At Sylvan, we believe reading is one of life’s most important, most personal, most meaningful

skills and we’re so glad you’ve taken this step to become a successful reader with us. We know
spelling, vocabulary, and reading comprehension are all critical to successful, thoughtful, and
rewarding reading. A strong foundation in reading prepares fourth-graders to continue to read to
learn and makes them stronger readers and better learners.
At Sylvan, successful reading instruction encompasses numerous reading processes with
research-based, developmentally appropriate, and highly motivating, entertaining, and thought-
provoking lessons. The learning process relies on high standards and meaningful parental
involvement. With success, students feel increasing confidence. With increasing confidence,
students build even more success. It’s a perfect cycle. That’s why our Sylvan workbooks aren’t like
the others. We’re laying out the roadmap for learning. The rest is in your hands.
Parents, you have a special role. While your child is working, stay within earshot. If he needs
help or gets stuck, you can be there to get him on the right track. And you’re always there with
supportive encouragement and plenty of celebratory congratulations.
One of the best ways to see learning progress is to check one’s own work. Each section of the
workbook includes a Check It! strip. As your child completes the activities, he can check his
answers with Check It! If he sees any errors, he can fix them himself.
At Sylvan, our goal is confident readers who have the skills to tackle anything they want to read.
We love learning. We want all children to love it as well.
We hope you and your child enjoy Sylvan 4th-Grade Super Reading Success. As your child
continues on his academic journey, your local Sylvan Learning Center can also partner with your
family in ensuring your child remains a confident, successful, and independent learner! Turn the
page for more information and a special offer on our in-center service.
The Sylvan Team
 l a s s C l o wn
C s
How many clowns does it
take to make a parade?

CLASS CLOWNS
When Mrs. Kramer asks her fifth-grade class to help
raise money for the school library, Fantasia Zambini
comes up with a brilliant idea: she wants to turn their
fifth-grade class into a school for clowns!
The plan is simple: enter the Valentine’s Day Parade
and win the prize for best float.

The kids have one week to get in touch with

their inner clowns. Can Fan and the
Flying Zambinis turn a bunch of normal
kids into “Funny Valentines”?

q3
BOOK ★
The Not-So-Normal Life of
3 Jack and the Flying Zambinis★

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 l a s s C l o wn
C s
How many clowns does it
take to make a parade?

CLASS CLOWNS
When Mrs. Kramer asks her fifth-grade class to help
raise money for the school library, Fantasia Zambini
comes up with a brilliant idea: she wants to turn their
fifth-grade class into a school for clowns!
The plan is simple: enter the Valentine’s Day Parade
and win the prize for best float.

The kids have one week to get in touch with

their inner clowns. Can Fan and the
Flying Zambinis turn a bunch of normal
kids into “Funny Valentines”?

q3
BOOK ★
The Not-So-Normal Life of
3 Jack and the Flying Zambinis★

RHVP63_US_Cover_R2.indd 1
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 CONTENTS

Chapter One
How to Scare an Elephant................................ 1
Chapter Two
Big Idea........................................................... 11
Chapter Three
Funny Food..................................................... 19
Chapter Four
Professor Fiddle-Faddle.................................. 25
Chapter Five
Red Noses....................................................... 35
Chapter Six
Clown School Dropout................................... 43
Chapter Seven
Clown Alley..................................................... 53
Chapter Eight
Scared Silly...................................................... 63
Chapter Nine
The Big Parade................................................ 71
Chapter Ten
And the Winner Is . . . .................................... 79

Malc_0375430091_r5.indd 7 2008.6.28 11:29:32 PM

 Chapter One

How to Scare
an Elephant

here’s an elephant at the back door!” Dad

shouted early Monday morning. That was good
news for me—it meant that it was time to take
Wrinkle for a walk. It also meant that I wouldn’t
have to eat the breakfast my dad was making.
He’s on a health-food kick. Today’s menu included
pitted prunes, bran flakes, and wheat germ. Sound
gruesome? Well, it is.

Malc_0375430091_r5.indd 1 2008.6.28 11:29:32 PM

 - T op Ban
ig d
B it
Who would want to spoil
the greatest party on the planet?

BIG-TOP BANDIT
It’s Fan’s twelfth birthday, and the Flying Zambinis
throw a party that’s a cross between a traveling
carnival and the greatest show on earth.
Jack Turner gets his fortune told by the mysterious
Madame Bella, goes on a treasure hunt,
and even learns to fly on the trapeze.

Sounds like the best party ever, right? Well it is,

except for one thing: there’s a thief on the loose!
And everyone’s a suspect. Can Jack and Fan
catch the thief before her birthday
party goes bust?

q4
BOOK ★
The Not-So-Normal Life of
4 Jack and the Flying Zambinis★

RHVP64_US_Cover.indd 1
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 - T op Ban
ig d
B it
Who would want to spoil
the greatest party on the planet?

BIG-TOP BANDIT
It’s Fan’s twelfth birthday, and the Flying Zambinis
throw a party that’s a cross between a traveling
carnival and the greatest show on earth.
Jack Turner gets his fortune told by the mysterious
Madame Bella, goes on a treasure hunt,
and even learns to fly on the trapeze.

Sounds like the best party ever, right? Well it is,

except for one thing: there’s a thief on the loose!
And everyone’s a suspect. Can Jack and Fan
catch the thief before her birthday
party goes bust?

q4
BOOK ★
The Not-So-Normal Life of
4 Jack and the Flying Zambinis★

RHVP64_US_Cover.indd 1
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CONTENTS

Chapter One
Big Surprise ...................................................... 1
Chapter Two
Birthday Bash................................................. 11
Chapter Three
Treasure Hunt ................................................ 23
Chapter Four
Flying High .................................................... 31
Chapter Five
Stop, Thief!..................................................... 41
Chapter Six
School Stakeout.............................................. 51
Chapter Seven
A Likely Suspect............................................. 63
Chapter Eight
The Big Plan ................................................... 69
Chapter Nine
The Trap Is Set ............................................... 79
Chapter Ten
Gotcha! .......................................................... 87
Chapter Eleven
All’s Well That Ends Well................................ 95
 Chapter One

Big Surprise

here’s an elephant at the back door,” my dad

called one Saturday morning. “And she’s wearing a
birthday hat.”
“Birthday hat?” I sat up in bed, bleary-eyed. “It’s
not my birthday.”
“No, it’s not,” Dad said, flicking on the bedroom
light. “But someone very close to you just turned
eleven.”

RHVP64_US_F1,5,6,P1,14,15,19,36,Sec1:1 Sec1:1 8/5/08 3:48:22 PM

 4th-Grade Spelling Success

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Spelling Contents
1 Prefixes 1 11 What’s a Root? 69
2 NOT Prefixes 7 12 More about Roots 75
3 More Prefixes 13 13 Even More Roots! 81
4 Prefixes Everywhere! 19 14 Roots: The Final Chapter 87
5 Multiprefixed! 25 Review 93
Review 31 15 Homophones 97
6 Meet the Suffixes 35 16 Harder Homophones 103
7 Total Suffixment! 41 17 Word Challenge 109
8 Is It Suffixable? 47 Review 115
9 Highly Suffixous 53 i Spelling Words Index 119
10 The Last Suffixes 59
Review 65
 Prefixes

Keywords
1
A PREFIX is one or more syllables that contain meaning added to
the beginning of a word. Here are three that should look familiar: 3Check It!
“Pro-” means forward, positive, or supporting. Page 1
“Con-” or “com-” means with or together.
Keywords
“Re-” means again. 1. communicate
2. complaining

READ the paragraph. The words in bold are your keywords. 3.

4.
confused
constantly
5. process
6. progress
7. project
8. propose
9. rearranging
My friends and I started a project to raise money to send to 10. relief
11. repeat

Africa. We were confused about the process of fundraising, 12. respect

so we had a meeting. It was hard to communicate or Page 2

propose any ideas because we all talked at once. We had Split It!


DPNtNVtOJtDBUF


DPNtQMBJOtJOH
to repeat ourselves many times. And Melissa (my best

DPOtGVTFE


DPOtTUBOUtMZ


QSPDtFTT
friend) was constantly complaining about how we were

QSPHtSFTT


QSPKtFDU


QSPtQPTF
doing things. I tried to respect her opinion, but she kept

SFtBStSBOHtJOH


SFtMJFG

rearranging all our plans. It was a relief when she left for

SFtQFBU


SFtTQFDU

ballet class. After that, we made lots of progress and had

Page 3
great ideas! Criss Cross
Across
1. progress
3. process
8. propose
FILL IN the blanks with the bold words in alphabetical order. Down

2. rearranging
4. complaining
5. confused
1. 7. 6. constantly
7. repeat

2. 8.
Page 4
3. 9.
Word Blocks
4. 10. 1. represent
2. produce
3. reminding
4. renew
5. 11. 5. profit
6. competing
7. pronounce
6. 12. 8. construct

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 Prefixes

Split It!
SPLIT these keywords into syllables, using dots to mark the breaks.
3 Check It! HINT: A prefix is usually its own syllable. Also, when a syllable ends in a
Page 5 LONG vowel sound, it usually ends with a vowel, like this: patper.

Word Search TIP: You usually use “com-” when the next letter is “p,” “m,” or “b.”
W
C
P
R
M
X
C
O
Z
W
R
E
K
C
P
R
P
R
E
X
R
E
&YBNQMF

DPOUSPM



DPOtUSPM
O O P M C L O U O R P
N G R P O I N C T E A
V R O A N E T L E C I
I A P R O F E S S O R
N M F E R E S W T V E
C
E
O
Q
N
P
C
R
R
O
E
V
T
I
E
D
B
E
E
R
D
P communicate 1.

complaining 2.

Page 6 confused 3.
Match Up
1. e
constantly 4.
2. b
3. g
4. f process 5.
5. i
6. h
7.
8.
a
c
progress 6.
9. d

project 7.

propose 8.

rearranging 9.

relief 10.

repeat 11.

respect 12.

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 Prefixes

Criss Cross
1
FILL IN the grid by answering the clues with keywords.

ACROSS DOWN
1. Improvement 2. Putting things in a different order
3. Method or system 4. Whining

8. Suggest an idea 5. Puzzled

6. Something that never stops is done…
7. To say again

1 2

3 4

5 6 7

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 Prefixes

Word Blocks
FILL IN the blanks with “com” or “con,” “re,” or “pro” to make the correct word. Then FILL IN the
word blocks with words of the same shape.
Example: That show is a repeat. I’ve seen it before!

I went to the library to new the books I haven’t finished yet.

The candy costs us $1 and we sell it for $2. That’s a dollar fit!

My art class is working together to struct a tower out of toothpicks.

How do you nounce the word anemone?

We sent Jeremiah to the coach so he could present the team.

With a little help, I can duce ten chocolate cream pies a day!

Our tennis team is peting in a major tournament.

Thanks for minding me about the sneaker sale!

1 5

2 6

3 7

4 8

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4th-Grade Vocabulary Success
Vocabulary Contents
1 Synonyms & Antonyms 123 9 Roots 195
2 Homophones 131 10 More Roots 203
3 Homographs 139 11 Even More Roots 211
Review 147 12 Roots, Final Call! 219
4 Prefixes 151 Review 227
5 More Prefixes 159 i Vocabulary Words Index 231
6 Even More Prefixes 167
7 Suffixes 175
8 More Suffixes 183
Review 191
 Synonyms & Antonyms

Keywords
1
BtNVTF—uh-MYOOZ verb 1. to charm or entertain 2. to make smile or laugh
3Check It!
Synonyms: charm, entertain, delight. Antonyms: bore, tire. Page 2
Read & Replace
CVEtEZ—BUH-dee noun friend 1. immense
2. buddy
Synonyms: pal, friend, chum. Antonyms: enemy, foe. 3. probably
4. polite
5. discontinue
6. enable
EJTtDPOtUJOtVF—DIS-kuhn-TIHN-yoo verb to stop doing something 7. plunge
8. relax
Synonyms: stop, end, terminate. Antonyms: continue, proceed, persist. 9. amuse
10. intelligent

FOtBtCMF—ehn-AY-buhl verb to make possible

Synonyms: allow, permit, let. Antonyms: prevent, stop, prohibit.
Page 3
Blank Out!
JNtNFOTF—ih-MEHNS adjective very large 1. buddy
Synonyms: huge, vast, massive. Antonyms: tiny, minute, small. 2. relax
3. probably
4. amuse
5. discontinue
JOtUFMtMJtHFOU—ihn-TEHL-uh-juhnt adjective smart 6.
7.
intelligent
polite
Synonyms: smart, bright, clever. Antonyms: stupid, ignorant, dense. 8. enable
9. immense
10. plunge

QMVOHF—pluhnj verb 1. to move abruptly forward or downward 2. to thrust

into something
Synonyms: dive, plummet. Antonyms: leap, climb. Page 4
Tic-Tac-Toe
QPtMJUF—puh-LIT adjective showing good manners 1.
2.
pal, friend, ally
bore, depress, annoy
Synonyms: respectful, courteous. Antonyms: rude, impolite, offensive. 3. stop, halt, cease
4. mannerly, courteous,
considerate

QSPCtBtCMZ—PRAHB-uh-blee adverb very likely

Synonyms: likely, doubtless. Antonyms: unlikely, doubtfully.

SFtMBY—rih-LAKS verb 1. to loosen up 2. to make less strict

Synonyms: unwind, loosen up, calm down. Antonyms: tense up, stiffen, strain. Page 5
Criss Cross
ACROSS DOWN
1. polite 1. plunge
2. buddy 3. discontinue
5. immense 4. amuse
6. enable
7. intelligent
8. relax

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 Synonyms & Antonyms

Read & Replace

READ the paragraph. The bold words are SYNONYMS to the keywords.
3 Check It! Synonyms are words that have the same meanings, like small and little. Then
FILL IN the blanks in the second paragraph with keywords.
Page 6
Petal Power amuse buddy enable immense discontinue
1. buddy
2.
3.
enable
immense
intelligent plunge polite probably relax
4. intelligent
5. probably

Dear Mom and Dad,

Thanks for the 1 care package you sent.

IVHF
Page 7 My 2 Rick 3 ate half
QBM RVJUF
MJLFMZ
Night & Day
1. i 6. e the cookies by himself. I was 4 but made
2. j 7. h DPVSUFPVT
3. a 8. d
4.
5.
c
f
9.
10.
g
b
him 5 pigging out! The money you included
TUPQ

will 6 me to buy some snacks at the

BMMPX

Trading Post. Right now, though, it’s so hot I need to take

Page 8 a7 in the cool water. Then I will

EJWF
Blank Out! 8 and let my friends 9
1. polite VOXJOE FOUFSUBJO
2. intelligent
3. discontinue me with their stupid jokes. (Don’t get me wrong—my friends
4. probably
5. amuse
6. buddy
7. enable are very 10 . It’s just their jokes that aren’t!)
8. plunge TNBSU
9. relax
10. immense
Can’t wait to see you on Visiting Day!

Max

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 Synonyms & Antonyms

Blank Out!
1
FILL IN the blanks with keywords. Each sentence contains an ANTONYM of a keyword in bold.
Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings, like fast and slow.

amuse buddy enable immense discontinue

intelligent plunge polite probably relax

1. At first she was my FOFNZ, but now she’s my .

2. If studying made you UFOTF, you can by shooting some hoops.

3. It seemed VOMJLFMZ that she would win, but she will be the class

president.

4. Though the first act might CPSF you, the second one will definitely

you.

5. Hit “OK” to LFFQ
HPJOH or “Cancel” to .

6. Many people think birds are TUVQJE, but they are actually very .

7. Even though my brother is SVEF to me, I try to be to him.

8. Playing basketball might QSFWFOU you from getting better, but staying home will

you to get well.

9. We walked through a MJUUMF park

and then got to an

field.

10. The rollercoaster DMJNCFE to

the top before it began to

downward.

Sylvan_9780375430053_lay_all_1.indd 3 6/18/08 11:08:07 AM

 Synonyms & Antonyms

Tic-Tac-Toe
PLAY Tic-tac-toe with synonyms and antonyms. CIRCLE any word that is a synonym to the blue
word. PUT an X through any antonyms. When you find three synonyms or antonyms in a row, you
are a winner! The line can go up and down, across, or diagonally.
HINT: If you find a word you don’t know, check a dictionary or thesaurus.
Example:

GBTU

 slow rapid
lazy


crawling racing quick

speedy swift

sluggish


CVEEZ 
BNVTF

opponent rival partner entertain bore make laugh

chum enemy foe please depress annoy

pal friend ally aggravate annoy charm


EJTDPOUJOVF 
QPMJUF

stop start abort mannerly courteous considerate

halt continue maintain respectful rude impolite

cease quit continue crude refined nasty

Sylvan_9780375430053_lay_all_1.indd 4 6/18/08 11:08:07 AM

Reading Comprehension Contents
Before You Read
1 Get Ready to Read 237
2 What Do You Know? 245
While You Read
3 Read between the Lines 253
4 Fact & Opinion 261
5 Every Picture Tells a Story 269
6 Main Ideas & Details 277
7 Question Busters! 285
8 More Question Busters! 293
After You Read
9 Compare & Contrast 301
 Get Ready to Read

When you’re getting ready to read, you should think ahead.

1
Ask yourself what you think you’ll find out. Then, when
you’re done reading, look and see if what you read had all the
answers to your questions. 3Check It!
Say you’re going to read this article: “200 Years of Bicycles.” Page 1
Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this article 1. Around 1818.
will answer. (Don’t try to answer the questions yet.) CROSS OUT the 2.
3.
X
Pedals.

questions you don’t think will be answered. 4.

5.
X
They don’t use
fuel or cause
pollution.

T 1. When were bicycles invented?

T 2. Who invented the wheel?
T 3. What was missing from the first bicycles?
Page 2
Ask Questions!
T 4. When was Susan B. Anthony born?
1. 1895

T 5. Why might bicycles replace cars? 2.

3.
4.
X
43
Asheville, North Carolina
5. X
6. Biltmore
7. 8000 acres
8. X
9. George Vanderbilt
Now, READ the article. 10. X

200 Years of Bicycles

Page 3
Bikes have come a long way since they were invented Ask Questions!
around 1818 in France. The first bicycles didn’t even have Suggestions:
-How long did it take to build?

pedals, you just pushed them along the ground with your -How much did it cost?
-What can you do for fun at

feet! Now, almost 200 years later, we’ve got special bikes Biltmore?
-What did Biltmore have that

for roads, trails, and racing. Since bikes don’t burn fuel other homes of the time
didn’t have?

or pollute the air, they may start to replace cars. Already,

bicycles make up 40 percent of all traffic in the European
city of Amsterdam. Even some American cities, like Portland,
Oregon, are making cars give way to bikes on their streets. Page 4
So start pedaling! Ask Questions!
1. Rocky Mountains
2. X
Go back and FILL IN the blanks in the questions you checked. Do you 3. No
4. 150
have all the answers? What about the questions you crossed out? Were you 5. X
6. 7–17
right? 7.
8.
$3000 per session
X
9. Yes
10. Every night, weather
permitting

Sylvan_9780375430039_lay_all_1.indd 1 6/18/08 10:53:45 AM

 Get Ready to Read

Ask Questions!
Say you’re going to read this article: “The Biggest Home in America.”
3Check It! Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this article
will answer. CROSS OUT the questions you don’t think will be answered.
Page 6
Ask Questions! T 1. When was the biggest home built?
Suggestions:
-What can you do on Lake MacShane?
-What sports tournaments are there?
-What does “Kimimela” mean?
-Are boys allowed at Camp Kimimela?
-About how many campers are there?
-What are the cabins like? T 2. What is the capital of Kentucky?

Page 7 T 3. How many bathrooms does the biggest home have?

Ask Questions!
Possible Questions:
-What is the nose made out of?
-What is inside my nose? T 4. Where is the biggest home in America?
-Why do we have snot?
-Why do we sneeze?
-How do we smell things?

T 5. Did Ben Franklin really discover electricity?

Page 8
Ask Questions!
T 6. What is the biggest home called?
Did the article answer all of
your questions?

T 7. How big is the backyard of the biggest home?

T 8. Why can’t penguins fly?

T 9. Who built the biggest home?

T 10. Is there a law that says kids can’t stay up all night?

Sylvan_9780375430039_lay_all_1.indd 2 6/18/08 10:53:45 AM

 Get Ready to Read

1
Now, READ the article.

The Biggest Home in America

Would you like to live in the biggest home in America? Then head down to
Asheville, North Carolina. That’s where you’ll find Biltmore––a palace built by
millionaire George Vanderbilt in 1895. Don’t forget to pack your swing set––
Biltmore’s backyard covers 8000 acres! And you’ll need lots of toilet paper for
the 43 bathrooms. There’s also an indoor pool and bowling alley, just in case you
get bored. The house took more than six years to build. No one’s sure how much
it cost, but consider this: it had electric lights, indoor bathrooms, central heating,
and an elevator during a time when most people were still using outhouses and
oil lamps!

Go back and FILL IN the blanks in the questions you checked. Do you have all the answers?
WRITE down three more questions that this article answers.

RHVP68_US_Text.indd 3 8/3/08 1:09:04 PM

 Get Ready to Read

Ask Questions!
Are you looking for a sleep-away camp? Read this brochure: “Be a Butterfly!”
Before you read, CHECK the box of each question you think this brochure will answer. CROSS
OUT the questions you don’t think will be answered.

T 1. Where is Camp Kimimela?

T 2. Are other camps better than Camp Kimimela?

T 3. Can I bring a cell phone to Camp Kimimela?

T 4. How many acres does Camp Kimimela cover?

T 5. Do lots of campers get homesick and leave Camp Kimimela?

T 6. How old are the campers?

T 7. How much does going to the camp cost?

T 8. How many kids have been injured at Camp Kimimela?

T 9. Can I play tennis and volleyball at Camp Kimimela?

T 10. When do they have campfires at Camp Kimimela?

Sylvan_9780375430039_lay_all_1.indd 4 6/18/08 10:53:47 AM

 Copyright © 2009 by Sylvan Learning, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random
House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

www.tutoring.sylvanlearning.com

Created by Smarterville Productions LLC

Cover and Interior Photos: Jonathan Pozniak
Cover and Interior Illustrations: Duendes del Sur

First Edition

ISBN: 978-0-375-43007-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available upon request.

This book is available at special discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotions or premiums.
For more information, write to Special Markets/Premium Sales, 1745 Broadway, MD 6-2,
New York, New York 10019 or e-mail specialmarkets@randomhouse.com.

PRINTED IN CHINA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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