Diagnostic Report

The intermediate grades, most often viewed as grades four and five, build upon the integrated approach to curriculum that begins in a student’s primary years. The intermediate program sets high expectations for all students through a rigorous curriculum that focuses on Kentucky’s Learning Goals, Academic Expectations and the developmental characteristics of pre-adolescent children.

The fourth-grade program continues to address the intellectual, social, emotional, aesthetic and physical needs of fourth-grade students, thereby supporting their successful transition from the primary program. The fifth-grade program provides a continuation and extension of learning from the primary and fourth-grade programs and prepares student for transition to the middle level program.

Selected Great Ideas for Reading for grades four and five that were derived from the standards for intermediate grades were selected as targets for preservice and inservice teachers who are using literature to improve reading instruction in students and are in need specific activities to reinforce the skills and concepts that students need to master. These standards and accompanying reading strategies are contained in this document.

Many of the strategies matched to the Kentucky standards below are borrowed in part from Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach, Gail Tompkins author.