4th grade Math: how to help at home
What your child learns in 4th grade math in the Washington State Learning Standards, and simple things to try at home.
Focus areas this year
- Quantity and Relationships: multi-digit multiplication and division, equivalent fractions, and decimals
- Spatial Reasoning: shapes, measurement and the space around us
- Data Analysis: asking questions, collecting data and reading what it shows
Easy ways to practice math at home
- Practice math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks.
- Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change together.
- 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.
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.
Prime & Composite
A prime number has exactly two factors, 1 and itself (like 7). A composite number has more than two (like 12). 1 is neither. Children find factors with multiplication and division facts.
Patterns & Tables
Extending increasing and decreasing number patterns, naming pattern rules, finding rules in input/output tables, and describing how two quantities are related.
Equations
Solving one-step equations with a box or letter for the unknown, using all four operations, and matching equations to word problems.
Fractions
Naming fractions from pictures and number lines, comparing fractions with the same top or bottom number, using 1/2 as a benchmark, and finding equal fractions.
Fractions
Reading and naming fractions from halves to tenths, counting by fractions, comparing them, and seeing 3 × 1/4 as three fourths.
Decimals
Tenths and hundredths as decimals, linking them to fractions, placing and comparing them on number lines, and adding and subtracting decimals by lining up the decimal points.
Polygons & Perimeter
Telling regular polygons (all sides and angles equal) from irregular ones, finding lines of symmetry, and measuring perimeter around regular and irregular shapes.
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 liters and milliliters, understanding kilo, centi and milli, and choosing a sensible unit and tool.
Feet, Pounds & Gallons
Knowing how US customary units compare (12 inches in a foot, 16 ounces in a pound, 4 quarts in a gallon) as well as metric and time units, and converting a larger unit to a smaller one.
Line Plots & Data
Reading tables of measurements in halves, fourths and eighths of an inch, finding differences, comparing two classes, and choosing questions that need data.
Times as Many
Multiplicative comparison: reading 35 = 5 × 7 as “35 is 5 times as many as 7”, and solving “times as many” problems, which are different from “more than” problems.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practicing the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- 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 Washington report card guide.
Common questions
Practice math facts in short bursts, such as five minutes while dinner cooks. Let your child handle small cash purchases, working out the change together. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
The Washington State Learning Standards 4th grade math units include Numbers to 10,000, Add & Subtract, Multiply & Divide, Prime & Composite, Patterns & Tables, Equations.
Free printable 4th grade math practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.