Fourth Grade Math Curriculum (Examples, Worksheets and Games)

This is a resource page for parents who want to teach their fourth grade some math. It covers the content of an average grade 4 curriculum. Read through the sections and download the workbooks provided. Remember to keep practice fun and challenging, and your child will thrive!

Missing the 3rd grade math fun, feel free to check out our Grade 3 Math Examples, Songs, and Games page. We also love to write fun and resourceful blogs about learning, check out our blog on 6 free back to school math activities to get to the next level.

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Introduction To Math Education

Like in constructing a building, there are no shortcuts to learning math. All new math is based on existing math concepts. Sir Isaac Newton, the famous scientist and mathematician once wrote: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”. This means that we discover truth by building on previous discoveries. Therefore it is important that we learn the foundation the best we can. This will unlock the math that we have yet to learn. Without a strong foundation we will find it difficult to follow along with the class in later years. Like building a house, we should aim to have the most complete foundation we can. Cracks must be mended before construction can continue.

These 2 pyramids represent educational learning with the foundation being Elementary School Math. The Pinnacle being a pHD. A knowledge gap at the base cuts through to the top.

Grade 4 Math Curriculum

It is very important for parents to be aware of what their child is learning in school. Your school gets its direction from a governing body. The school board issues a curriculum (or math standard) for schools to follow. The curriculum varies across the world. For example. in Russia, the multiplication table starts in Grade 1, while in Ontario it starts in Grade 3. That means your school’s curriculum differs from what you may find online. In this article we cover an estimation of what you can expect your school’s curriculum to contain.

Place value
Addition, subtraction, and estimation
Multiply by 1-digit numbers
Multiply by 2-digit numbers
Division
Factors, multiples and patterns
Equivalent fractions and comparing fractions
Add and subtract fractions
Multiply fractions
Understand decimals
Plane figures
Measuring angles
Area and perimeter
Units of measurement

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Grade 4 Math Curriculum Examples

Place Value

We use “Arabic Numerals”. The way numbers work is that each digit has a position. There’s a 1’s position. There’s a 10’s position. There’s a 100’s position.

When you write a number down, like 123, you can think about the digits times a factor for each position. As you may know 1 x 100 = 100, 2 x 10 = 20, and 3 x 1 = 3. So 123 = (1 x 100) + (2 x 10) + (3 x 1). Do you see how numbers are the same as adding its parts?

Addition, subtraction, and estimation

At this point in your fourth grader’s math education he or she should be able to add or subtract up to 5 digit numbers. That is no trivial task! Counting it out of the question, unless you’ve got serious time to burn. So, instead there are mathematical techniques or tricks can can get the right answer fast. Like any trick, it will take time to practice it. The key is to enjoy the process. Make it a game and it will not be work, but fun.

Addition

To add numbers the student must understand the concept of place value holders. Each digit of a number has a place value that is also the factor that multiplies it. Multiply every digit by its place value holder and add them all up to get the number. For example the number 123 has 3 digits: 1, 2, 3. Starting from the left, the first digit represents the 100’s place value. The second digit represents the 10’s place value. The third digit represents the 1’s place value. The number is the sum of the digits multiplied by their place value. Look at this: (1 x 100) + (2 x 10) + (3 x 1) = 100 + 20 + 3 = 123. This is the idea of place value and it is the basis of addition techniques.

The key to addition is the idea that you can add digits together if they have the same place value. If you add them together and the number is 10 or above, then you “carry over” 10 to the next highest place value. This works because 10 of some place value is always equal to 1 of the next highest place value. For example, ten 1’s equals one 10’s, Ten 10’s equals one 100’s, and so on.

Subtraction

To subtract numbers you also need to use place value holders. It also works the same way as addition, except the “carry over” brings one down from the place value digit above. This works because one 10’s is equal to ten 1’s. Or because one 100’s is equal to ten 10’s.

Rounding

Rounding To The Nearest 100. For example 13,149 rounds to 13,100. 13151 rounds to 13,200. Where does 13,150 round to? It depends on the situation, but usually we round up when a number is exactly in the middle.

Rounding to the Nearest 1000. For example 13,499 rounds to 13,000. 13,501 rounds to 14,000. Where does 13,500 round to? It depends on the situation, but usually we round up when a number is exactly in the middle.

Rounding Word Problems. You have a toy that is 18 cm long and you have two boxes that are 10 cm long and 20 cm long. You have to put the toy into the smallest box that it will fit into. Do you put it in the 20 cm long box or the 10 cm long box? Why?

Multiply by 1-digit numbers

To multiply just means to add a bunch of times. For example 3 x 4 means to add 3 to itself four times, like this: 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12. It is important to notice that order does not matter! 4 x 3 means to add 4 to itself three times, like this: 4 + 4 + 4 = 12. Do you see how 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 4 + 4 + 4 = 12? That means 3 x 4 = 4 x 3. This is the “commutative” property of numbers.

Multiply by 2-digit numbers

Multiplying bit numbers in our heads is not easy. We can make it easy by writing the numbers down on paper and then doing the trick of “carry over”. First, write down the two numbers one on top of the other. Then, starting from the right digit, multiply the 1-digit number with the number above. If the two digits are 3 and 4, the answer is 12. Now, “carry” the 1 and add it to left digit. This 1 would represent 10 coming out of 12, so it makes sense. Repeat this with every digit in the number. Now what are you left with? The answer of multiplying your original 2-digit numbers!

Looking for ways to get better at multiplying? We rounded up some of the best tools to learn multiplication here.

Division

Division is the fourth and final basic arithmetic operation. Just like subtraction is the opposite (inverse) of addition. Division is the opposite (inverse) of multiplication. If you multiply any number by 3, and then divide that number by 3, you have your original number. That’s because division undoes multiplication. That is true so long as the number you multiply and divide by is the same.

One way to think of division is to separate a number into equal groups. If you have a pizza with 10 slices, and you divide by 5 friends, each friend gets 2 slices. 10 divides by 5 equals 2 because you’ll get 5 equal groups of 2 from 10. Division only works if you get equal groups. if you do not get equal groups, then you’ll have a remainder left over. That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong with the calculation. Remember you must write down the remainder in your answer, or else your answer is incomplete.

Factors, Multiples and Patterns

Factors

A factor is a special number that divides another number. For example 2 is a factor of 4, because 2 divides 4. Numbers can have many factors. All numbers have at least two factors: 1 and itself. For example 1 is a factor of 4 because 1 divides 4. 4 is a factor of 4 because 4 divides 4. A number that only has 2 factors (1 and itself) is a prime number. Those are very special numbers because they are the factors of all other number! You can think of them as the Kings Of Numbers. If a number is not a prime number, then it is a composite number.

How can you tell if a number is “the factor” of another number? You can quickly divide another number by “the factor” number and if it divides evenly then it is indeed a factor. If there is some remainder (even 1 left over) then it is not a factor.

Is 2 a factor of 4? Yes because 4/2 = 2.
Is 2 a factor of 5? No because 5/2 is not a whole number.
Is 2 a factor of 6? Yes because 6/2 = 3.
Is 2 a factor of 3? No because 3/2 is not a whole number.
Is any number a factor of 5? Only 1 and 5 are factors of 5 because 5 is a prime number (a King of Numbers).

Multiples

When we do skip counting, we are repeatedly adding the same number. Those numbers that come up when we skip count are the multiples of that number.

If a number has a factor, then it is a multiple of a factor. Being a multiple of a number means that when doing skip counting with that factor, it comes up.

Is 4 a multiple of 2? Yes because 2 + 2 = 4
Is 6 a multiple of 2? Yes, because 2 + 2 + 2 = 6
is 7 a multiple of 2? No, because we do not “land” on 7 when we skip count 2, 4, 6, 8, .

Patterns

Anything that repeats itself is a pattern. If you like seeing patterns, you will enjoy math quite a bit. When skip counting with a number, you are seeing the pattern that number can create. By seeing a pattern, you can understand and describe how something works. When you know the patterns of a number when skip counting you will learn a lot about that number. Numbers have patterns like anything else in nature. For example, did you know that there are big bugs called cicadas that spend 17 years underground as a baby? They only come out on the 17th year? That means every year you see them, it will be a multiple of 13. Did you notice that 13 is a prime number? Why would the pattern be a multiple of the factor of 17? Because the only factors of 17 are 1 and itself, it avoids predators with multi-year lifecycles.

Equivalent fractions and comparing fractions

Fractions are another way to write division without actually doing any work.

Add and subtract fractions

The great thing about fractions is that they are so useful. You can easily add and subtract fractions without having to do division (which is hard).

Multiply fractions

Another thing you can do with fractions is multiply them together. This seems hard but like everything in math, there is a trick.

Fourth Grade Math Problem Worksheets

Are you looking for something you can hand to your second grader to start learning? Check out our free 4th grade math worksheets which you can download or try out our math problem generator to learn online. You can make a copy, download, and print these problems. Make it an exciting game and start learning Grade 4 math today! If you don’t have a printer, open it with the iPad and play online.

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Did you master Grade 4 Math? Continue to our Grade 5 Math Curriculum resource page!