AERO Standard

F&P Level P

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

Grade 4
Word Study Skills and Resources
How to use this?
Based on students Words Their Way stage and their guided reading level, teachers and teaching assistants:
1.
Look at the standards being taught.
2.
Determine which standard they would like to work on with their group.
3.
Refer to the Fountas and Pinnell Phonics Continuum to break down the standard further to a benchmark level.
Faculty will need to determine where to start and also which skills students need further practice based on pre-assessments and also
other informal data.
For students whose word study needs are above, approaching or below expectations, please refer to the grade level above or below.
4.
Use the following gradual release model to teach students the skill in guided reading groups or small groups during writing workshop:
4.a. Introduce the skill.
4.b. Encourage students to find the pattern in their own reading and writing.
4.c. Use reinforcement activities with students to practice the pattern further as needed.
Some possible reinforcement activities are listed in the WTW and F&P Continuum columns in the table. It is not necessary to use
only these. Grade levels may utilize any resources in order to meet students needs.
Additionally, if there are data demonstrates that students need support with particular skills that are not indicated on this chart,
please do teach these as well.
Standards

RF.3a. Use
combined
knowledge of all
letter-sound
correspondence
s, syllabication,
patterns and
morphology
(e.g. roots and
affixes) to read
accurately
unfamiliar

F&P
Guided
Reading
Level P

F&P
Guided
Reading
Levels Q-S

-Demonstrate
knowledge of
flexible ways
to solve
words
(noticing
word parts,
noticing
endings and
prefixes)

-Demonstrate
knowledge of
flexible ways
to solve words
(noticing word
parts, noticing
endings and
prefixes)

-Solve
multisyllable

WTW: Within
Word
(At end of G4, meets
expectations stage)

Unit 9
-s, -es,
(plurals)

-ed
(past tense)

WTW:
Syllables &
Affixes
(At end of G5, meets
expectations stage)

Unit 1
-ing
(inflected)

-ed
(past tense)

-s, -es,
(plurals)

Unit 8

WTW:
Derivational
(At end of G6, meets
expectations stage)

Unit 1
Prefixes
- in-, un-, dis-,
mis-, pre-, fore-
post-, after-, re-
, ex-, in-, de-,
sub-, com-, pro-
, en- (prefixes)

Unit 2
Derivational

F&P
Detailed Phonics Continuum
(These are grade level skills which help to break
down each standard)

Letter/Sound Relationships: Consonants

- Recognizing and using:
-Consonant clusters that blend two or
three consonant sounds
- Consonant letters that represent no
sound (e.g. lamb)
- letters that represent consonant
diagraphs at the end of a word (sh, th, etc)
- letters that represent less frequent
consonant digraph at the beginning or
ending of a word (gh, ph)
1

AERO Standard

multisyllabic
words in
context and out
of context.

F&P Level P

-Solve words
of three or
more
syllables
many words
with
inflectional
endings and
complex
letter-sound
relationships

F&P Levels Q-S

words using
vowel
patterns,
phonogram
patterns,
affixes and
other word
parts

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

Affixes
(re-, un-, dis-,
mis-, pre-, ex-,
non-, in-, fore-,
uni-, bi-, tri-)

Suffixes
(-y, -yl, -er/-
est, -ness/-
ful/-less)

WTW: Derivational

Suffixes
-y, -ly, -ily, -er, -
est, -ier, -iest, -
er, -or, -ian, -ist,
-ment, -less, -
ness, -ary, -ery,
-ory, -ty, -ity, -
al, -ial, -ic ful, -
ous, -ious, -en, -
ize, -ify

Unit 3
Suffix ion

Unit 4
Vowel &
Consonant
Alternations

Unit 8
Advanced
Spelling-
Meaning
Patterns
Suffixes (e.g.
ent/-ence, -
ant/-ance)

Unit 9
Prefix
Assimilation
in-, com-, sub-,
ex-, ob-, ad-)

F&P Phonics Continuum

- some consonant sounds can be

represented by several different letters
or letter clusters (final k sound: picnic)
- some consonant letters represent different
sounds

Spelling Patterns: Single-Syllable Words
- Recognize and using phonogram patterns
in single-syllable words with:
- long vowel sound,
- vowels and r,
- -/aw/ sound,
- -/u/ sound as in moon,
- /oo/ sound as in book,
- /ow/ sound as in cow,
- /oy/ sound as in oil,
- -patterns such as vvcc, vvce, vcce, vccc,
vvccc

Spelling Patterns: Multisyllable Words
- Noticing and using:
-frequently appearing syllable patterns
in multisyllable words
- vowel patterns that appear in patterns
multisyllable words

Word Meaning/Vocab: Combined & Created
Words
- Recognizing and using:
- hyphenated compound words,
- by combining initials,
- palindromes,
- onomatopoetic words

Word Meaning/Vocab: Word Origins
- Making connections to understand words
- Understanding that English words come
from many different sources: other
languages, technology, place names
2

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

Word Structure: Plurals
Recognizing and using plurals:
- That change j f to v,
- end in a vowel and o by adding s,
- a consonant and o by adding es,
- change the spelling of a word,
- are the ame word for singular and plural,
- formed by changing some of the letters of
the base word or adding an unusual suffix

Word Structure: Suffixes
Understanding that adding a suffix to a word
may change the spelling
Understanding that:
- a final e is usually dropped when adding
suffixes that begin with a vowel or when
adding y
- that the final e is kept when adding suffixes
that begin with a consonant to words
- the y is changed to i when adding a suffix
- when the word part before the suffix ends
in ns, you add the suffix ible,
- the final e is kept when adding the suffix
able to words endings in ce or-ge,
- using endings that add-er to a verb that
ends with a short vowel and a consonant,
- when you add-ible and able makes them
adjectives,
- when you add ly or ally to a word it
changes from an adjective to an adverb,
- when adding the following suffixes: -er, -
ion, -sion, - ment, -ent, -ant, -end, -ity, -
ence, -ance to a word, it becomes an
adjective

Word Structure: Prefixes
Recognizing and using:
- more complex prefixes (im-, in-, il-, dis-,
3

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

non-, mis-, pre-, en-, em-, )

Word Solving Actions: Making Connections
- Connecting words that:
o start the same,
end the same,

L.2.d Spell

grade-level
appropriate
words correctly,
consulting
references as
needed

High Frequency Words

- Noticing patterns and categorizing high-
frequency words to assist in learning them
quickly
- Developing self-monitoring strategies for
acquiring a large core of high-frequency words

Word-Solving Actions: Spelling Strategies
- Using the letter/sound order to help in
spelling a word
- Using hard parts of a word to help you
remember its spelling
- Using look, say, cover, write and check to
help you remember how a word is spelled
- Making a first attempt in the process of
spelling a word
- Remember and applying principles to solve
words
- Using spell-check to check and correct
your spelling

L4.a Use context

(e.g. definitions,
examples or
restatements in
a text) as a clue
to the meaning
of a word or
phrase.

-Use the
context of a
sentence,
paragraph or
whole text to
determine the
meaning of a

Word-Solving Action: Using Strategies to

Determine the Meaning of a Word
- Understanding the context of a sentence,
paragraph or whole text helps determine
the meaning of a word
- Understanding that word parts help you
learn what a word means

-Use the
context of a
sentence,
paragraph or
whole text to
determine
the meaning

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

of a word
L.4b Use

common, grade-
appropriate
Greek and Latin
affixes and
roots as clues to
the meaning of a
word (e.g.
telegraph,
photograph,
autograph)

























Continued

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

word

Unit 5
Greek & Latin
Elements I


Unit 6
Greek & Latin
Elements II

Unit 7
Greek & Latin
Elements III

Word Meaning/Vocab: Word Origins

- Understanding that English words and
word parts have Latin roots
- Many English words and word parts have
Greek roots
- prefixes that refer to number

Word Structure: Prefixes
- Understand that some prefixes that refer to
number.
- Recognizing and using prefixes that mean:
o across (trans-),
o between/together (inter-, con-,
com-),
o within/inside (intra-),
o under (sub-),
o above (super-),
o bad (mal-),
o out (ex-),
o going beyond/through (pre-),
o around (circum-)

Word Structure: Root words
- Understanding that many English words
are derived from other languages

Word-Solving Actions: Making Connections
Between and Among Words
- Connecting words that are related to each
other because they have the same base or
root word

Word-Solving Actions: Using Root Words
- Understanding that common Greek roots
are related to the meaning of words
- Using Latin roots to understand the
meaning of words
5

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

Word-Solving Actions: Spelling Strategies
- Using word history to assist in spelling a word
L.4.c Consult
reference
materials (e.g.
dictionaries,
glossaries,
thesauruses)
both print and
digital, to find
the
pronunciation
and determine
or clarify the
precise meaning
of key words
and phrases

- Identify
words with
multiple
meanings,
discuss
alternative
meanings
and select the
precise
meaning
within the
text

-Use readers

tools such as
glossaries,
dictionaries,
and
pronunciation
guides to solve
words,
including
difficult
proper nouns
and technical
words

- Identify
words with
multiple
meanings,
discuss
alternative
meanings and
select the
precise
meaning
within the text

Word-Solving Actions: Making Connections

Between and Among Words
- Using dictionary entries

Word-Solving Actions: Spelling Strategies &
Resources
- Using resources to learn about word
meanings
- Understanding when to use a dictionary to
assist in spelling and making writing
consistent
- Understanding alphabetical order and how
to use it in references and resources
- Noticing and using syllable divisions in a
dictionary
- Noticing and using accent marks to help in
pronouncing a word
- Noticing and using guide words to locate
words in a dictionary
- Using the pronunciation guide in a
dictionary
- Using the dictionary to discover word
history
- Recognizing and using the different types
of dictionaries: general, specialized, etc

L.5a. Interpret
figurative
language,
including
similes and
metaphors in
context

-Understand
figurative use
of words

-Understand
words with
multiple
meanings

-Understand
figurative use
of words

-Understand
connotative
meaning of
words

Word Meaning/Vocabulary: Poetic Uses of

Words
Recognizing and using words as metaphors or
idioms

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

-Understand
words with
multiple
meanings
L.5b. Recognize
and explain the
meaning of
common idioms,
adages and
proverbs

Word Meaning/Vocabulary: Related Words

- Recognize and use metaphors that have
become traditional sayings and in which the
comparisons are not evident (raining cats and
dogs)

L.5.c.
Demonstrate
understanding
of words by
relating them to
their opposites
(antonyms) and
to words with
similar but not
identical
meanings
(synonyms)

Word Meaning/Vocabulary: Related Words

- Recognizing and using synonyms
- Recognizing and using antonyms
- Recognizing and using homophones &
homographs

Word-Solving Actions: Making Connections
Between and Among Words
- Connecting words that mean the same or
almost the same thing,
- Connecting words that look the same but
have different meanings
- Connecting words that sound different but
look the same

L.6a. Acquire
and use
accurately
grade level
appropriate
general
academic and
domain specific
words and
phrases
including those
that signal

-Solve
content-
specific
words and
technical
words using
graphics, and
definitions
embedded in
the text as
well as

-Solve

content-
specific words
and technical
words using
graphics, and
definitions
embedded in
the text as
well as
background

AERO Standard

F&P Level P

precise actions, background

emotions or
knowledge
states of being
(e.g. quizzed,
whined,
stammered)
and that are
basic to a
particular topic
(e.g. wildlife,
conversation
and endangered
when discussing
animal
preservation).

F&P Levels Q-S

WTW: Within

WTW: Syllables

WTW: Derivational

F&P Phonics Continuum

knowledge

-Apply
problem-
solving
strategies to
technical
words or
proper nouns
that are
challenging