Virginia SOL 4.C.3.B
The Standard
Strategically use two or more interdependent modes of communication to convey the intended message and enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Virginia Standards of Learning for English · Integrating Multimodal Literacies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students combine words with visuals, audio, movement, or layout so each part helps communicate one clear idea. They choose modes that add meaning rather than repeat the same information.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can create a short presentation, poster, or video in which words and another mode work together. The student can explain why each mode was chosen and how it develops the main idea.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may add pictures that merely decorate or repeat the words. They may include too much text, choose confusing visuals, or present information that does not support one clear message.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to create one slide explaining how an animal survives, using two sentences and a labeled diagram. Have them identify what each mode adds to the message.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a weather safety poster with three written steps and a diagram showing where to shelter.
Compare two sample slides, then discuss which words, images, and layout choices make the main idea clearer.
Play Match the Mode by pairing message cards with useful visuals, sound clips, gestures, or layout choices.
Create a school event announcement using a headline, brief details, and a map or image that adds needed information.
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Printable 4.C.3.B Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 4.C.3.B, 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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Related Standards
- 9.C.3.A
Make strategic use of multimodal tools.
- 8.C.3.A.iii
Uses two or more communication modes to make meaning (e.g., still or moving images, gestures, spoken language, and written language).
- 5.C.3.B
The 5th Grade version of this standard.
- 10.C.3.A
Make strategic use of multimodal tools, including using information from two or more interdependent modes of communication where both or multiple modes are esse...
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