4th Grade English

300 core topics + 81 prerequisite topics taught as needed · approximately 112 hours of instruction including spaced review

How the course runs

An adaptive diagnostic (up to 40 questions) places the student on the course's knowledge graph - topics already known are credited, and instruction begins exactly at the learning frontier. Every topic is taught with a worked-example lesson and auto-graded practice; a topic is mastered at 75%+ and then maintained through spaced reviews on an expanding schedule. Mixed checks follow every 6 lessons; each unit ends with a 12-item quiz, and course-wide assessments appear at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% mastery. Prerequisite gaps below the course are detected and taught rather than skipped, so completion certifies the whole tower, not just the top.

Core curriculum

Syllable Types & Syllable Division · 9 topics

Counting Syllables by Vowel Sounds [M]	Count the syllables in a written word by counting its vowel sounds.
Closed Syllables: The Vowel Is Short [M]	Recognize a syllable that ends in a consonant and know its vowel is short.
Open Syllables: The Vowel Is Long [M]	Recognize a syllable that ends in a vowel and know that vowel is long.
Open or Closed? Deciding the Vowel Sound [M]	Use the last letter of a syllable to predict whether its vowel is long or short.
The Six Kinds of Syllable [M]	Name which of the six syllable types a chunk of a word is.
Two Consonants in the Middle [M]	Divide a word between two middle consonants and read the closed first syllable.
One Consonant in the Middle: Try Long First [H]	Divide a word with one middle consonant by trying the long vowel first, then flexing.
The -le Ending Takes One Consonant With It [M]	Split off a consonant-le ending and use what is left to set the first vowel.
Reading a Long Word You Have Never Seen [H]	Chunk an unfamiliar multisyllable word and read it one syllable at a time.

Prefixes & Suffixes · 10 topics

Finding the Base Word [M]	Strip the extra parts off a word to find the word underneath.
What a Prefix Means [M]	Know what the common prefixes do to a word.
Using a Prefix to Read a Word [M]	Work out what a prefixed word means without being told.
What a Suffix Means [M]	Know what the common suffixes add to a word.
Using a Suffix to Read a Word [M]	Work out what a word with a suffix means.
Building Words from Parts [M]	Put a prefix, base word, and suffix together into one word.
Reading a Word You Have Never Seen [H]	Work out an unfamiliar word from its prefix, base, and suffix.
Spelling Changes When You Add an Ending [H]	Apply the three rules for adding a suffix to a base word.
Endings Change a Word's Job [M]	See how a suffix turns one kind of word into another.
Choosing the Right Form [H]	Pick the form of a word that a sentence actually needs.

Greek & Latin Roots · 8 topics

What a Root Is [M]	Find the root inside a long word and tell it from a base word.
What the Common Roots Mean [M]	Know what the roots that build academic English actually mean.
Words That Share a Root [H]	Sort words into families by the root they are built on.
Words Built from Two Roots [H]	Read a word built out of two roots by putting both part meanings together, in order.
One Root, Many Prefixes [H]	Use the prefix to tell apart words built on the same root.
Reading a Word You Have Never Met [H]	Work out an unfamiliar word from its root and the sentence together.
When the Letters Lie [H]	Test a root by meaning, not by letters, and catch the look-alikes.
Greek Spelling Clues [H]	Spell the Greek words in science and math, and know why they look odd.

Homophones, Homographs & Word Traps · 8 topics

Words That Sound the Same [M]	Recognize two words that share one sound and nothing else.
Choosing the Right Spelling [M]	Use the meaning of a sentence to choose between two spellings.
its and it's, your and you're [M]	Tell a contraction from a possessive using the long-form test.
One Spelling, Two Meanings [H]	Use the sentence to choose between two unrelated meanings of one word.
One Word, Many Meanings [H]	Pick which of a word's several related meanings a sentence is using.
Words That Are Nearly Twins [H]	Separate two words that look almost alike and mean nothing alike.
The Mistake a Spell Checker Misses [H]	Find a word that is spelled correctly and is still the wrong word.
Same Spelling, Different Sound [H]	Decide how a word is pronounced from the job it does in the sentence.

Context Clues & Word Nuance (Grades 4-6) · 8 topics

When the Clue Is Somewhere Else [H]	Find the meaning of a word when the clue sits in a different sentence.
Shades of Meaning [H]	Choose the word whose size matches what actually happened.
Words That Carry a Feeling [H]	Hear the approval or disapproval hidden inside a word choice.
Reporting or Arguing? [H]	Tell a sentence that reports from one that argues, and name the word doing it.
Word Parts Plus Context [H]	Take an unfamiliar word apart and check the pieces against the sentence.
Everyday Words With a School Meaning [H]	Catch a familiar word being used in its science, math, or history sense.
The Words the Directions Use [H]	Know the words that every subject and every test direction line uses.
Can You Swap That Word? [H]	Test a replacement word against meaning, size, and feeling all at once.

Figurative Language & Idioms · 9 topics

Noticing When Words Are Not Literal [M]	Tell when a sentence is not meant exactly as written.
Working Out What It Really Means [M]	Say in plain words what a figure of speech is telling you.
Similes [M]	Read a comparison made with like or as.
Metaphors [M]	Read a comparison that says one thing IS another.
Simile or Metaphor? [M]	Tell the two kinds of comparison apart.
Personification [M]	Spot something not human doing something only people do.
Hyperbole [M]	Read an exaggeration that nobody is meant to believe.
Idioms [H]	Learn set phrases whose meaning the words do not give you.
Naming the Device [H]	Say which kind of figurative language a sentence uses.

Academic Vocabulary · 8 topics

Three Kinds of School Word [M]	Sort a word into everyday, used in every subject, or belonging to one subject.
The Words Every Subject Uses [H]	Give the exact meaning of the words that show up in every subject.
The Everyday Word and the School Word [H]	Match a school word to the everyday wording that means the same thing.
One Word, Many Forms [H]	Choose the right form of an academic word for the slot it has to fill.
The Same Word in a Different Class [H]	Work out which meaning a familiar word carries in a school subject.
Command Words: What the Task Asks For [H]	Name what a direction word is telling you to do before you start writing.
Reading the Question Before You Answer It [H]	Say what a test question requires before looking at the choices.
How Sure Does the Writer Sound? [H]	Tell what a writer is claiming from the verb that carries the claim.

Story Structure: Problem, Plot & Solution · 7 topics

Beginning, Middle, End [M]	Say which part of a story an event belongs to, and what that part is for.
What a Character Wants, and What Is in the Way [M]	Name both halves of a story problem: the want and the thing blocking it.
What Kind of Trouble Is It? [M]	Tell trouble with a person from trouble with the world or with yourself.
The Tries That Do Not Work [M]	Follow the middle of a story as a run of attempts, and say why each fails.
The Moment It Turns [H]	Find the one moment after which a story cannot go back.
How It Ends, and What Is Different [H]	Say how a story settles - fixed, gone around, or accepted - and what changed.
Because of That, Not And Then [H]	Follow a plot as a chain of causes instead of a list of events.

Theme, Lesson & Central Message · 8 topics

Topic or Theme? [M]	Tell the subject of a story apart from what the story says about it.
What a Character Learns [M]	Find the theme by watching what a character understands at the end that they did not understand at the start.
The Moral a Story States [H]	Read a stated moral or saying and check what the story actually backs up.
Saying a Theme in One Sentence [H]	Word a theme so it is neither about one character nor true of every story.
The Evidence for a Theme [M]	Point to the detail that actually supports a theme, not just a true detail.
Themes Nobody Writes Down [H]	Work out a theme from an ending, a silence, or a word the writer chose.
Objects That Carry the Message [H]	Read the object or image a story keeps returning to.
What a Story Does Not Say [H]	Refuse a lesson the text will not support, including the tidy one.

Point of View, Narrator & Perspective · 8 topics

Who Is Telling This [M]	Find the teller of a text before deciding what the text means.
How Much the Teller Knows [H]	Work out how far a teller can see, and what is therefore missing.
What the Teller Cannot See [H]	Assemble what a text shows but its teller has not noticed.
What a Person Makes of It [H]	Separate what happened from what a person in the text made of it.
Words That Give a View Away [H]	Notice the single words that carry a teller's attitude.
One Event, Two Views [H]	Explain why two honest accounts of one event can disagree.
Telling It From Somewhere Else [H]	Predict what changes when the same events get a different teller.
Why the Author Chose This Teller [H]	Explain what a writer gains and loses by choosing a particular teller.

Poetry & Drama · 9 topics

Lines, Stanzas and Where a Poem Breaks [M]	Read a poem's shape on the page as part of what it means.
Rhyme, Rhyme Scheme and Poems Without Either [M]	Hear rhyme, name the pattern it makes, and read a poem that has none.
Repetition, Alliteration and the Sound of a Line [M]	Notice what a poem's sounds are doing besides rhyming.
The Picture a Poem Puts in Your Head [M]	Read the sensory pictures a poem or a stage sets, and say what they do.
Figures of Speech Inside a Poem [H]	Read similes, metaphors and personification where poems pack them tightest.
Who Is Talking in a Poem [M]	Identify the voice speaking a poem, and what that voice reveals.
What the Poem or the Scene Is Saying [H]	State what a poem or a scene is finally about, in a sentence.
How a Play Is Written Down [M]	Read a script: cast list, scene heading, dialogue and stage directions.
Reading What a Scene Is Really Doing [H]	Work out what characters want, what blocks them, and what they will not say.

Comparing & Contrasting Texts · 8 topics

Comparing on the Same Point [H]	Name one point that both texts speak to before you say anything about either of them.
Two Characters, Side by Side [H]	Compare two characters by what each one decides, not by what each one is called.
What the Setting Changes [H]	Ask what a setting makes possible or impossible, not just what it looks like.
Patterns of Events Across Stories [H]	Recognize the shape two stories share, and find the exact place where they stop sharing it.
Same Idea, Different Story [H]	State what each text says about a shared subject, then compare the two statements.
Two Tellers of One Event [H]	Compare who is telling each text and what that teller was in a position to know.
The Same Story in Another Form [H]	Compare what a poem, a play, a story or an explanation can and cannot carry.
Making a Comparison That Says Something [H]	Write a comparison that names the shared point, the difference, and why the difference matters.

Main Idea & Supporting Details · 7 topics

Topic or Main Idea? [M]	Tell what a text is about from what it says about it.
Finding the Main Idea [M]	Say in one sentence what a whole text is telling you.
Main Ideas That Are Not Written Down [H]	Work out the main idea when no sentence states it.
Details That Back It Up [M]	Find the fact in a text that supports a particular idea.
Choosing the Best Title [M]	Pick a title that names the main idea rather than one detail.
Writing a Summary [H]	Retell a text keeping only what matters.
Telling a Detail from the Main Idea [M]	Spot the sentence that is only a detail.

Text Structure in Nonfiction · 8 topics

Words That Give the Shape Away [M]	Spot the words and sentences that tell you how a nonfiction text is organized.
Description: Groups, Parts and Kinds [M]	Recognize a text that describes one thing closely or sorts things into kinds.
Sequence: Time Order and Steps [M]	Follow a text built on the order things happen or the order they are done.
Compare and Contrast [M]	Read a text that sets two things side by side and says how they are alike and different.
Cause and Effect [M]	Trace a text where each thing described makes the next thing happen.
Problem and Solution [M]	Read a text that states a difficulty and then what was done about it.
Naming the Structure of a Whole Text [H]	Decide which structure a whole passage is built on, and notice when it uses more than one.
Why the Writer Chose That Shape [H]	Explain what a text's structure does for the reader, and what would be lost in another shape.

Author's Purpose & Point of View · 8 topics

Why the Author Wrote It [H]	Name what a text was built to do, not just what it is about.
The Evidence for a Purpose [H]	Point to the move in the text that proves what the writer wanted.
Why This Part Is Here [H]	Explain the job a single paragraph, sentence or phrase is doing.
Who It Was Written For [H]	Work out the reader a text was aimed at, and how you can tell.
The Author's Point of View [H]	Say what the writer thinks about the subject, even when no opinion is stated.
Words That Take a Side [H]	Notice how a writer's wording steers what a reader concludes.
Facts, Judgments, and Honest Uncertainty [H]	Sort what can be checked from what is argued, and spot a writer naming their own limits.
Two Writers, One Subject [H]	Compare two texts on one subject and find the exact point where they part.

Inference, Evidence & Summarizing · 8 topics

Stated or Implied? [H]	Tell what a text says outright from what it only lets you conclude.
What One Detail Tells You [H]	Draw the conclusion a single detail supports, and stop there.
The Line That Proves It [H]	Given a claim, find the sentence in the text that actually supports it.
Putting Two Details Together [H]	Reach a conclusion that no single sentence in the text states.
An Objective Summary [H]	Say what a text argued, in its own terms, without taking a side.
Deciding What to Leave Out [H]	Cut the details a summary can lose, and keep the ones it cannot.
Which Evidence Is Strongest [H]	Choose between two relevant details by asking which one settles it.
Inference or Guess? [H]	Spot the step that goes past what the text can carry.

Reading in Science: Life Science (Grades 2-4) · 7 topics

The Main Idea of a Science Text [M]	Find what a science passage is really explaining.
Science Words Defined in Place [M]	Work out a technical word from the sentence that introduces it.
Following a Process in Order [M]	Track the steps of a life cycle or a process.
Cause and Effect in Science [M]	Say why something happens, using the text.
Comparing Two Living Things [M]	Say how two organisms or processes differ, and why.
Finding the Evidence [M]	Point to the sentence that proves a claim.
What the Science Actually Says [H]	Use what the passage taught you to answer a real science question.

Reading in Science: Earth & Space (Grades 2-4) · 8 topics

The Main Idea of an Earth Science Text [M]	Find what an Earth or space passage is really explaining.
Science Words Defined Right There [M]	Work out an Earth or space term from the sentence that introduces it.
Following a Cycle in Order [M]	Track the steps of an Earth or space process in the right order.
Cause and Effect in Earth Science [M]	Say why something on Earth or in space happens, using the text.
Comparing Two Things in Space and on Earth [M]	Say how two places, bodies, or processes differ, and why it matters.
Numbers in a Science Text [M]	Read the measurements in a science passage and reason with them.
Finding the Evidence [M]	Point to the detail that actually proves a claim about Earth or space.
What the Science Actually Says [H]	Use what a passage taught you to answer a real Earth or space question.

Reading in Science: Physical Science & Engineering · 8 topics

Physical Science Words, Defined in Place [M]	Work out a physical science term from the sentence that introduces it.
The Point of a Physical Science Text [M]	Find the mechanism a physical science passage is really explaining.
Running the Mechanism Forward [M]	Say why something physical happens, and follow the chain past one step.
Reading the Measurements [M]	Read numbers in a science passage for size, unit and what they compare.
Which Sentence Actually Proves It [H]	Point to the detail in a science text that settles a particular claim.
Reading a Fair Test [H]	Find what an investigation changed and what it deliberately held still.
What the Better Design Costs [H]	Name what an engineering choice gives up in exchange for what it gains.
Using the Physics on a New Case [H]	Apply a mechanism from the passage to a situation the passage never named.

Reading in Social Studies: American History (2-4) · 7 topics

The Main Idea of a History Text [M]	Find what a history passage is really about.
Putting Events in Time Order [M]	Work out what happened first, and how much time passed.
History Words in Context [M]	Work out what a historical term means from the text around it.
Causes and Consequences [M]	Explain why something happened, and what it led to.
Evidence in a History Text [M]	Point to the detail that actually proves a claim.
Whose Story Is Being Told [H]	Notice whose point of view a history text takes, and who is missing.
What the History Actually Says [H]	Use what the passage taught you to answer a real history question.

Reading in Social Studies: Civics & Government · 7 topics

Civics Words With Exact Jobs [H]	Work out what a government word means from the sentence around it.
Who Holds Which Power [H]	Sort any government action by which job it is and at which level.
Steps, and Where They Stop [H]	Follow a civic process in order and find the points where it can end.
The Claim and the Support Under It [H]	Separate what a civics text asserts from what actually backs it up.
What a Rule Does After It Is Made [H]	Trace the effects a rule produces, including the ones nobody wrote down.
Who a Rule Lands On [H]	Ask whose interest a rule or an account serves, and who it leaves out.
What This Text Wants From You [H]	Identify what a civic text was written to make its reader do or think.

Reading in Social Studies: Geography & Maps · 8 topics

What the Key Tells You [M]	Read a map's key first, so its marks turn into meaning.
Which Way Is That? [M]	Say where one place is in relation to another, using the compass rose.
How Far Is That Really? [M]	Use a map's scale to turn a distance on paper into a distance on the ground.
Finding a Place Exactly [H]	Use grid squares, latitude and longitude to pin down where a place is.
Choosing the Right Map [H]	Match the kind of map to the question you are trying to answer.
The Shape Words [M]	Turn a geography text's shape words into a picture you can reason with.
People and the Land [H]	Explain how land shapes what people do, and how people change the land.
What a Map Cannot Tell You [H]	Name what a map left out, and judge what it can honestly be asked.

Reading in Social Studies: Economics & Culture · 8 topics

Economics Words in Context [H]	Pin down an economics term from the sentences around it.
The Cost of What You Did Not Choose [H]	Name what was given up when somebody in the text made a choice.
Why a Price Moved [H]	Explain a change in price by what happened to supply or to demand.
Reading the Numbers in the Text [H]	Work out what a figure in a social studies text does and does not measure.
Claims About Money, and What Backs Them [H]	Separate what an economics text asserts from what it actually shows.
Who Gains and Who Loses [H]	Trace a decision to the people it helped and the people it cost.
How Culture Moves and Changes [H]	Follow a practice as it travels between peoples and is changed by them.
What the Social Studies Actually Says [H]	Answer questions about the economics and the cultures themselves.

Sentence Types, Fragments & Run-Ons · 7 topics

The Four Kinds of Sentence [M]	Tell a statement, question, command, and exclamation apart.
Spotting a Fragment [M]	Tell when a group of words stops before it is a sentence.
Fixing a Fragment [M]	Add what is missing so a fragment becomes a sentence.
Spotting a Run-On [M]	Notice when two sentences have been jammed into one.
Three Ways to Fix a Run-On [H]	Repair a run-on, and choose the repair that fits the meaning.
Joining Two Sentences [H]	Combine short sentences with the joining word the meaning needs.
Sentence, Fragment, or Run-On? [H]	Sort any group of words into complete, too short, or too long.

Verb Tenses & Subject-Verb Agreement · 8 topics

Past, Present, or Future? [M]	Tell from the verb whether a sentence is about the past, the present, or the future.
Building the Past Tense with -ed [H]	Add -ed to a verb and make the spelling changes the ending forces.
Verbs That Do Not Take -ed [H]	Use the past tense of the irregular verbs, and keep it apart from the participle.
Actions Caught in the Middle [H]	Use am, is, are, was, were and will be with an -ing verb to show an action in progress.
Have, Has and Had [H]	Use have, has and had with a past participle, and say what had adds.
Keeping the Tense Steady [H]	Notice a sentence that slips into a different tense and put it back.
Making the Verb Match Its Subject [H]	Match a present-tense verb, including am, is and are, to its subject.
Subjects That Trick You [H]	Find the real subject when a phrase, a group word or a There sentence hides it.

Commas, Quotation Marks & Apostrophes · 9 topics

Commas in a List [M]	Separate three or more items in a sentence with commas.
The Comma After an Opener [M]	Close off a word or phrase that comes before the main sentence.
The Comma Before and, but, or, so [H]	Use a comma when a joining word connects two whole sentences.
Commas Around the Person You Are Talking To [H]	Set off the name of the person being spoken to.
Commas in Dates, Places, and Letters [H]	Punctuate a full date, a city and state, and the lines of a letter.
Quotation Marks Around What Someone Says [H]	Punctuate a spoken line and the words that tell who said it.
Apostrophes in Contractions [M]	Put the apostrophe exactly where the missing letters were.
Apostrophes That Show Ownership [H]	Show who owns something with 's or s'.
its, it's, and the Plural That Needs No Apostrophe [H]	Choose between look-alike words that an apostrophe tells apart.

Conjunctions, Prepositions & Complex Sentences · 9 topics

Clause, or Just a Phrase? [H]	Tell an independent clause, a dependent clause, and a phrase apart.
Prepositions and the Phrases They Start [H]	Find a prepositional phrase and say where it starts and stops.
The Subject Is Never Inside the Phrase [H]	Ignore the prepositional phrase and match the verb to the real subject.
All Seven Coordinating Conjunctions [H]	Choose among the seven - and, but, or, so, for, nor, and yet - by what each one claims.
The Comma Before a Joining Word [H]	When a joining word holds two halves together, the comma goes in only if a whole sentence follows it.
Subordinating Conjunctions [H]	Use because, although, unless, until, and their kin to say how two ideas relate.
Where the Comma Goes in a Complex Sentence [H]	Comma after a leading dependent clause, none after a trailing one.
Conjunctions That Come in Pairs [H]	Use both...and, either...or, neither...nor, and not only...but also, with matching halves.
Simple, Compound, Complex [H]	Name the structure of any sentence by counting its clauses.

Capitalization & Titles · 9 topics

Naming Words and Names [M]	Tell a word that names one particular thing from a word that names a whole group.
Titles That Go With a Name [M]	Capitalize a title or family word when it is part of somebody's name.
Place Names and Directions [M]	Capitalize the name of a particular place, but not a kind of place or a direction.
Days, Months, and Holidays [M]	Capitalize days, months, and holidays - and leave the seasons alone.
Languages, Peoples, and School Subjects [H]	Capitalize languages, countries, and the people from them, but not school subjects.
Capitals Inside Quotation Marks [H]	Capitalize the first word of a quoted sentence, and know when the second half does not get one.
Which Words in a Title Get a Capital [H]	Capitalize the first word, the last word, and every important word in a title.
Quotation Marks or Italics [H]	Choose quotation marks for a piece of a work and italics for a whole work.
Every Capital Rule at Once [H]	Check a whole sentence and name the rule behind each capital letter.

Spelling Patterns & Rules · 9 topics

Doubling at the End of a Short Word [M]	Double a final f, l, s or z after one short vowel.
Spelling /k/ at the End: ck, k or ke [M]	Choose ck, k or ke for the /k/ sound at the end of a word.
The Extra Letter a Short Vowel Asks For [M]	Write tch and dge after a short vowel, ch and ge everywhere else.
Same Sound, Different Place in the Word [M]	Use ai and oi inside a word, and ay, oy and y at the end.
Letters You Cannot Hear [H]	Spell words that keep a letter nobody says.
ie or ei [H]	Choose between ie and ei using the sound and the letter before it.
The /shun/ Ending: -tion, -sion or -cian [H]	Choose between -tion, -sion and -cian at the end of a word.
The Vowel You Cannot Hear [H]	Find an unstressed vowel by saying a related word out loud.
Catching It and Naming the Rule [H]	Find the misspelled word in a sentence and say which rule fixes it.

Paragraphs & Topic Sentences · 7 topics

The Sentence the Others Are About [H]	Find or choose the sentence a paragraph is built on.
The Sentence That Does Not Belong [H]	Spot a sentence that wanders off the paragraph's point.
Naming Why It Does Not Fit [H]	Say what is wrong with an off-point sentence, not just which it is.
Details That Actually Support [H]	Choose detail that backs the claim you made.
Ending Without Adding [H]	Close a paragraph by landing the point, not opening a new one.
Linking Words Between Sentences [H]	Use a transition that states the real relationship.
Where One Paragraph Ends [H]	Find the point where a new idea starts and split there.

Opinion & Argument Writing · 7 topics

A Claim or a Fact? [H]	Tell a position someone could argue with from a fact they could check.
The Reason Under a Claim [H]	Find the sentence that says why a position holds.
A Reason That Just Says It Again [H]	Spot a reason that goes in a circle instead of forward.
Evidence That Actually Proves It [H]	Tell measured evidence from a stronger way of repeating an opinion.
Claims You Cannot Defend [H]	Recognize a claim pushed past what any evidence could support.
Answering the Other Side [H]	Answer the strongest objection instead of talking past it.
The Shape of an Argument [H]	Name the job each sentence in an argument is doing.

Informative & Explanatory Writing · 8 topics

Explaining or Arguing? [H]	Tell a sentence that explains from one that argues, tells a story, or gives orders.
Saying What You Will Explain [H]	Open a report with a sentence that says what about the subject will be explained.
Putting Facts Where They Belong [H]	Group related facts under the heading that answers the same question.
Sentences That Add Something [H]	Develop a point with real information instead of repeating it louder.
Defining a Word for Your Reader [H]	Write a definition that names the kind of thing and what sets it apart.
The Exact Word [H]	Use the subject's own word instead of describing your way around it.
Sounding Like a Report [H]	Keep the writer, the reader, and casual talk out of an explanation.
Your Own Words, the Same Facts [H]	Restate a source's fact in your own wording without changing it.

Narrative Writing · 9 topics

Starting Where the Story Starts [M]	Begin a story inside the moment instead of outside it.
Telling It in an Order a Reader Can Follow [H]	Keep events in order and mark the jumps with real time signposts.
Showing a Feeling Instead of Naming It [H]	Replace a named feeling with something a reader can watch.
The Detail That Earns Its Place [H]	Choose details that do a job instead of filling space.
Dialogue That Does a Job [H]	Keep the lines that change something and cut the ones that do not.
Slowing Down the Part That Matters [H]	Spend sentences in proportion to what a moment is worth.
One Narrator, One Time [H]	Hold a story in the same tense and the same person all the way through.
An Ending That Lands [H]	End by showing what is different now.
The Shape of a Story [H]	Name the job each sentence in a story is doing.

Revising & Editing · 9 topics

Revising and Editing Are Different Jobs [M]	Tell a change that fixes what a piece says from one that fixes how it is written.
Cutting Words That Do No Work [H]	Cut the words that repeat something the sentence has already said.
Pronouns That Point at Nothing [H]	Find a pronoun a reader cannot trace back and rewrite it so they can.
The Sentence in the Wrong Place [H]	Find the sentence a reader meets before they can understand it.
Where the Describing Words Landed [H]	Put a describing phrase next to the thing it is supposed to describe.
Lists That Match [H]	Build every item in a list out of the same kind of phrase.
Tense That Slips [H]	Keep a whole piece in one tense, and put a slipped sentence back.
What a Spellchecker Cannot Catch [H]	Catch a correctly spelled word that is the wrong word.
Finding the Error and Naming It [H]	Find the one error in a sentence, name what kind it is, and fix just that.

Research & Reference Skills · 9 topics

A Question Worth Researching [M]	Turn a subject into a question that sources can actually settle.
The Words Worth Searching [H]	Pull the searchable words out of a research question.
Choosing the Right Reference Work [H]	Match a research need to the reference work built to answer it.
Finding It Inside the Book [H]	Use contents, index, glossary and title page for what each is for.
Guide Words and Alphabetical Order [H]	Use guide words to decide whether a word is on a page.
Does This Source Answer My Question? [H]	Tell a source that answers your question from one that merely shares it.
Who Wrote It, and Why [H]	Weigh a source by its author, its date and its purpose.
Notes in Your Own Words [H]	Take a note that carries the idea without carrying the sentence.
Naming Where It Came From [H]	Record a source completely enough that a reader could find it.

Reading Fluency & Prosody · 8 topics

What the End Mark Tells Your Voice [M]	Read a line the way its end mark says to read it.
Reading in Groups, Not One Word at a Time [M]	Group the words in a line the way they belong before you read it aloud.
Where the Marks Say Pause [M]	Pause where a comma is and stop where an end mark is, and nowhere else.
The Word You Lean On [H]	Choose which word to stress, and know what stressing it tells a listener.
Reading a Character's Voice [H]	Say only the quoted words in the character's voice, the way the tag says.
A Line Is Not a Sentence [H]	Read a poem by its punctuation instead of stopping at every line break.
Catching Yourself and Going Back [H]	Notice when what you read stopped making sense, and find the word to fix.
What Smooth Reading Is Made Of [H]	Name the five parts of fluent reading and tell which one a reader missed.

Grade 4 Reading Workshop · 8 topics

What the Whole Text Says [H]	State what a whole text says about its topic, in any genre, and tell a main idea apart from a striking detail.
The Detail, and the Line That Proves It [H]	Go back and find the exact detail a question asks for, and choose the one line in a text that actually proves a given claim.
How the Text Is Put Together [H]	Name the shape a text is built in, and say what a paragraph, a stanza or a stage direction is doing where it sits.
Working Out a Word, Plain or Not [H]	Work out what a word or phrase means from the text around it, including words that are not meant literally and words with a second meaning.
What the Text Does Not Say Outright [H]	Draw a conclusion the text supports but never states, and know where the text stops supporting you.
People, and What Changes Them [H]	Describe a character in depth from what they do, say and choose, and say what the setting or an event does to them.
The Message Under the Story [H]	State the message of a story, folktale, poem or scene as a sentence about life that the whole text supports.
Whose Account, and Why It Was Written [H]	Work out who is telling a text, whether the account is firsthand or secondhand, and what the writer wanted from you.

Prerequisite material - taught automatically when the diagnostic finds gaps

Phonological & Phonemic Awareness · 8 topics

Hearing Rhymes	Tell when two words end with the same sound.
Counting Syllables	Break a word into its beats.
Hearing the First Sound	Tell which sound a word starts with.
Hearing the Last Sound	Tell which sound a word ends with.
Hearing the Middle Vowel Sound	Find the vowel sound in the middle of a short word.
Blending Sounds into Words	Push separate sounds together to make a word.
Breaking Words into Sounds	Split a word into every separate sound.
Words That Begin Alike	Group words by their beginning sound.

Phonics: Letters, Sounds & Short Vowels · 6 topics

Capital and Lowercase Letters	Match every capital letter to its lowercase partner.
Letter Sounds	Say the sound each letter stands for.
Short Vowel Sounds	Hear and write the five short vowel sounds.
Reading Short Words	Sound out and read consonant-vowel-consonant words.
Spelling Short Words	Write the letter for each sound you hear.
Word Families	Read a whole set of words by learning one ending.

High-Frequency Words & Sight Vocabulary · 2 topics

Recognizing High-Frequency Words	Know the most common words on sight, instantly.
High-Frequency Words in Sentences	Use common words correctly inside a real sentence.

Print Concepts & Early Comprehension · 3 topics

How Books and Print Work	Know the parts of a book and which way print goes.
Listening Comprehension	Understand a story that is read out loud to you.
What Happened First, Next, Last	Put the events of a story in the order they happened.

Sentence & Capitalization Basics · 5 topics

What Makes a Sentence	Tell a complete sentence from a group of words.
Naming Part and Telling Part	Split a sentence into who it is about and what happens.
Capital Letters and End Marks	Start every sentence with a capital and end it with a mark.
Choosing the Right End Mark	Use a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Capitalizing Names	Capitalize names, places, days, months, and the word I.

Phonics: Consonant Blends & Digraphs · 7 topics

Digraphs at the Start of a Word	Read sh, ch, th, wh and ph at the beginning of a word.
Digraphs at the End of a Word	Read sh, ch, th, ck and ng at the end of a word.
Counting Sounds, Not Letters	Count the sounds in a word that contains a digraph.
Blends at the Start of a Word	Read two and three consonants blended together at the start of a word.
Blend or Digraph?	Tell a blend from a digraph by listening to the sounds.
Reading Blend and Digraph Words	Sound out and read a word containing a blend or a digraph.
Spelling Blends and Digraphs	Write the right letters for a blend or digraph you hear.

Phonics: Silent-e & Long Vowels · 7 topics

Long Vowel Sounds	Hear a vowel saying its own name.
One Letter Changes the Word	Add or remove a silent e and read the new word.
Short Vowel or Long Vowel?	Decide from the spelling whether a vowel is short or long.
Reading Silent-e Words	Read a silent-e word accurately, without dropping the e.
Spelling with Silent e	Decide whether a word needs a silent e at the end.
Open Syllables: go, he, my	Read a long vowel that got that way by ending the word.
When Silent e Breaks the Rule	Know the common words where a final e does not make the vowel long.

Context Clues (Grades 2-3) · 8 topics

When the Sentence Just Tells You	Find a word's meaning written into the sentence itself.
A Nearby Word That Means the Same	Use a synonym elsewhere in the passage to unlock a word.
When a Contrast Points the Other Way	Use a contrast word to work out the opposite meaning.
Working Back From Examples	Use a list of examples to work out the category.
When There Is No Clue Word	Work out a meaning from the whole situation.
Naming the Clue	Say which kind of context clue a sentence is using.
Putting Your Guess Back In	Check a guessed meaning by reading the sentence again with it.
Words With More Than One Meaning	Choose the meaning a sentence needs, not the one you thought of first.

Story Basics: Character, Setting & Events · 3 topics

Who the Story Is About	Name the characters in a story and say what one of them is like.
How a Character Feels	Name a feeling a story shows through what a character does.
What a Character Wants	Say what a character is trying to get or trying to do.

Retelling, Sequence & Summary · 7 topics

Who the Story Is About	Name the character a story follows.
First, Next, and Last	Say what happened first, what came in between, and what came last.
Putting the Whole Story in Order	Arrange all the events of a story from beginning to end.
Finding the Problem	Name what goes wrong in a story.
Finding the Solution	Say how a story's problem gets resolved.
Summarizing a Story	Retell a story keeping only what matters.
Knowing What to Leave Out	Spot the detail a summary does not need.

Nonfiction Basics: Topic & Key Details · 1 topics

What the Whole Text Is About

Say in a few words what a whole true text is about.

Integrating Multiple Sources · 5 topics

What Your Sources Are Really About	State the one question a set of sources is answering, precisely enough to compare them.
Where Sources Agree	Find the ground two sources share before you look at where they split.
Where Sources Disagree	Locate the exact sentence where two sources stop agreeing.
A Fact Fight or a Meaning Fight	Tell whether two sources disagree about what happened or about what it means.
What Each Source Chose to Include	Notice what one source puts first, and what another leaves out entirely.

Reading in Social Studies: American History (5-6) · 6 topics

Reading a Source Like a Historian	Ask who made a source, when, and what they wanted it to do.
Claims and the Evidence Under Them	Separate what a history text asserts from what it shows.
When Sources Disagree	Compare accounts of the same event instead of trusting one.
What the Wording Gives Away	Notice how a writer's word choices shape what you conclude.
Putting a Source Back in Its Moment	Read a source against what its writer could and could not know.
What the History Actually Says	Answer questions about the events themselves, from the text.

Nouns & Verbs · 7 topics

What a Noun Is	Name the words that stand for a person, place, or thing.
Common Nouns and Proper Nouns	Tell a general noun from the name of one particular thing.
What a Verb Is	Name the words that tell what someone does.
Finding the Verb in a Sentence	Pick out the verb inside a whole sentence.
One Word, Two Jobs	Decide whether a word is a noun or a verb from the sentence it is in.
Making the Verb Match	Choose a verb form that matches one thing or many things.
Finding Both Parts	Pick out the noun and the verb in the same sentence.

Writing Strong Sentences · 6 topics

Knowing When You Have a Sentence	Tell a finished sentence from a piece of one.
Saying More Than the Bare Fact	Add detail that answers a question a reader would ask.
Verbs That Do the Work	Choose a verb precise enough to replace a description.
Naming the Thing Exactly	Replace a category word with the actual thing.
Joining Two Sentences	Put two related sentences together without making a run-on.
Choosing the Right Joining Word	Pick the joining word that states the real relationship.

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