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Virginia Standards

4th Grade English SOL

All 21 Virginia English standards for 4th grade, each explained in plain English. The official wording is in Virginia Department of Education's document, linked at the end of this page.

21 standards

Foundations for Reading

1 standard
4.FFR.3
Read and spell long words by syllable type, decode words like unbreakable from their prefixes, suffixes and base words, and read grade-level sight words quickly.

Developing Skilled Readers and Building Reading Stamina

1 standard
4.DSR
Read fourth grade texts fluently, handle books at the easy end of grades 4 to 5, quote or paraphrase evidence, read text sets on a topic, and use strategies when stuck.

Reading and Vocabulary

1 standard
4.RV.1
Learn subject words, decode complex words from roots, affixes, synonyms and context, sort homophones like principal and principle, and look words up in print or online.

Reading Literary Text

3 standards
4.RL.1
Summarize a story, play or poem's theme, like courage, explain how the main conflict is resolved, and analyze characters in depth through words, actions and thoughts.
4.RL.2
Show how dialogue, dialect, sensory words, characters and setting drive a plot, name parts of plays, poems and stories, and tell first-person from third-person narrators.
4.RL.3
Set a purpose from prior knowledge, compare a story and a nonfiction text on a shared theme, and explain how each part of a story, poem or play builds on the last.

Reading Informational Text

3 standards
4.RI.1
Summarize main ideas and their key details, explain what happened and why in history or science texts, and separate facts from opinions and how authors support them.
4.RI.2
Explain how an author's chosen structure, like cause and effect, and its transitions serve the purpose, and find and sort facts using text features and search tools.
4.RI.3
Draw on what they know, compare accounts of one event and what each focuses on, and explain how events, science ideas or steps connect using words like because and next.

Foundations for Writing

2 standards
4.FFW.1
Keep both printing and cursive neat and easy to read in everyday schoolwork, and sign their first and last name.
4.FFW.2
Spell accurately by combining sounds, syllable patterns and word parts like roots and suffixes, and read and spell fourth grade sight words quickly.

Writing

3 standards
4.W.1
Know how narrative, expository and persuasive writing are organized, and write problem-centered stories, fact-filled reports, persuasive opinions and text summaries.
4.W.2
Write well-built paragraphs with a topic sentence tied to the central idea, precise and sensory details, transitions that vary and link sentences, and a conclusion.
4.W.3
With feedback from peers and adults, revise ideas, order, flow and word choice, and edit their own and others' work for capitals, spelling, punctuation and paragraphs.

Language Usage

2 standards
4.LU.1
Expand sentences with prepositional phrases, join ideas with but or although, use precise adjectives and words like can or must, and keep verbs and pronouns in agreement.
4.LU.2
Punctuate lists, dates, addresses, letters and dialogue, use apostrophes in contractions and possessives, and spell studied words right, using a dictionary to check.

Communication and Multimodal Literacies

4 standards
4.C.1
Hold longer discussions with varied partners, follow agreed rules, build on others' ideas, ask follow-up questions, back opinions with evidence, and stay engaged.
4.C.2
Give an organized talk, story or report with facts and details, speak clearly, match formal or casual language to the audience, and plan ways to involve listeners.
4.C.3
Build engaging presentations that combine speech, images, video or sound, choosing and arranging each part so the modes work together to bring out the main idea.
4.C.4
Tell audio, visual and written media apart and whether each aims to explain, inform or persuade, like a podcast or an ad, and compare how various media show one idea.

Research

1 standard
4.R.1
Ask research questions, search print and online sources with good keywords, judge which facts are reliable, take sourced notes, share findings, and cite what they borrow.

The official Virginia documents

The plain-English lines on this page are EMStudio's own explanations of Virginia's standards, not the official wording, which Virginia Department of Education publishes in the documents above. Codes and strand names identify each standard.