Year 4 English deepens reading comprehension and brings more creative and analytical writing. Students learn to infer meaning, spot text structures and write more independently, with Year 5 NAPLAN next.

Key Topics Covered:

Creative and persuasive writing, text types and features, verb tenses, inference, word meanings from context and structured paragraphs.

Parent Tip:

Read widely, not just fiction. Junior news, recipes, instructions and library chapter books all build different comprehension skills.

Analyse character and plot development in literary texts

Write persuasive texts with a clear position and evidence

Use complex sentences with correct punctuation

Spell challenging words using word parts and letter patterns

Research and combine information from more than one source

Join group discussions and give reasons for their opinions

Child reading a library chapter book beside a parent for Year 4 English practice at home in Australia

No.	Topic	What We Cover
01	Language for Interacting: Formality and Roles	Explore how language changes with our role, relationships and the level of formality. Students compare how they talk to a friend, a coach and a principal. Inclusive language and respectful interaction are practised, including acknowledging others' ideas and taking turns. Students adjust tone and word choice for different audiences.
02	Text Stages: Structure in Narratives and Reports	Examine how text structure changes with purpose. Narratives are broken into orientation, complication and resolution, while reports are broken into introduction, grouped facts and conclusion. Students locate each stage in short texts. Understanding structure supports both comprehension and planning their own writing.
03	Writing: Plan and Write a Short Recount	Plan and write a short recount that sequences events clearly. Students use time connectives, topic vocabulary and a clear beginning, middle and end. Editing focuses on sentence boundaries and consistent tense. The final piece shows logical flow and clarity.
04	Punctuation: Quotation Marks and Dialogue	Learn how to punctuate dialogue with quotation marks, capital letters, commas and end punctuation. Students find correct examples in narrative extracts and use them in short writing tasks. Common errors are discussed and fixed through guided editing.
05	Vocabulary: Synonyms, Antonyms and Shades of Meaning	Build word choice by exploring synonyms and antonyms. Students compare words such as walk, stroll and stomp to see small differences in meaning. Context is used to pick the best word for a sentence. New vocabulary is applied in short reading and writing tasks.
06	Complex Sentences: Dependent Clauses	Meet complex sentences by finding independent and dependent clauses. Subordinating conjunctions such as because, when, if and although link ideas to show cause, time and condition. Students compare simple, compound and complex sentences, then use them in their own writing.
07	Multimodal Reading: Framing and Salience	Analyse how images communicate meaning. Students examine framing, placement and salience in illustrations and film stills and discuss how visual choices shape the viewer's response. Links are made between images and written text to support comprehension.
08	Writing: Revise and Improve Cohesion	Revise writing so ideas flow from sentence to sentence. Pronouns, connectives and varied sentence openers link ideas, and repetition is reduced through careful editing. Students see how sentence beginnings guide the reader and make writing clearer.
09	Speaking and Listening: A Short Informative Talk	Plan and deliver a short informative talk supported by visuals. Ideas are organised in a clear sequence, with attention to tone, volume and audience. Listeners respond to the speaker and give kind, specific feedback to build confidence.
10	Revision and Diagnostic Task	Consolidate reading, writing and language skills through short review tasks. A brief writing sample and comprehension activity highlight strengths and areas to improve. A term mock test and parent report follow, and feedback sets goals for Term 2.

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Student in a tutoring session with their tutor

Warm-up (5 min)

Quick review of the previous session plus a sounds or spelling warm-up

Core Teaching (25 min)

New concept from the lesson eBook, with reading and writing examples

Guided Practice (15 min)

Student reads and writes with tutor support

Independent Practice (10 min)

Student completes the in-class quiz independently

Wrap-up (5 min)

Summary, 2 take-home quizzes and a preview of the next session

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No.	Topic	What We Cover
11	Subjective and Objective Language	Tell the language of opinion and feeling from the language of facts. Students sort sentences from reviews and news reports and rewrite opinions as facts and facts as opinions to see how word choice shapes the reader's view.
12	Reading With Fluency and Self-Correction	Read a range of texts accurately and smoothly using phonic, word meaning and grammar knowledge. Students re-read and self-correct when meaning breaks down, and practise phrasing and expression aloud.
13	Comprehension Strategies	Use strategies such as visualising, predicting, connecting, summarising, monitoring and questioning to build understanding. Students choose the best strategy for each text and talk about how it helped.
14	Making Inferences From Texts	Read between the lines to work out ideas that are not stated. Students use clues from words and images to infer feelings, motives and meanings and back up their answers with evidence from the text.
15	Stories From First Nations Australian and World Authors	Recognise similar storylines, ideas and relationships in stories from First Nations Australian and other Australian and world authors. Students compare themes such as belonging, courage and caring for others.
16	Character, Setting and Plot Tension	Discuss how authors and illustrators keep readers engaged by developing characters, setting and plot tension. Students track how a problem builds and is resolved and explain the effect on the reader.
17	Text Structures and Language Features	Describe how text structures and language features shape a story. Students share opinions about literary texts and support them with examples from the text.
18	Literary Devices and Word Play	Explore devices such as simile, alliteration and puns in stories and poems. Students discuss how word play shapes meaning and try the techniques in their own short poems.
19	Features of Imaginative, Informative and Persuasive Texts	Identify the characteristic features of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts. Students match features to purpose and audience and explain why an author made those choices.
20	Revision and Assessment	Review reading, comprehension and literature skills through integrated tasks. A term mock test and parent report follow, and feedback sets goals for Term 3.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
21	Text Connectives: Time and Condition	Use connectives such as first, meanwhile, if and unless to sequence and connect ideas. Students link words on a topic and use connectives to make writing flow.
22	Navigating Online Texts	Identify the features that make online texts easy to read, such as headlines, drop-down menus, links, graphics and layout. Students use them to find information quickly and safely.
23	Quoted and Reported Speech	Investigate the difference between direct speech and reported speech. Students change one into the other and see how each is used in stories and news reports.
24	Adverb Groups and Prepositional Phrases	Add detail to sentences using adverb groups and prepositional phrases that tell how, when and where something happens. Students expand simple sentences into richer ones.
25	Verb Tenses and Meaning	Understand past, present and future tenses and how tense changes meaning. Students keep tense consistent in their writing and correct shifts that confuse the reader.
26	Comparing Texts From Different Times	Compare texts from different times with similar purposes and audiences, such as an old and a modern account of the same event, and note similarities and differences.
27	Letter Patterns and Spelling Generalisations	Use knowledge of letter patterns, double letters and spelling generalisations to spell tricky words. Students sort, test and apply patterns in their writing.
28	Word Families, Prefixes and Suffixes	Build morphological word families using common prefixes and suffixes. Students use word parts to read and spell multisyllabic words and work out unfamiliar meanings.
29	Homophones and Context	Read and write high-frequency words, including homophones such as there, their and they're. Students use context to choose the correct spelling.
30	Revision and Assessment	Review connectives, grammar, spelling and text comparison through integrated tasks. A term mock test and parent report follow, and feedback sets goals for Term 4.

No.	Topic	What We Cover
31	Planning Imaginative Texts	Plan a story by developing a storyline, characters and a setting. Students map the plot, build tension and decide on an ending before they write.
32	Writing Narratives With Paragraphs	Draft a narrative using paragraphs to group ideas, complex sentences and descriptive language. Students link events with connectives so the story flows.
33	Writing Informative Texts With Research	Research a topic from more than one source, take notes in their own words and write an informative text with headings, facts and topic vocabulary.
34	Writing Persuasive Texts: Position and Evidence	Write a persuasive text with a clear position, reasons and evidence. Students use opinion language and connectives to build a convincing argument.
35	Using Complex Sentences in Writing	Use dependent clauses and subordinating conjunctions to add detail and show cause, time and condition in their own writing.
36	Editing and Publishing	Edit writing for spelling, punctuation, paragraphs and clear ideas, then publish a final version with visual features such as images, captions and headings.
37	Structured Oral Presentations	Plan, rehearse and deliver a structured presentation to report on a topic, tell a story or present an argument. Students use visuals and vary their voice.
38	Group Discussions and Listening	Listen for key points, acknowledge other opinions and link responses to the topic in group discussions. Students give reasons for their views.
39	Joined Handwriting	Write words using clearly formed joined letters with growing fluency. Short, regular practice builds speed and neatness.
40	Year 4 Review and Year 5 Readiness	Revise the year's reading, writing, spelling and grammar and preview Year 5 English and NAPLAN. A term mock test and parent report follow.

Year 4 English Tutoring in Australia

By Term 4 of Year 4 English, Your Child Will...

Year 4 English Curriculum, Term by Term

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Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Program

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Program

Try a Free Lesson to See the Full Program