Cueword4th Grade English Classes: Comprehension, Writing & Speaking
Live one-on-one coaching for Grade 4 in all five skills, built on stories your child picks. This year is about reading between the lines, and putting it in their own words.
What We Work On in Grade 4
All five skills, every class.
These are the threads we pull hardest on at this grade.
Reading Between the Lines
Working out what a story implies but doesn't say, and pointing to the words that show it.
Theme and Summary
Finding a story's theme and summing it up in their own words.
Sources and Quotes
Using sources, and quoting the line that backs up an answer.
Multi-Paragraph Writing
An organized piece of several paragraphs, written, then delivered out loud.
What Grade 4 Covers, Term by Term
Grade 4 is about putting what they read into their own words, with a point of view.
Each term has six levels, each harder than the last, and ends in a live Showcase in your presence.
Term 1 · Storytelling
Narrative: telling a story well
Six levels, each harder than the last- Infer with evidenceRead between the lines, and cite the detail
- Paraphrase itRetell a passage in their own words
- Theme vs topicTell what a story teaches from what it is about
- Summarize the storyWrite a clean summary, no opinion mixed in
- Character in depthAnalyze a character using specific details
- Narrator and transitionsNotice who tells it, and link scenes with transitions
See the five skills this term
- Listening ComprehensionHears a story read aloud, restates parts of it and a character's lines in their own words, separates its topic from its lesson, and follows one scene told two ways.
- Reading ComprehensionReads between the lines, citing details as proof, tells the theme apart from the topic, summarizes without adding opinions, explores a character in depth, and compares first- and third-person narration.
- SpeakingSupports ideas about a story with details, puts passages into their own words, gives an organized summary, then retells a scene, switching the narrator between first and third person.
- WritingWrites a summary and scenes with dialogue and sensory detail, and drafts a multi-paragraph story that uses transitions and ends by echoing its theme, then improves it after one suggestion.
- VocabularyUnlocks words with Greek and Latin roots like graph, tele, port and dict, picks the exact synonym or opposite, and understands similes and metaphors in a short poem or refrain.
Ends in a Showcase: a story, told live in your presence.
Term 2 · Explaining
Informative: explaining clearly
Six levels, each harder than the last- Main idea to summaryFind the main idea and summarize a text
- Text structuresSpot compare, cause-effect, problem-solution
- Charts and timelinesRead a chart or timeline and explain what it adds
- Evidence and quotationsBack a point with evidence and a marked quotation
- Two accounts, one topicCompare two accounts and combine what they say
- Explain it end to endGive a report with a visual, then write the explainer
See the five skills this term
- Listening ComprehensionHears a recording and summarizes it, names how it is organized, uses a chart or timeline while listening, spots a speaker's reasons and evidence, and compares firsthand and secondhand accounts.
- Reading ComprehensionSummarizes a true text, spots structures like cause and effect, explains what a chart adds, finds an author's evidence and a line worth quoting, and combines what two texts say.
- SpeakingExplains a topic using one structure, walks through a chart aloud, restates a point and its support, uses two sources, and gives an organized report built around a visual.
- WritingGroups facts under headings, captions a chart, backs points with details and a quotation, sorts notes from two sources, and drafts a multi-paragraph explainer, then improves it after one suggestion.
- VocabularyLearns academic and subject words, plus signal words like however, as a result and meanwhile, checks a dictionary, glossary or thesaurus, and adds roots like struct, form and vis.
Ends in a Showcase: an explainer, presented live in your presence.
Term 3 · Persuading
Opinion: arguing a point
Six levels, each harder than the last- Strong vs weak reasonsJudge which reasons have evidence behind them
- Facts behind reasonsSupport each reason with a fact
- Sources and linking phrasesDraw evidence from a source, and link it in
- Answer the other sideState the other view, then why you disagree
- Formal or informalChoose formal or informal English on purpose
- Argue it end to endA full opinion piece: ordered, fact-backed, formal
See the five skills this term
- Listening ComprehensionHears a speaker's argument and judges which reasons have evidence, follows the linking phrases that introduce each reason, tells what each side claims, and contrasts formal and informal English.
- Reading ComprehensionChecks how well an author supports a claim, finds facts behind reasons, pulls evidence for their side from a source, compares two opinion pieces, and spots formal and informal English.
- SpeakingBacks reasons with facts, cites a source aloud, uses linking phrases, answers the other side fairly, and gives a short spoken opinion in formal English with an introduction and conclusion.
- WritingOrders fact-backed reasons by strength, uses a source and linking phrases, answers the other side, and drafts an opinion piece with an introduction and conclusion, then improves it after one suggestion.
- VocabularyPicks up idioms, adages and proverbs, linking phrases like for instance and in addition, words like although and even so, and formal choices like children instead of kids.
Ends in a Showcase: a case, argued live in your presence.
By the end of Grade 4, your child puts what they read into their own words, finds the theme, summarizes without slipping in opinion, pulls facts from two texts at once, and writes flowing multi-paragraph pieces linked with transitions.
Placement is a starting point, not a ceiling. Your child moves through at their own pace, so this is the order of the journey, not a fixed timetable.
Gaps From Earlier Grades, Covered
Some children have gaps: a tricky tense, misplaced commas, words they can't spell.
The coach fills them with targeted lessons within your 26 classes a term.
There are no extra classes to book.
Here's what our foundations curriculum covers, up to Grade 4:
Grammar
Pronouns like who, whom and which, helping, linking and modal verbs, continuous tenses, subject-verb agreement, joining words, and fixing broken and run-on sentences.
Punctuation and Capitals
End marks, commas in lists, after opening words and with speech, quotation marks, apostrophes, and capital letters for titles and names.
Spelling
Commonly confused and misspelled words, spelling rules for regular and irregular words, sound-alike words, and finding a word fast with dictionary guide words.
Word Building
Prefixes and suffixes and how they change a word's meaning, Greek and Latin word parts, and building compound words.
Vocabulary
Synonyms and antonyms, new meanings for familiar words, the feeling a word carries, similes and metaphors, and formal versus informal language.
Reading and Writing Basics
Reading between the lines and pointing to the detail, summarizing a story, poem or play, organizing paragraphs with transitions, and writing letters and emails.
Plans for Grade 4
Pick the class length that suits your child.
Basic
40-minute classes26 classes · $520 per term (USD)
- Two 1:1 classes a week
- 26 classes over three months
- Same coach all term
- Two parent-coach meetings a term
- Live Showcase and two term reports
Standard
55-minute classes26 classes · $650 per term (USD)
- Two 1:1 classes a week
- 26 classes over three months
- Same coach all term
- Two parent-coach meetings a term
- Live Showcase and two term reports
Questions About Grade 4
What does a Grade 4 class look like?
Live, online and one-on-one with the same coach all term. Your child picks the stories they want to do in each class, then listens, reads, learns words in context, speaks and writes about them. The coach follows "Cue, don't tell": they ask the right question so your child works it out.
How long are the classes?
Two classes a week, in terms of about three months. 40 minutes on Basic or 55 minutes on Standard.
How will I see progress?
After every class, the coach sends a class summary in the Cueword Parent app. You also meet the coach twice a term, and get a report after each mid-term and end-of-term assessment. Each term ends in a Showcase in your presence.
How do we get started?
Book a free Cueword evaluation: 50 minutes, one-on-one, a dialogue, not a test. You get the Cueword Report and a recommended plan the same day.
Start Grade 4 With a Free Evaluation
50 minutes, one-on-one, not a test. You get a report and a recommended plan the same day.
Get Started