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Common Core ELA4th GradeWriting

W.4.10: Write Often, Long and Short

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.10 · Cluster: Range of Writing.

Make a Journal PromptAll 43 4th Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 4, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What W.4.10 Means in Plain English

Fourth graders write every week, in every subject. A month-long report on their state’s history gets time to research, reflect and revise. A fifteen-minute math journal entry explaining why one fraction is bigger gets one sitting, but still needs a clear answer for a real reader.

The wording is the same in W.3.10 and W.5.10. What grows is the writing inside it: quick pieces and long projects alike should meet the grade 4 standards, so a fourth-grade quick-write still backs its reasons with facts and uses precise words.

W.4.10 I Can Statements

  • I can finish a clear, focused piece in one sitting.
  • I can keep working on a long piece through revision.
  • I can write to explain my thinking in math and science.

W.4.10 Worked Example

Short time frame, real writing: two fifteen-minute math journal entries answering the same question.

Prompt

Math journal, 15 minutes. Two pans of cornbread are the same size. One is cut into 5 equal pieces and the other into 7. Desmond says 2/7 of a pan is more than 2/5 because 7 is bigger than 5. Is he right? Explain, using the words numerator and denominator.

Not YetDesmond is right because 7 is bigger. So 2/7 is more.Finished in one sitting, but the math is wrong, neither required word appears, and nothing explains the thinking, so a reader cannot tell why the writer believes it.
Meets the StandardDesmond is not right, because 2/5 of a pan is more than 2/7. Both fractions have the same numerator, 2, so we are comparing two pieces from each pan. The denominator tells how many equal pieces the pan is cut into. A pan cut into 7 pieces has smaller pieces than a pan cut into 5, so two sevenths is less cornbread than two fifths. This works because both pans are the same size, so 2/5 is greater than 2/7.Fifteen minutes, and still complete: the first sentence answers the question, both required words are used correctly, the reasons come in order, and the last sentence names the condition that makes the comparison fair. Discipline-specific writing in a short time frame.
Moves to Use
Answer the question in the first sentence.Use each required math word and show what it means.Explain the reasons in order, one step per sentence.Finish with the answer again, plus why it holds.

Common Mistakes with W.4.10

Math answers with no words

A journal page with “2/5 > 2/7” circled and nothing else

Try this: Add one written explanation to a math or science lesson each week, scored on the same two or three criteria every time.

Quick-writes nobody reads

Journals that fill up for months without a single comment or score

Try this: Read a handful of quick-writes each day and give one short note on the criteria, so short pieces count as real writing.

Long projects rushed at the end

A three-week report written the night before it is due

Try this: Set dated checkpoints for the question, notes, draft and revision, and look at each one so time goes into reflection and revising.

Where W.4.10 Fits

Comes BeforeW.3.10The same routine of long and short writing, held to the grade 3 writing standards.
AlongsideW.4.2Informative writing, the kind most math and science explanations call for.W.4.7Short research projects: the extended time frame in practice.
Comes NextW.5.10The same routine, now held to the grade 5 writing standards.

Practice W.4.10

Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolA fresh journal prompt for a fifteen-minute write at the start of class, so short time frames happen every week, not only on test days.Journal3-5
Make a Prompt

Quick Check

  1. What do the two fractions in the prompt have in common, and why does it matter?
  2. How does the strong response explain the denominator?
  3. Why does the strong response mention that the pans are the same size?

W.4.10: Other Names

W.4.10CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.10

Common Core State Standards © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved. Official wording from the Common Core State Standards PDFs at corestandards.org, last checked October 14, 2026. The explanation, I can statements, example, mistakes and practice on this page are EMStudio’s own, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standard.