th

2 MILL I O N I N D I V I D U A L S U C C E S S STO R I E S ( a n d C O
UNTING!

Good reading skills are essential not only for fourth-grade academic success, but also
) 4 GRADE

4th GRADE
for lifelong learning. The teacher-reviewed, curriculum-based activities and exercises
in this workbook will help your children catch up, keep up, and get ahead. Best of all,

READING
they’ll have lots of fun doing it! Some of the great features you’ll find inside are:

READ BETWEEN THE LINES

Do-it-yourself essays on games, camping trips, and more teach kids how to grasp
inferences within a story.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

COMPREHENSION

READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS

Diagrams show how to figure out what similar subjects such as “comets or
asteroids?” have in common and how to tell them apart.

SUCCESS
FACT & OPINION
Interesting articles help kids back up opinions with facts from the text on topics
such as “Should kids have cell phones?”

QUESTION BUSTERS
Right There and Think-and-Search questions explain how to find the answers to A guide to building better
straightforward and not-so-straightforward questions about a story.
Reading Comprehension skills
STORY PLAN based on Sylvan’s proven
Fill-in-the-blank sections aid in building story structure, including setting, main
characters, problems, and solutions. techniques for success
Plus!
CHECK IT! STRIPS
Reinforce concepts and build confidence as kids check their own work.
ACTIVITIES, EXER
Give your child’s grades and confidence a boost with 4th Grade Reading CIS ES, A
Comprehension Success. ND
TIP
S T
O
SYLVAN LEARNING has been the premier provider of tutoring services in HE
North America for 30 years. With over 1,100 learning centers in the U.S. and LP
Canada, Sylvan has helped millions of children in grades pre-K through 12 CA
TC
realize their full potential. Sylvan provides individualized tutoring in its H U D
centers, at home, and online in subjects including reading, math, writing, P, K H EA
EEP U A
and study skills. Visit www.educate.com to learn more. P, A N D G E T

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RHVP68 US P Cover R3 W:441 3mmXH:279 5mm PANTONE 2745 C
 th
2 MILL I O N I N D I V I D U A L S U C C E S S STO R I E S ( a n d C O
UNTING!

Good reading skills are essential not only for fourth-grade academic success, but also
) 4 GRADE

4th GRADE
for lifelong learning. The teacher-reviewed, curriculum-based activities and exercises
in this workbook will help your children catch up, keep up, and get ahead. Best of all,

READING
they’ll have lots of fun doing it! Some of the great features you’ll find inside are:

READ BETWEEN THE LINES

Do-it-yourself essays on games, camping trips, and more teach kids how to grasp
inferences within a story.

COMPARE & CONTRAST

COMPREHENSION

READING COMPREHENSION SUCCESS

Diagrams show how to figure out what similar subjects such as “comets or
asteroids?” have in common and how to tell them apart.

SUCCESS
FACT & OPINION
Interesting articles help kids back up opinions with facts from the text on topics
such as “Should kids have cell phones?”

QUESTION BUSTERS
Right There and Think-and-Search questions explain how to find the answers to A guide to building better
straightforward and not-so-straightforward questions about a story.
Reading Comprehension skills
STORY PLAN based on Sylvan’s proven
Fill-in-the-blank sections aid in building story structure, including setting, main
characters, problems, and solutions. techniques for success
Plus!
CHECK IT! STRIPS
Reinforce concepts and build confidence as kids check their own work.
ACTIVITIES, EXER
Give your child’s grades and confidence a boost with 4th Grade Reading CIS ES, A
Comprehension Success. ND
TIP
S T
O
SYLVAN LEARNING has been the premier provider of tutoring services in HE
North America for 30 years. With over 1,100 learning centers in the U.S. and LP
Canada, Sylvan has helped millions of children in grades pre-K through 12 CA
TC
realize their full potential. Sylvan provides individualized tutoring in its H U D
centers, at home, and online in subjects including reading, math, writing, P, K H EA
EEP U A
and study skills. Visit www.educate.com to learn more. P, A N D G E T

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RHVP68 US P Cover R3 W:441 3mmXH:279 5mm PANTONE 2745 C
 Contents
Before You Read After You Read
1 Get Ready to Read 1 9 Compare & Contrast 79
2 What Do You Know? 9 10 Story Plan 89
P Power Tools 17 P Power Tools 101
While You Read Review 105
3 Read between the Lines 21
4 Fact & Opinion 29
P Power Tools 37
5 Every Picture Tells a Story 41
6 Main Ideas & Details 49
P Power Tools 57
7 Question Busters! 59
8 More Question Busters! 67
P Power Tools 75

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 Checking your answers is part of the learning.
Each section of the workbook begins with an easy-to-use Check It! strip.
1. Before beginning the activities, cut out the Check It! strip.
2. As you complete the activities on each page, check your answers.
3. If you find an error, you can correct it yourself.

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 Get Ready to Read

When you’re getting ready to read, you should think ahead.

1
Ask yourself what you think you’ll find out. Then, when
you’re done reading, look and see if what you read had all the
answers to your questions. 3Check It!
Say you’re going to read this article: “200 Years of Bicycles.” Page 1
Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this article 1. Around 1818.
will answer. (Don’t try to answer the questions yet.) CROSS OUT the 2.
3.
X
Pedals.

questions you don’t think will be answered. 4.

5.
X
They don’t use
fuel or cause
pollution.

T 1. When were bicycles invented?

T 2. Who invented the wheel?
T 3. What was missing from the first bicycles?
Page 2
Ask Questions!
T 4. When was Susan B. Anthony born?
1. 1895

T 5. Why might bicycles replace cars? 2.

3.
4.
X
43
Asheville, North Carolina
5. X
6. Biltmore
7. 8000 acres
8. X
9. George Vanderbilt
Now, READ the article. 10. X

200 Years of Bicycles

Page 3
Bikes have come a long way since they were invented Ask Questions!
Suggestions:
around 1818 in France. The first bicycles didn’t even have -How long did it take to build?

pedals, you just pushed them along the ground with your -How much did it cost?
-What can you do for fun at

feet! Now, almost 200 years later, we’ve got special bikes Biltmore?
-What did Biltmore have that

for roads, trails, and racing. Since bikes don’t burn fuel other homes of the time
didn’t have?

or pollute the air, they may start to replace cars. Already,

bicycles make up 40 percent of all traffic in the European
city of Amsterdam. Even some American cities, like Portland,
Oregon, are making cars give way to bikes on their streets. Page 4
So start pedaling! Ask Questions!
1. Rocky Mountains
2. X
Go back and FILL IN the blanks in the questions you checked. Do you 3. No
4. 150
have all the answers? What about the questions you crossed out? Were you 5. X
6. 7–17
right? 7.
8.
$3000 per session
X
9. Yes
10. Every night, weather
permitting

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 Get Ready to Read

Ask Questions!
Say you’re going to read this article: “The Biggest Home in America.”
3Check It! Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this article
will answer. CROSS OUT the questions you don’t think will be answered.
Page 6
Ask Questions! T 1. When was the biggest home built?
Suggestions:
-What can you do on Lake MacShane?
-What sports tournaments are there?
-What does “Kimimela” mean?
-Are boys allowed at Camp Kimimela?
-About how many campers are there?
-What are the cabins like? T 2. What is the capital of Kentucky?

Page 7 T 3. How many bathrooms does the biggest home have?

Ask Questions!
Possible Questions:
-What is the nose made out of?
-What is inside my nose? T 4. Where is the biggest home in America?
-Why do we have snot?
-Why do we sneeze?
-How do we smell things?

T 5. Did Ben Franklin really discover electricity?

Page 8
Ask Questions!
T 6. What is the biggest home called?
Did the article answer all of
your questions?

T 7. How big is the backyard of the biggest home?

T 8. Why can’t penguins fly?

T 9. Who built the biggest home?

T 10. Is there a law that says kids can’t stay up all night?

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 Get Ready to Read

1
Now, READ the article.

The Biggest Home in America

Would you like to live in the biggest home in America? Then head down to
Asheville, North Carolina. That’s where you’ll find Biltmore––a palace built by
millionaire George Vanderbilt in 1895. Don’t forget to pack your swing set––
Biltmore’s backyard covers 8000 acres! And you’ll need lots of toilet paper for
the 43 bathrooms. There’s also an indoor pool and bowling alley, just in case you
get bored. The house took more than six years to build. No one’s sure how much
it cost, but consider this: it had electric lights, indoor bathrooms, central heating,
and an elevator during a time when most people were still using outhouses and
oil lamps!

Go back and FILL IN the blanks in the questions you checked. Do you have all the answers?
WRITE down three more questions that this article answers.

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 Get Ready to Read

Ask Questions!
Are you looking for a sleep-away camp? Read this brochure: “Be a Butterfly!”
Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this brochure will answer. CROSS
OUT the questions you don’t think will be answered.

T 1. Where is Camp Kimimela?

T 2. Are other camps better than Camp Kimimela?

T 3. Can I bring a cell phone to Camp Kimimela?

T 4. How many acres does Camp Kimimela cover?

T 5. Do lots of campers get homesick and leave Camp Kimimela?

T 6. How old are the campers?

T 7. How much does going to the camp cost?

T 8. How many kids have been injured at Camp Kimimela?

T 9. Can I play tennis and volleyball at Camp Kimimela?

T 10. When do they have campfires at Camp Kimimela?

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 Get Ready to Read

1
Now, READ the brochure.

Be a Butterfly!

Camp Kimimela is a camp for girls in the

beautiful Rocky Mountains. Kimimela
means “butterfly” in the Native
American Sioux language. Our campers
stay in cabins named after different
butterflies: Lacewings (ages 7–10),
Swallowtails (ages 11–14), and Monarchs
(15–17). While here, campers will live,
play, and learn under the careful watch
of a team of trained counselors.

Camp activities include boating and swimming

on beautiful Lake MacShane, as well as
horseback riding and hiking in the woods.
Campers may also join in sports tournaments
(tennis, archery, and volleyball) and cabin
skits and parties. Every day ends with a
“Snack & Sing” around the campfire (weather
permitting).

Our ten cozy cabins hold about 15 campers

each. Don’t worry––the cabins all have bunk
Our camp is on 150 acres that beds, electricity, and bathrooms!
include woods and a lake.
Since Camp Kimimela is all about outdoor fun,
you may not bring cell phones, MP3 players,
or hand-held game systems. Parent phone calls are limited to one per week.

Our six-week sessions run from June to mid-July and mid-July through August. The
cost is $3000 per session for one child. The deadline for applications is May 1st.

If you have any questions, please contact our management office.

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 Get Ready to Read

GO BACK and FILL IN the blanks in the questions you checked. Do you have all the answers?
WRITE down five more questions that this article answers.

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 Get Ready to Read

Ask Questions!
1
Curious about your sniffer? Read the article on the following page: “Your Nose: Inside and Out.”
Before you read, WRITE some questions you think this article will answer. There’s extra room so you
can come back after you read and fill in the answers.

1. Question:

2. Question:

3. Question:

4. Question:

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 Get Ready to Read

Now, READ the article.

Your Nose: Inside and Out

Noses come in all shapes and sizes. The part that sticks out of
your face isn’t bone—it’s mostly cartilage, a kind of tissue that
is strong, but wobbly.

Men have longer noses than women, but women have a better sense of smell!

When we breathe through our noses, we suck in way more than just air. That’s
why we need hair and snot in our noses! Snot (also called mucus) is made out of
water, salt, and other chemicals so it’s thick and sticky. The hair blocks the dust,
pollen, and other bad junk from getting into your lungs. Then the snot sticks to
it and pulls it down into your stomach when you sniff and swallow. Or, you can
blow the bad junk out of your nose, along with the snot.

A strong sneeze can shoot snot out of your nose at over 100 miles per hour!

What about smell? Odor molecules are very light, and they float up through your
nose to the very back. That’s where you’ve got a bunch of nerves that catch odors
and report them to your brain.

Your sense of smell goes hand in hand with your sense of taste. If something
smells rotten, you probably won’t eat it because your nose knows it will make
you sick! Thanks, Sniffie!

GO BACK and look at the questions you asked. ANSWER them. ADD any new questions and the
answers you learned here.

3 Check It!
Cut out the Check It! section on page 1, and see if you got the answers right.

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 Copyright © 2009 by Sylvan Learning, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random
House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.tutoring.sylvanlearning.com

Created by Smarterville Productions LLC

Cover and Interior Photos: Jonathan Pozniak
Cover and Interior Illustrations: Duendes del Sur

First Edition

ISBN: 978-0-375-43003-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

This book is available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions or premiums.
For more information, write to Special Markets/Premium Sales, 1745 Broadway, MD 6-2,
New York, New York 10019 or e-mail specialmarkets@randomhouse.com.

PRINTED IN CHINA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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