Grade 4 ELA TEKS Standards

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/learning strategies.

use prior knowledge and experiences to understand meanings in English;

monitor oral and written language production and employ self-corrective techniques or other resources;

use strategic learning techniques such as concept mapping, drawing, memorizing, comparing, contrasting, and reviewing to acquire basic and grade-level vocabulary;

speak using learning strategies such as requesting assistance, employing non-verbal cues, and using synonyms and circumlocution (conveying ideas by defining or describing when exact English words are not known);

internalize new basic and academic language by using and reusing it in meaningful ways in speaking and writing activities that build concept and language attainment;

use accessible language and learn new and essential language in the process;

demonstrate an increasing ability to distinguish between formal and informal English and an increasing knowledge of when to use each one commensurate with grade-level learning expectations;

develop and expand repertoire of learning strategies such as reasoning inductively or deductively, looking for patterns in language, and analyzing sayings and expressions commensurate with grade-level learning expectations.

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/listening.

distinguish sounds and intonation patterns of English with increasing ease;

recognize elements of the English sound system in newly acquired vocabulary such as long and short vowels, silent letters, and consonant clusters;

learn new language structures, expressions, and basic and academic vocabulary heard during classroom instruction and interactions;

monitor understanding of spoken language during classroom instruction and interactions and seek clarification as needed;

use visual, contextual, and linguistic support to enhance and confirm understanding of increasingly complex and elaborated spoken language;

listen to and derive meaning from a variety of media such as audio tape, video, DVD, and CD ROM to build and reinforce concept and language attainment;

understand the general meaning, main points, and important details of spoken language ranging from situations in which topics, language, and contexts are familiar to unfamiliar;

understand implicit ideas and information in increasingly complex spoken language commensurate with grade-level learning expectations;

demonstrate listening comprehension of increasingly complex spoken English by following directions, retelling or summarizing spoken messages, responding to questions and requests, collaborating with peers, and taking notes commensurate with content and grade-level needs.

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/speaking.

practice producing sounds of newly acquired vocabulary such as long and short vowels, silent letters, and consonant clusters to pronounce English words in a manner that is increasingly comprehensible;

expand and internalize initial English vocabulary by learning and using high-frequency English words necessary for identifying and describing people, places, and objects, by retelling simple stories and basic information represented or supported by pictures, and by learning and using routine language needed for classroom communication;

speak using a variety of grammatical structures, sentence lengths, sentence types, and connecting words with increasing accuracy and ease as more English is acquired;

speak using grade-level content area vocabulary in context to internalize new English words and build academic language proficiency;

share information in cooperative learning interactions;

ask and give information ranging from using a very limited bank of high-frequency, high-need, concrete vocabulary, including key words and expressions needed for basic communication in academic and social contexts, to using abstract and content-based vocabulary during extended speaking assignments;

express opinions, ideas, and feelings ranging from communicating single words and short phrases to participating in extended discussions on a variety of social and grade-appropriate academic topics;

narrate, describe, and explain with increasing specificity and detail as more English is acquired;

adapt spoken language appropriately for formal and informal purposes;

respond orally to information presented in a wide variety of print, electronic, audio, and visual media to build and reinforce concept and language attainment.

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/reading.

learn relationships between sounds and letters of the English language and decode (sound out) words using a combination of skills such as recognizing sound-letter relationships and identifying cognates, affixes, roots, and base words;

recognize directionality of English reading such as left to right and top to bottom;

develop basic sight vocabulary, derive meaning of environmental print, and comprehend English vocabulary and language structures used routinely in written classroom materials;

use pre-reading supports such as graphic organizers, illustrations, and pretaught topic-related vocabulary and other prereading activities to enhance comprehension of written text;

read linguistically accommodated content area material with a decreasing need for linguistic accommodations as more English is learned;

use visual and contextual support and support from peers and teachers to read grade-appropriate content area text, enhance and confirm understanding, and develop vocabulary, grasp of language structures, and background knowledge needed to comprehend increasingly challenging language;

demonstrate comprehension of increasingly complex English by participating in shared reading, retelling or summarizing material, responding to questions, and taking notes commensurate with content area and grade level needs;

read silently with increasing ease and comprehension for longer periods;

demonstrate English comprehension and expand reading skills by employing basic reading skills such as demonstrating understanding of supporting ideas and details in text and graphic sources, summarizing text, and distinguishing main ideas from details commensurate with content area needs;

demonstrate English comprehension and expand reading skills by employing inferential skills such as predicting, making connections between ideas, drawing inferences and conclusions from text and graphic sources, and finding supporting text evidence commensurate with content area needs;

demonstrate English comprehension and expand reading skills by employing analytical skills such as evaluating written information and performing critical analyses commensurate with content area and grade-level needs.

Cross-curricular second language acquisition/writing.

learn relationships between sounds and letters of the English language to represent sounds when writing in English;

write using newly acquired basic vocabulary and content-based grade-level vocabulary;

spell familiar English words with increasing accuracy, and employ English spelling patterns and rules with increasing accuracy as more English is acquired;

edit writing for standard grammar and usage, including subject-verb agreement, pronoun agreement, and appropriate verb tenses commensurate with grade-level expectations as more English is acquired;

employ increasingly complex grammatical structures in content area writing commensurate with grade-level expectations, such as:

using correct verbs, tenses, and pronouns/antecedents;

using possessive case (apostrophe s) correctly;

using negatives and contractions correctly;

write using a variety of grade-appropriate sentence lengths, patterns, and connecting words to combine phrases, clauses, and sentences in increasingly accurate ways as more English is acquired;

narrate, describe, and explain with increasing specificity and detail to fulfill content area writing needs as more English is acquired.

The student develops oral language through listening, speaking, and discussion.

listen actively, ask relevant questions to clarify information, and make pertinent comments;

follow, restate, and give oral instructions that involve a series of related sequences of action;

express an opinion supported by accurate information, employing eye contact, speaking rate, volume, enunciation, and the conventions of language to communicate ideas effectively; and

work collaboratively with others to develop a plan of shared responsibilities.

The student uses critical inquiry to analyze the authors' choices and how they influence and communicate meaning within a variety of texts. The student analyzes and applies author's craft purposefully in order to develop his or her own products and performances.

explain the author's purpose and message within a text;

explain how the use of text structure contributes to the author's purpose;

analyze the author's use of print and graphic features to achieve specific purposes;

describe how the author's use of imagery, literal and figurative language such as simile and metaphor, and sound devices such as alliteration and assonance achieves specific purposes;

identify and understand the use of literary devices, including first- or third-person point of view;

discuss how the author's use of language contributes to voice; and

identify and explain the use of anecdote.

The student uses the writing process recursively to compose multiple texts that are legible and uses appropriate conventions.

plan a first draft by selecting a genre for a particular topic, purpose, and audience using a range of strategies such as brainstorming, freewriting, and mapping;

develop drafts into a focused, structured, and coherent piece of writing by:

organizing with purposeful structure, including an introduction, transitions, and a conclusion; and

developing an engaging idea with relevant details;

revise drafts to improve sentence structure and word choice by adding, deleting, combining, and rearranging ideas for coherence and clarity;

edit drafts using standard English conventions, including:

complete simple and compound sentences with subject-verb agreement and avoidance of splices, run-ons, and fragments;

past tense of irregular verbs;

singular, plural, common, and proper nouns;

adjectives, including their comparative and superlative forms;

capitalization of historical periods, events, and documents; titles of books; stories and essays; and languages, races, and nationalities;

adverbs that convey frequency and adverbs that convey degree;

prepositions and prepositional phrases;

pronouns, including reflexive;

coordinating conjunctions to form compound subjects, predicates, and sentences;

punctuation marks, including apostrophes in possessives, commas in compound sentences, and quotation marks in dialogue; and

correct spelling of words with grade-appropriate orthographic patterns and rules and high-frequency words; and

publish written work for appropriate audiences.

The student uses genre characteristics and craft to compose multiple texts that are meaningful.

compose literary texts such as personal narratives and poetry using genre characteristics and craft;

compose informational texts, including brief compositions that convey information about a topic, using a clear central idea and genre characteristics and craft;

compose argumentative texts, including opinion essays, using genre characteristics and craft; and

compose correspondence that requests information.

The student engages in both short-term and sustained recursive inquiry processes for a variety of purposes.

generate and clarify questions on a topic for formal and informal inquiry;

develop and follow a research plan with adult assistance;

identify and gather relevant information from a variety of sources;

identify primary and secondary sources;

demonstrate understanding of information gathered;

recognize the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarism when using source materials;

develop a bibliography; and

use an appropriate mode of delivery, whether written, oral, or multimodal, to present results.

The student develops word structure knowledge through phonological awareness, print concepts, phonics, and morphology to communicate, decode, and spell.

demonstrate and apply phonetic knowledge by:

decoding words with specific orthographic patterns and rules, including regular and irregular plurals;

decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;

decoding words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns such as VV;

decoding words using knowledge of prefixes;

decoding words using knowledge of suffixes, including how they can change base words such as dropping e, changing y to i, and doubling final consonants; and

identifying and reading high-frequency words from a research-based list;

demonstrate and apply spelling knowledge by:

spelling multisyllabic words with closed syllables; open syllables; VCe syllables; vowel teams, including digraphs and diphthongs; r-controlled syllables; and final stable syllables;

spelling homophones;

spelling multisyllabic words with multiple sound-spelling patterns;

spelling words using advanced knowledge of syllable division patterns;

spelling words using knowledge of prefixes; and

spelling words using knowledge of suffixes, including how they can change base words such as dropping e, changing y to i, and doubling final consonants; and

write legibly in cursive to complete assignments.

The student uses newly acquired vocabulary expressively.

use print or digital resources to determine meaning, syllabication, and pronunciation;

use context within and beyond a sentence to determine the relevant meaning of unfamiliar words or multiple-meaning words;

determine the meaning of and use words with affixes such as mis-, sub-, -ment, and -ity/ty and roots such as auto, graph, and meter; and

identify, use, and explain the meaning of homophones such as reign/rain.

The student reads grade-level text with fluency and comprehension. The student is expected to use appropriate fluency rate, accuracy, and prosody when reading grade-level text.

The student reads grade-appropriate texts independently. The student is expected to self-select text and read independently for a sustained period of time.

The student uses metacognitive skills to both develop and deepen comprehension of increasingly complex texts.

establish purpose for reading assigned and self-selected texts;

generate questions about text before, during, and after reading to deepen understanding and gain information;

make, correct, or confirm predictions using text features, characteristics of genre, and structures;

create mental images to deepen understanding;

make connections to personal experiences, ideas in other texts, and society;

make inferences and use evidence to support understanding;

evaluate details read to determine key ideas;

synthesize information to create new understanding; and

monitor comprehension and make adjustments such as re-reading, using background knowledge, asking questions, and annotating when understanding breaks down.

The student responds to an increasingly challenging variety of sources that are read, heard, or viewed.

describe personal connections to a variety of sources, including self-selected texts;

write responses that demonstrate understanding of texts, including comparing and contrasting ideas across a variety of sources;

use text evidence to support an appropriate response;

retell, paraphrase, or summarize texts in ways that maintain meaning and logical order;

interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating;

respond using newly acquired vocabulary as appropriate; and

discuss specific ideas in the text that are important to the meaning.

The student recognizes and analyzes literary elements within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse literary texts.

infer basic themes supported by text evidence;

explain the interactions of the characters and the changes they undergo;

analyze plot elements, including the rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution; and

explain the influence of the setting, including historical and cultural settings, on the plot.

The student recognizes and analyzes genre-specific characteristics, structures, and purposes within and across increasingly complex traditional, contemporary, classical, and diverse texts.

demonstrate knowledge of distinguishing characteristics of well-known children's literature such as folktales, fables, legends, myths, and tall tales;

explain figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification that the poet uses to create images;

explain structure in drama such as character tags, acts, scenes, and stage directions;

recognize characteristics and structures of informational text, including:

the central idea with supporting evidence;

features such as pronunciation guides and diagrams to support understanding; and

organizational patterns such as compare and contrast;

recognize characteristics and structures of argumentative text by:

identifying the claim;

explaining how the author has used facts for an argument; and

identifying the intended audience or reader; and

recognize characteristics of multimodal and digital texts.

Implementation. The provisions of this section shall be implemented by school districts beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

General requirements. In fulfilling the requirements of this section, school districts and charter schools shall:

identify the student's English language proficiency levels in the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in accordance with the proficiency level descriptors for the pre-production, beginning, intermediate, high intermediate, and advanced levels delineated in subsection (e) of this section;

provide instruction in the knowledge and skills of the foundation and enrichment curriculum in a manner that is linguistically accommodated (communicated, sequenced, and scaffolded) commensurate with the student's levels of English language proficiency to ensure that the student learns the knowledge and skills in the required curriculum;

provide content-based instruction, including the cross-curricular second language acquisition essential knowledge and skills in subsection (d) of this section, in a manner that is linguistically accommodated to help the student acquire English language proficiency; and

provide intensive and ongoing foundational second language acquisition instruction to emergent bilingual (EB) students in Kindergarten-Grade 12 who are at the pre-production, beginning, or intermediate level of English language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, or writing as determined by the state's English language proficiency assessment system. These EB students require focused, targeted, and systematic second language acquisition instruction to provide them with the foundation of English language necessary to support content-based instruction and accelerated learning of English.

Introduction.

The English language proficiency standards (ELPS) outline student expectations and proficiency level descriptors for EB students in English. The ELPS are organized across four language domains: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Language acquisition is a complex process that consists of several interrelated components, including phonetics, phonology, semantics, syntax, morphology, and pragmatics. As students develop proficiency in these language structures, they are able to make connections between their primary language and English.

Classroom contexts foster social and academic registers, which are types of language appropriate for a situation or setting, to support language proficiency. Informal (social) language consists of English needed for students to effectively interact, exchange ideas, and engage in various settings and contexts. Formal (academic) language consists of oral and written language used to build knowledge, participate in content-specific discourse, and process complex academic material found in formal school settings and interactions.

The progression of skills in the four language domains are developed simultaneously and can be divided into two categories: receptive skills and expressive skills. Listening and reading are the receptive (input) skills. Students' development in receptive skills is necessary for comprehension and attainment of the English language and content. Speaking and writing are the expressive (output) skills. Students' ability to express and share their personal ideas and content knowledge allow teachers the opportunity to check for understanding and adjust instruction. Effective content-based language instruction involves engaging EB students in scaffolded opportunities to listen, speak, read, and write at their current levels of proficiency while gradually increasing linguistic complexity.

In order for EB students to be successful, educators must create an environment that welcomes and encourages students to leverage their unique cultural and linguistic experiences as they develop English language skills and learn academic content. Educators must cultivate an approach that integrates students' and their families' funds of knowledge into the classroom instructional practices. Culturally and linguistically sustaining practices leverage and celebrate students' cultural heritage and backgrounds while elevating their cultural and linguistic identities. Teaching and learning cognates that connect both (or multiple) languages can also construct bridges between languages and increase confidence as English language acquisition progresses.

The ELPS student expectations are the knowledge and skills students must demonstrate. They indicate what students should know and be able to do in order to meet academic content standards. Proficiency level descriptors describe behaviors EB students exhibit across five proficiency levels as they acquire English. EB students may exhibit different proficiency levels within and across the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

The ELPS demonstrate an asset-based approach to address the affective, linguistic, and cognitive needs of EB students in accordance with §89.1210(b) of this title (relating to Program Content and Design) as follows:

acknowledge and leverage the existing funds of knowledge students possess, including linguistic repertoire, cultural heritage, and background knowledge;

demonstrate targeted and intentional academic language skills to ensure content-area teachers are able to accurately evaluate the abilities of EB students and scaffold toward the increasingly complex English that students hear, speak, and are expected to read and write; and

provide an exact and incremental measure of the stages of English language acquisition with attention to the fact that EB students at all levels of proficiency can engage in cognitively demanding tasks and master the required essential knowledge and skills with appropriate language support.

The proficiency level descriptors are organized into general proficiency level descriptors and content-area proficiency level descriptors. General proficiency level descriptors are descriptions of a broad scope of student behaviors that can be observed in a variety of educational settings and across content areas. Content-area proficiency level descriptors describe student behaviors and language associated with discipline-specific learning in English language arts and reading, mathematics, science, and social studies.

Cross-curricular English language acquisition student expectations.

Student expectations--listening. The EB student listens to a variety of speakers, including teachers, peers, and multimedia, to gain an increasing level of comprehension in all content areas. The EB student may be at the pre-production, beginning, intermediate, high intermediate, or advanced proficiency levels in listening. The student is expected to:

distinguish sounds and intonation patterns by responding with gestures or images, orally, or in writing;

use contextual factors or word analysis such as cognates, Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots to comprehend content-specific vocabulary when heard during formal and informal classroom interactions by responding with gestures or images, orally, or in writing;

respond with accuracy to oral directions, instructions, and requests;

use context to construct the meaning of descriptive language, words with multiple meanings, register, and figurative language such as idiomatic expressions heard during formal and informal classroom interactions;

demonstrate listening comprehension from information presented orally during formal and informal classroom interactions by restating, responding, paraphrasing, summarizing, or asking for clarification or additional details; and

derive meaning from a variety of auditory multimedia sources to build and reinforce concepts and language acquisition.

Student expectations--speaking. The EB student speaks using a variety of language structures for a variety of purposes with an awareness of different language registers (formal/informal) using vocabulary with increasing accuracy and fluency in all content areas. The EB student may be at the pre-production, beginning, intermediate, high intermediate, or advanced proficiency level of English language acquisition in speaking. The student is expected to:

pronounce words, including high-frequency words, cognates, and increasingly complex syllable types, with accuracy;

speak using content-area vocabulary during formal and informal classroom interactions to demonstrate acquisition of new words and high-frequency words;

speak using a variety of language and grammatical structures, sentence lengths and types, and transition words;

speak using appropriate register to convey a message during formal and informal classroom interactions with accuracy and fluency;

narrate, describe, explain, justify, discuss, elaborate, or evaluate orally with increasing specificity and detail in academic context or discourse; and

restate, ask questions about, or respond to information during formal and informal classroom interactions.

Student expectations--reading. The EB student reads a variety of texts for different purposes with an increasing level of comprehension in all content areas. The EB student may be at the preproduction, beginning, intermediate, high intermediate, or advanced proficiency levels of English language acquisition in reading. The student is expected to:

demonstrate awareness of print concepts and directionality of reading as left to right and top to bottom;

decode words using the relationships between sounds and letters and identify syllable patterns, cognates, affixes, roots, or base words;

use high-frequency words, contextual factors, and word analysis such as Greek and Latin prefixes, suffixes, and roots and cognates to comprehend content-area vocabulary in text;

use context to construct the meaning of figurative language such as idiomatic expressions, descriptive language, and words with multiple meanings to comprehend a variety of text;

use pre-reading strategies, including previewing the text features, connecting to prior knowledge, organizing ideas, and making predictions, to develop comprehension;

derive meaning from and demonstrate comprehension of content-area texts using visual, contextual, and linguistic supports;

demonstrate reading comprehension of content-area texts by retelling, paraphrasing, summarizing, and responding to questions; and

read with fluency and prosody and demonstrate comprehension of content-area text.

Student expectations--writing. The EB student writes using a variety of language structures with increasing accuracy to effectively address a variety of purposes (formal and informal) and audiences in all content areas. The EB student may be at the pre-production, beginning, intermediate, high intermediate, or advanced proficiency levels of English language acquisition in writing. The student is expected to:

apply relationships between sounds and letters of the English language to represent sounds when writing;

write text following conventional spelling patterns and rules;

write using a combination of high-frequency words and content-area vocabulary;

write content-area texts using a variety of sentence lengths and types and transition words;

write content-area specific text using conventions such as capitalization, punctuation, and abbreviations and grammatical structures such as subject-verb agreement, verb tense, possessive case, and contractions; and

write to narrate, describe, explain, respond, or justify with supporting details and evidence using appropriate content, style, register, and conventions for specific purpose and audience.

Proficiency level descriptors.

The following five proficiency levels describe students' progress in English language acquisition.

Pre-production. The pre-production level, also known as the silent period, is the early stage of English language acquisition when receptive language is developing. Students develop comprehension when highly scaffolded instruction and linguistic support are provided. Student responses are mostly non-verbal.

Beginning. The beginning level is characterized by speech emergence (expressive language) using one word or two-to-three-word phrases. Students at this level require highly scaffolded instruction and linguistic support. Students at this level begin to consistently use present tense verbs and repeat keywords and familiar phrases when engaging in formal and informal interactions.

Intermediate. The intermediate level is characterized by the ability to use receptive and expressive language with demonstrated literal comprehension. Students at this level need moderately scaffolded instruction and linguistic support. Additional visual and linguistic support is needed to understand unfamiliar or abstract concepts such as figurative language, humor, and cultural or societal references. Students at this level begin to consistently use short phrases and simple sentences or ask short questions to demonstrate comprehension during formal and informal interactions.

High intermediate. Students at the high intermediate level begin to consistently use a variety of sentence types, express opinions, share thoughts, and ask for clarification. Students at this level have an increased level of literal and abstract comprehension. Students may need minimal scaffolded instruction and linguistic support to engage in formal and informal classroom interactions.

Advanced. The advanced level is characterized by the ability of students to engage in formal and informal classroom interactions with little to no linguistic support. Students at this level engage in discourse using content-area vocabulary and a variety of grammatical structures with increasing accuracy.

The Grades 4-12 proficiency level descriptors are described in the figure provided in this paragraph. Figure: 19 TAC §120.21(e)(2)