Grade 4 Math: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 4 math in the Ontario Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- B1 Number Sense: Demonstrate an understanding of numbers and make connections to the way numbers are used in everyday life
- B2 Operations: Use knowledge of numbers and operations to solve mathematical problems encountered in everyday life
- C1 Patterns and Relationships: Identify, describe, extend, create, and make predictions about a variety of patterns, including those found in real-life contexts
- C2 Equations and Inequalities: Demonstrate an understanding of variables, expressions, equalities, and inequalities, and apply this understanding in various contexts
- C3 Coding: Solve problems and create computational representations of mathematical situations using coding concepts and skills
- C4 Mathematical Modelling: Apply the process of mathematical modelling to represent, analyse, make predictions, and provide insight into real-life situations This overall expectation has no specific expectations. Mathematical modelling is an iterative and interconnected process that is applied to various contexts, allowing students to bring in learning from other strands. Students’ demonstration of the process of mathematical modelling, as they apply concepts and skills learned in other strands, is assessed and evaluated. Read more about the mathematical modelling process.
- D1 Data Literacy: Manage, analyse, and use data to make convincing arguments and informed decisions, in various contexts drawn from real life
- D2 Probability: Describe the likelihood that events will happen, and use that information to make predictions
- E1 Geometric and Spatial Reasoning: Describe and represent shape, location, and movement by applying geometric properties and spatial relationships in order to navigate the world around them
- E2 Measurement: Compare, estimate, and determine measurements in various contexts
- F1 Money and Finances: Demonstrate the knowledge and skills needed to make informed financial decisions
Easy ways to practise math at home
- Practise math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks.
- Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change in multiples of 5¢.
- Cook together and double or halve a recipe.
- Ask “How do you know?” after an answer, even when it is right.
What each unit covers
Numbers to 10 000
Reading, writing and comparing numbers up to 10 000: place value, expanded form, number lines, ordering and rounding.
Add & Subtract
Adding and subtracting numbers to 10 000 with regrouping, counting up to subtract, estimating by rounding, and solving word problems.
Times Tables
Multiplication and division facts to 100 with arrays, fact families and strategies like doubling, using 10s, and thinking multiplication to divide.
Multiply & Divide
Multiplying and dividing 2- and 3-digit numbers by 1-digit numbers by splitting them by place value, plus remainders, estimating and word problems.
Multiply & Divide
Multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000, multiplying two- and three-digit numbers by one digit, writing remainders as fractions, and solving rate problems.
Fractions
Reading and naming fractions from halves to tenths, counting by fractions, comparing them, and seeing 3 × 1/4 as three fourths.
Tenths & Decimals
Reading, comparing, ordering and rounding decimal tenths, linking them to fractions, and adding and subtracting them.
Patterns & Tables
Extending increasing and decreasing number patterns, naming pattern rules, finding rules in input/output tables, and describing how two quantities are related.
Solve It
Using a letter or symbol for an unknown number, solving equations, checking an answer, and finding numbers that make an inequality true.
Data & Averages
Telling words-data from number-data, finding the mean, median and mode, and reading stem-and-leaf plots and tables that compare two groups.
Chance
Using words and fractions to say how likely something is, predicting from results, and noticing when the mean and median match.
Rectangles & Grids
Properties of rectangles (right angles, parallel and perpendicular sides, symmetry), reading coordinates, and sliding and flipping points on a grid.
Angles & Area
Sorting angles into acute, right, obtuse and straight, finding area by multiplying length by width, and working backward to find a side.
Metric Measures
Changing between grams and kilograms and between litres and millilitres, understanding kilo, centi and milli, and choosing a sensible unit and tool.
Telling Time
Reading analog clocks to the minute, switching between 12-hour (a.m./p.m.) and 24-hour time, and working out how long events last.
Money Sense
Ways to pay, totals and change for several items, what it means to spend, save, earn, invest and donate, and comparing prices to find a good buy.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Level 1
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Level 2
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Level 3
- Has it! Level 3 is the provincial standard. Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Level 4
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Ontario report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 4 child with math?
Practise math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks. Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change in multiples of 5¢. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 4 math in Ontario?
The Ontario Curriculum Grade 4 math units include numbers to 10 000, add & subtract, times tables, multiply & divide, multiply & divide, fractions.
Free printable Grade 4 math practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.