach informational writing

In this lesson, students create brochures that explore their towns and the landmarks, symbols, and people that make them unique places to live. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Alliteration all around

In this lesson, students are introduced to alliteration through picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Blending fiction and nonfiction to improve comprehension and writing skills

Introduces text sets to increase student interest in and understanding of content area material and to develop critical writing skills. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–6 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Book report alternative: Writing resumes for characters in historical fiction

Students select a character from a work of historical fiction then help the character choose and apply for a job. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Boys can dance

Reinforces the idea that dancing is a beneficial activity for both men and women. Students compare the benefits of dance training and sports then watch video clips of famous male dancers. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–4 Dance Arts Education and English Language Arts)

Provider: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Buzz! Whiz! Bang! Using comic books to teach onomatopoeia

This lesson uses comic strips to introduce students to onomatopoeia, words that imitate the natural sound associated with an action or an object. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provider: IRA/NCTE

Can you haiku?

Students learn the rules and conventions of haiku, study examples by Japanese masters, and create haiku of their own. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provider: National Endowment for the Humanities

Chinese instruments

Students identify and classify Western instruments and traditional Chinese instruments. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade K–4 English Language Arts and Computer Technology Skills)

Provider: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts