4th Grade – This is the year that students will focus on greater attention to fluency. They will use all the skills they have learned until now to read with greater skill and precision. Just as with 3rd grade students, 4th graders will also need to read across a variety of subgenres of fiction and nonfiction to expose themselves to as many topics and subjects as possible. Everything that students have read or will read will be knowledge acquired for the purpose of forming opinions, making inferences, and stating facts.
It’s important for 4th grade students to read as much as they can of as widely diverse topics available to them. Students who like to focus on fiction should begin to read more nonfiction, and students who like to read only nonfiction topics should read more from fiction genres.
A Grade Ahead’s 4th grade recommended reading for nonfiction:
- The Great Fire by Jim Murphy
- Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco
- Life in the Ocean by Claire A Nivola
- Luis Alvarez by Mike Venezia
- The Superstorm Hurricane Sandy by Josh Gregory
- The Weather Book by Michael Oard
- Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee
- The Wolves are Back by Jean Craighead George
A Grade Ahead’s 4th grade recommended reading for fiction:
- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
- The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
- Bunnicula by James Howe
- Charlotte’s Web by EB White
- The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli
- The Mandie Books by Lois Gladys Leppard
- The Song of the Trees by Mildred D Taylor
- Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
- Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne
- The Magic Thief by Sarah Prineas
- Jinx by Sage Blackwood
A Grade Ahead’s 4th grade recommended reading for poetry:
- Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein
- The New Kid on the Block by Jack Prelutsky
- Falling Up by Shel Silverstein
- Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
- Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka by Myra Cohn Livingston
- Poem Stew by William Cole
- Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Author: Nicole Acevedo, Teacher Manager at A Grade Ahead
How do you implement this? Do you have a reward if they complete the list? Is it required or optional? I love the idea and just want to know your opinion on direction.
That’s a great question! Personally, I would lean away from a strict requirement and recommend any approach that you think will make reading seem fun to your child: reading together, a family book club, a family competition, or a reward for finishing a certain number of books. When it comes to setting goals, the most important part is to not make the goals too hard – reading the whole list is going to be an overwhelming goal for many kids. Especially depending on the time given. Definitely keep the child’s current reading level and speed in mind. Even better, let the child help you set the goals and pick out which books to put on the list!