Fourth graders need to build their academic vocabulary so that they can better understand what they read and hear. Academic vocabulary words for fourth graders include many terms that are used often and across all subjects, so knowing them will be useful when reading, listening to lectures, writing reports, and making presentations to the class.
Print this list, courtesy of Hyde Park Central School District, and post it somewhere that you and your child will see it regularly. Try using these words in conversation with your child. Hearing new words in context is a great way for kids to learn new words and remember what they mean.
| accomplish | essential | reason |
| adaptation | estimate | recognize |
| approached | evidence | recommend |
| argued | example | represent |
| automatically | except | result |
| avoid | exclaimed | scarce |
| border | experiment | select |
| calculate | flexible | separate |
| cause | fortunate | simplify |
| circular | frequent | summarize |
| compare | furious | surround |
| concluding | increasing | support |
| confirm | infer | temporary |
| contrast | inform | threatens |
| convince | insert | tradition |
| critical | maximum | minimum |
| decrease | typical | usually |
| defend | observe | demonstrate |
| organized | describe | obvious |
| detail | passage | develop |
| persuade | difference | predict |
| prefer | disappointed | distribute |
| previous | effective | purpose |
| eliminate | prediction | rarely |
| entirety |
See the academic vocabulary lists for 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade, too.
Check out our weekly spelling lists for fourth graders. Week 1 features rhyming words.
