Choose a short poem from a text that is suggested for fourth graders. Develop objective questions from the poem relating to chronological events that occurred in it. For example, if the poem begins with a bear waking from a slumber in a cave, a good question would ask, "What did the bear do first in the poem?" The correct choice in the selection set would include an answer referencing the bear waking in the cave.
Pick an excerpt from a fourth grade-level book. Develop questions based on specific facts within the story. For instance, select an excerpt from "James and the Giant Peach" by Roald Dahl. Ask questions based on the facts, such as, "Who are Spiker and Sponge in the story?" The correct answer would indicate Spiker and Sponge are James' nasty aunts.
Testing vocabulary helps measure a child’s reading comprehension skills. Selecting a fourth grade appropriate paragraph on a subject such as science can determine if a fourth grader is meeting vocabulary expectations. For instance, assign a short paragraph on how bees make honey. Then ask a definition question on a common word used in the paragraph. For example, "What does the word 'pollinate' mean," followed by a set of objective choices demonstrates if a child is making satisfactory progress with vocabulary benchmarks.
Requiring students to draw comparisons measures reading comprehension and analysis. Having students read a paragraph about two different characters allows the development of comparison questions. For example, a short story comparing the life of a city mouse and country mouse can then lead to the question, "Choose the answer that best describes a difference between the country mouse and city mouse."