South Dakota ELA 4.W.3.e

ELA4th GradeWriting

The Standard

4.W.3: Write narratives (e.g., story, poetry, drama) to develop real and imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Provide a conclusion that follows from the narrated experiences or events (when appropriate to the genre).

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students write an ending that fits the events in their story. They show how the experience wraps up, often through a character’s action or reaction.
What Mastery Looks Like: The reader can tell the main event is finished. The ending connects to an earlier detail without adding a new problem.
Common Misconceptions: Students may stop right after the biggest event, leaving the reader unsure how things ended. Others add an unrelated twist, write only “The End,” or tack on a lesson the story has not shown.
How to Assess It: Exit ticket: “Mia knocked over the class plant. She replanted it, watered it, and saw its leaves lift the next morning.” Write two sentences that end her story without adding a new problem.

Lesson moves

Give pairs story sentence strips and two ending strips; have them choose the ending that matches an earlier detail.
Read a story that stops when a lost dog is found; ask, “What would its owner do next, and why?”
Play Ending Match with four short story cards and four ending cards; students pair them and explain one clue.
Have students write the last two sentences of a field trip journal, using one detail to show how the day ended.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.W.3.e, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

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

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