Perhaps the most difficult part of selecting stories for language arts is knowing which stories the readers can handle. To determine the reading level of a story, count the number of words with more than three syllables in a thirty-sentence passage. At the fourth-grade reading level, the passage should contain no more than two three-syllable words. For advanced students, a passage at the fifth-grade reading level contains no more than six three-syllable words; a passage at a sixth-grade reading level contains no more than 12 three-syllable words.
Choosing literary works that relate to other studies encourages a holistic process in information acquisition. Some samples of things taught in other areas of the fourth-grade curriculum include: the food pyramid, the cause and effect relationships in history and the basics of physical science. Stories that reflect these subjects (such as selections of "A Wrinkle in Time" for physical science) create an interdependent learning environment.
Nancy L. Hadaway suggests in her article "Matching Books and Readers" that teachers choose literature that reflects a student's community. In this way, the student can visualize the story more readily. Even if you cannot find appropriate literature about your community, look for local authors, whose experiences come closer to mimicking the child's.
You can also use your language arts stories to teach the students about local events. For example, a nonfiction story about George Washington might accompany a Presidents' Day celebration, while a slightly scary story might accompany the Halloween holiday.
By introducing stories that relate to the children's interests, you engage them more actively in the learning process. For example, in a course that Robert Winters and Bobby Banquer developed for the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, fourth grade students use stories from comic books, such as Spiderman and Batman, to develop language arts skills.