Missouri Grade 4 English

Connect information in two short texts

Compare two original accounts about the same classroom borrowing shelf. The goal is to explain a meaningful connection between their ideas, using details from each. Merely saying that both texts mention pencils does not explain their shared problem.

Curriculum reference: Missouri K–5 English Language Arts expectations, from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education ELA directory.

Missouri Grade 4 references for this activity

DESE’s current directory links the Missouri English Language Arts expectations adopted in April 2016. The Grades 6–12 PDF identifies a June 2020 update. References here name the selected strand, section, letter, and grade column in the state document; the 2026 download path is not a new adoption date. Read the complete expectations and the school’s curriculum to plan beyond this activity.

These selected reference labels identify an activity focus, with the grade column and PDF page linked separately. Read the complete state requirements and the school’s sequence, including reading, writing, language, speaking, and listening. This short original example does not fulfill the entire curriculum or establish a student’s grade-level proficiency.

A worked Grade 4 reading investigation

This original classroom example is separate from official assessment questions.

Text A — The borrowed pencil

Before a group activity, Nina looked for a pencil. The borrowing shelf was empty, although several classmates had borrowed pencils earlier. Nina waited while the teacher collected the borrowed pencils and returned them to the shelf.

Text B — A shelf routine

A classroom can keep a borrowing shelf ready by giving borrowed materials a clear return place. Students return a pencil to the marked cup when they finish using it. The routine makes the intended location visible; the teacher still checks that materials are returned.

Try the activity

Explain how the idea in Text B connects to the event in Text A. Identify a similarity and a difference. Does Text B prove that Nina’s class adopted this routine?

Follow the reasoning

Both texts concern making borrowed classroom materials available for another user. In Text A, Nina waits because the shelf is empty while borrowed pencils are elsewhere. Text B describes a return routine that could address that kind of availability problem by naming a marked cup and a return time: when students finish. The texts differ in purpose and form. Text A is an invented story about one event; Text B explains a possible routine. A useful connection states the problem in A, names the relevant idea in B, and explains how they relate. It does not claim that the described routine is part of Nina’s story.

Notice what needs more practice

The texts do not say that all classmates deliberately keep pencils or that a marked cup guarantees immediate returns. Text B explicitly retains a teacher check. Avoid writing that Nina installs the cup: that would be a new story event. A text-to-text connection is strongest when it connects information, not just a repeated word. A student can suggest that the class try the routine, provided the suggestion is distinguished from what either text reports.

Grade 4 English worksheets

Choose printable practice that matches the skill being taught. Check the task, reading difficulty, and directions before assigning it; the collection is independently published.

Browse Grade 4 English worksheets

Use the next session to build independence

1. Identify the borrowing problem using one detail from Text A.
2. Find the part of Text B that addresses a related need and explain the connection.
3. Write one similarity and one difference; then label any proposed classroom change as your own suggestion.

Next, compare a story and an informational text about another shared issue, such as keeping track of shared tools. Look for a connection that explains an event or offers a relevant idea. Keep each text’s actual information visible in the response.

For more general reading and writing resources, visit the Grade 4 English Online Center.

Missouri Grade 4 English: useful planning questions

Does a useful connection mean both texts report the same event?

No. Text A tells an invented event, while Text B explains a possible routine. Their ideas connect without proving that the routine occurred in the story.

Where are the complete state requirements?

DESE’s current directory links the Missouri English Language Arts expectations adopted in April 2016. The Grades 6–12 PDF identifies a June 2020 update. References here name the selected strand, section, letter, and grade column in the state document; the 2026 download path is not a new adoption date. Read the complete expectations and the school’s curriculum to plan beyond this activity. The school’s sequence also includes reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language work beyond this example.