Common Core State Standards

Use context (e.g., definitions, examples, or restatements in text) as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase.

Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

Distinguish shades of meaning among related words that describe states of mind or degrees of certainty (e.g., knew, believed, suspected, heard, wondered).

Distinguish the literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases in context (e.g.,take steps).

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings.

Use glossaries or beginning dictionaries, both print and digital, to determine or clarify the precise meaning of key words and phrases.

Use a known root word as a clue to the meaning of an unknown word with the same root (e.g., company, companion).