A daily editing and grammar warm-up series for 4th-grade students aligned with TEKS. Students act as language detectives to identify and solve sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling errors.
"after the play ended, we eat dinner at our favorite restaurant on main street"
"After the play ended, we ate dinner at our favorite restaurant on Main Street."
Crimes: (1) Capitalize first word After. (2) Correct past tense verb ate (not "eat"). (3) Capitalize proper street noun Main Street. (4) Add final period.
Clue B (Apostrophes & Contractions)
"dont touch that map its very fragile and old"
"Don't touch that map. It's very fragile and old." (or join with semicolon)
Crimes: (1) Capitalize Don't. (2) Missing apostrophe in contraction Don't. (3) Run-on fix (period or semicolon after map). (4) Capitalize It's. (5) Missing apostrophe in contraction it's (its -> it is). (6) End period.
2
Spotlight Suspect Decoded
A) We bought apples, bananas, grapes, and oranges at the store. Explanation: This is correct. Commas are used correctly to separate list items, including the optional Oxford comma (TEKS 4.11.D.viii).
B) We bought apples bananas grapes, and oranges at the store. (Missing commas after apples, bananas)
C) We bought, apples, bananas, grapes and oranges at the store. (Incorrect comma after verb "bought")
D) We bought apples, bananas, grapes and, oranges at the store. (Incorrect comma after "and")
3
Codebreaker Master Combination
Current: "The energetic detective solved the grammar mystery."
"The energetic detective will solve the grammar mystery."
Note: "will solve" changes the sentence correctly to future tense (TEKS 4.11.D.ii).
OFFICIAL TEACHER EXAMINER KEY / CONFIDENTIAL
Grade 4 ELAR DOL
Teacher Master Key: WED-04
TEKS 4.11.D(iii), (vi), & (vii)
Sentence Sleuths
Instructional Key & Case Solutions
DAY 3: WEDNESDAY KEY
Sleuth Strategy: Watch for subject-object pronoun errors like "him and me". Remind students to test each pronoun separately (e.g., "Him is reading" vs. "He is reading").
1
Crime Scene Investigation: Resolved Cases
Clue A (Capitalization Crimes)
"sarah and her dog rusty love to run in memorial park every tuesday."
"Sarah and her dog Rusty love to run in Memorial Park every Tuesday."
Crimes: (1) Capitalize Sarah (person name). (2) Capitalize dog's name Rusty. (3) Capitalize proper park name Memorial Park. (4) Capitalize day of the week Tuesday.
Clue B (Subject Pronouns)
"him and me are reading a book about the texas revolution."
"He and I are reading a book about the Texas Revolution."
Crimes: (1) Correct pronouns to subject form: He and I (not "him and me"). (2) Capitalize historical event Texas Revolution.
2
Spotlight Suspect Decoded
"The detectives searched the room, but they couldn't find ______ magnifying glasses."
A) theirs (incorrect possessive)
B) their Correct possessive pronoun (TEKS 4.11.D.vi).
C) there (homophone for location)
D) they're (contraction for they are)
3
Codebreaker Master Combination
"Dr. Watson found a muddy footprint near the wooden fence."
Common Nouns (List 2):
footprint
fence
Proper Nouns (List 1):
Dr. Watson
None other
OFFICIAL TEACHER EXAMINER KEY / CONFIDENTIAL
Grade 4 ELAR DOL
Teacher Master Key: THU-04
TEKS 4.11.D(iv) & (v)
Sentence Sleuths
Instructional Key & Case Solutions
DAY 4: THURSDAY KEY
Sleuth Strategy: Watch for double superlative comparison patterns ("most tallest"). Emphasize that comparative modifiers should not combine "-est" with "most" (TEKS 4.11.D.iv).
1
Crime Scene Investigation: Resolved Cases
Clue A (Adverb Modifiers)
"the rabbit hopped quick across the lawn and hid under a bush"
"The rabbit hopped quickly across the lawn and hid under a bush."
"that is the most tallest tree in the whole forest of pine trees"
"That is the tallest tree in the whole forest of pine trees."
Crimes: (1) Capitalize That. (2) Delete "most" to eliminate double comparison error (tallest is already a superlative modifier). (3) Add final period.
2
Spotlight Suspect Decoded
"The secret files were hidden behind the old wooden bookshelf."
A) The secret files (noun phrase)
B) were hidden (verb phrase)
C) behind the old wooden bookshelf Prepositional phrase beginning with "behind" (TEKS 4.11.D.v).
D) old wooden bookshelf (noun phrase)
3
Codebreaker Master Combination
Sample Correct Sentence:
"The sleuth walked quietly into the office."
Instructional Tip: "quietly" must modify how the action is done (adverb). The prepositional phrase "into the office" starts with "into" (preposition) and finishes with "office" (object of the preposition) (TEKS 4.11.D.iv, v).
