CurriculumGrade 4English Language Arts

Nonfiction Vocabulary

Aligned to RI.4.4 — Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts.

What this lesson teaches

Nonfiction texts use special words that belong to a topic, like 'orbit' in space or 'habitat' in nature. You can figure out these words using nearby clues, a bold definition, a glossary, or the pictures and captions.

Worked example

A text says, 'A frog's habitat, the place where it lives and finds food, is often a pond.' The comma clue right after 'habitat' tells you exactly what the word means.

Practice questions

  1. Find a topic word in a nonfiction book and explain how you figured out its meaning.
  2. Name two places you can look to check what a science word means.
  3. Pick a subject word you learned and use it correctly in your own sentence.

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Vocabulario de No Ficción

Los textos informativos usan palabras especiales que pertenecen a un tema, como 'órbita' en el espacio o 'hábitat' en la naturaleza. Puedes deducir estas palabras usando pistas cercanas, una definición en negrita, un glosario, o las imágenes y sus leyendas.

Ejemplo: Un texto dice: 'El hábitat de una rana, el lugar donde vive y encuentra comida, suele ser un estanque.' La pista de la coma justo después de 'hábitat' te dice exactamente qué significa la palabra.

More Reading: Textos Informativos lessons

Facts and InferencesRI.4.1What Happened and WhyRI.4.3How Nonfiction Is BuiltRI.4.5Firsthand vs. SecondhandRI.4.6Reading Charts and PicturesRI.4.7Reasons and EvidenceRI.4.8

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