CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3

ELA4th GradeKnowledge of Language

The Standard

Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Language Standards

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students choose words, sentence patterns, punctuation, and tone that fit the audience and purpose. They also use these choices to understand meaning when reading or listening.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students can revise the same message for different audiences and purposes. They can explain how word choice, sentence structure, punctuation, and tone change meaning or effect.
Common Misconceptions: Students may think the same wording fits every audience and purpose. They may label informal language as incorrect, or treat conventions as rules that never affect tone or meaning.
How to Assess It: Ask students to rewrite “Can you help me?” for a close friend and the principal. Have them underline two changes and explain one choice.

Lesson moves

Give pairs formal and informal message cards to sort by audience, then have them revise two cards that do not fit.
Ask students, “How would you announce a schedule change to a friend, your teacher, and the whole school?”
Play Tone Switch: students draw an audience card and quickly rewrite a familiar sentence to match that audience.
Compare a school email with a text message, then list language choices that make each one fit its real-world purpose.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Learning progression

See the whole path on the Language progression map.

If students are struggling here, check these first.

Mastery here sets students up for these next.

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