CA Essential Standards

For an easy-to-print PDF with essential standard numbers, click HERE.

To view all fourth grade standards, please visit the California Dept. of Education’s Content Standards.

English/Language Arts – First Trimester

• I can show that I understand words that have several meanings.
• I can tell the difference between cause and effect, and fact and opinion.
• I can write in cursive forming the letters correctly and neatly so that anyone can read it.
• I can find information in my texts using its index, table of contents, glossary, maps and charts, etc.
• I can speak and write in simple and compound sentences.
• I can speak and write using all kinds of verbs, adverbs, prepositions, and the correct connecting words in my sentences.
• I can capitalize names of magazines, newspapers, works of art and music, organizations, and the first word inside a quotation.

Mathematics – First Trimester

• I can read and write numbers from 1 to 999,999,999.
• I can order and compare whole numbers and decimals.
• I can round numbers through the millions to the nearest ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, or hundred thousand.
• I can make a reasonable estimate and then add or subtract whole numbers and decimals.
• I can show when and how to add and subtract numbers with many digits.
• I can show that equals added to equals are equal.
• I can show that equals multiplied by equals are equal.

English/Language Arts – Second Trimester

• I am able to figure out the meaning of words or phrases by using word origins, synonyms, and antonyms.
• I am able to use root words to define unknown words in my reading.
• I can compare and contrast information on a topic after I have read several articles on the topic.
• I can identify the main events of a story and tell how each affected the future action in the story.
• I can combine short sentences into more interesting sentences using adjectives, adverbs, and phrases to describe.
• I can use commas, quotations marks, and parentheses correctly. I can use apostrophes in contractions and to show ownership.
• I can correctly spell root words, with prefixes and suffixes, and use this skill to spell longer words.

Mathematics – Second Trimester

• I can write decimals in tenths and hundredths and show that common fractions have equivalent decimals.
• I can multiply a multi-digit number by a two-digit number and can divide a multi-digit number by a one-digit number. I can also check my answers.
• I can solve multiplication word problems by multiplying a multi-digit number by a two-digit number.
• I can solve a division word problem by dividing a multi-digit number by a one-digit number.
• I can understand and identify prime numbers.
• I can measure rectangles using the correct units (area).
• I can identify parallel and perpendicular lines.
• I can identify the radius and diameter of a circle.
• I can tell when figures are congruent.

English/Language Arts – Third Trimester

• I can make predictions about ideas in articles or stories in my text by using my experiences, pictures, bold print, titles, and highlighted words.
• I can take new information and ideas and compare them with what I already know.
• I can follow multiple-step instructions in a basic technical manual (e.g., how to use computer commands or video games).
• I can compare and contrast similar characters in similar tales from different cultures.
• I can define figurative language (e.g., simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification) and identify its use in literary works.
• I can write a composition of many paragraphs.
• When I write I use an organized plan such as compare-contrast, chronological order, or asking and answering a question.
• I can write using the help of several reference materials such as a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and online.
• I can find and use information in almanacs, newspapers, and periodicals.
• I can edit, rearrange, and rewrite my drafts in improve my writing.

Mathematics – Third Trimester

• I can use negative numbers on a number line, in counting, and in temperature.
• I can find a number on a number line using fractions, positive mixed numbers, and positive decimals to two decimal places.
• I can solve equations that use parentheses.
• I use parentheses to show which operation to solve first in writing an equation with two or more operations.
• I can use formulas to answer questions.
• I can use a formula to find a second number when a first number is given.
• I can show corresponding points for an equation on a graph.
• I can show that the difference between y-coordinates equals the length of the vertical line segment.
• I can demonstrate that I know the definitions of right, acute, and obtuse angles. I can show that 90 º is related to a ¼ turn, 180 º a ½ turn, 270 º a ¾ turn, and 360 º is a full turn.