Common Core Standards

Grade 4

Reading RL.4.1

Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Before fourth grade, students have only been tested on whether they understand texts at the most surface level; now they have to start coming up with conclusions that aren't explicitly stated in the what they read. Of course, these conclusions should be simple and not need too much extrapolation to be seen. For example, you could ask students why a character feels sad or is angry if it is not explicitly stated in a story.