South Dakota ELA 4.SL.4
The Standard
Present on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students give a short talk about a topic, text, story, or experience. They put ideas in a clear order and add facts or details that fit their point. They speak clearly at a pace listeners can follow.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student introduces the topic or story, moves through ideas in an order listeners can follow, and ends clearly. Their facts or details support the main point. Classmates can understand them without asking them to repeat or slow down.
Common Misconceptions
- Some students list facts without making a main point. Others add interesting details that do not fit, skip events listeners need to know, or speak too fast.
How to Assess It
- In pairs, give a 45-second talk about a place you know well: name it, explain why it matters, and add two details. Partners check for clear order, relevant details, and an easy-to-follow pace.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs three picture cards showing a lost dog, a search, and a reunion; have them arrange the cards and tell the story aloud.
Ask students to jot three details about a favorite place, then tell a partner which detail best helps listeners picture it and why.
Play a talk-card game: students draw a school topic, state one main point, add two supporting facts, and pause between sentences.
Have students record a one-minute voice message for a new student explaining a classroom routine, with two helpful details and a steady pace.
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Printable 4.SL.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.SL.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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