Weekly Reader is an example of a magazine that is written specifically for 4th grade students. Children's magazines come in a variety of choices, may be found online, and can often motivate students to read. Magazines cover current events and include additional non-fiction articles and stimulating photographs which students will find interesting. As an alternative to purchasing a magazine, there are free-to-print, non-fiction worksheets for 4th graders on Super Teacher.
Select a popular 4th grade novel and purchase a copy for each student to own, read and keep. Do not pass out the books until the end of reading period and have them put the book away in a safe place. Tell the students they are not allowed to look at their book during the school day, but ask them instead to read for 20 minutes while at home. Follow up each day and talk about what they read the prior evening, allow students an opportunity to talk about the story and what they have learned from reading. Then read the story aloud together as a class. Great Schools has a list of "Favorite Books for Fourth Grades."
Non-fiction stories are fun to explore through role-play as the students are reading the story. After each chapter, ask for volunteers to role-play a scene that was just read. Afterward ask the class: "What if you were in that situation, how would you have handled it differently?" Other students may want to volunteer to role-play the scene based on how they might have solved the particular problem.
Add an extra dimension to a biographical reading assignment and ask students to create a scrapbook about a character within the story. Suggest items to include within the scrapbook such as birth certificates, and any pertinent announcements or any achievements for that character. Additional research may be required for students to find the pertinent information and create a scrapbook that accurately represents what they have read. German Town Academy has an example of scrapbooks created by 4th and 5th graders.