4th grade math: games and worksheets

4th grade math: bigger numbers, same facts

4th grade math takes the facts children learned in 3rd grade and uses them on much bigger numbers. The Common Core asks 4th graders to add and subtract multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm, multiply up to four digits by one digit and two two-digit numbers, and divide up to four digits by one digit. Fractions and decimals grow too. The list above shows the whole year; the games and worksheets on this page focus on the arithmetic, where daily practice pays off most. Math for a fourth grader is mostly this arithmetic, and the printable math sheets for 4th graders below come with answer keys.

What 4th graders learn in math

In operations, children compare with multiplication ("Tom has 3 times as many cards as Sam"), find factors and multiples of numbers up to 100, and tell prime from composite numbers. In place value, they read and round numbers up to 1,000,000. In multiplication they use area models and partial products: 23 × 45 = 800 + 100 + 120 + 15 = 1,035. In division they find quotients with remainders using place value and the link to multiplication. Fractions cover equal fractions, comparing, adding and subtracting with like denominators and mixed numbers; decimals start with tenths and hundredths. Measurement adds unit conversions, area and perimeter formulas and angles in degrees. It is a full year, and most of it rests on quick multiplication facts.

In England

A 4th grader (age 9-10) is the age of a Year 5 pupil in England, where children multiply and divide numbers up to four digits and use short division, so the sheets here also work as Year 5 maths sheets and questions. Children in class 4 (in India, for example) learn much the same mathematics.

Math games for 4th grade

The grade mix asks tables to 12, division with remainders and multi-digit sums and differences, all with a keypad. Facts still matter in 4th grade: a slow 7 × 8 makes every long multiplication slow. That's why the 11 and 12 times tables and the mixed speed test are part of this grade's tiles, along with long division, which the Common Core starts here with one-digit divisors. Teachers can show any game in projector mode for a whole-class warm-up in the classroom; at home they are fun, free multiplication games for fourth graders.

Helping a 4th grader at home

Ask your child to estimate before calculating: 4,526 + 2,875 is about 4,500 + 2,900 = 7,400. An estimate catches most column mistakes. Keep one speed test a day for the facts, and print a worksheet of the week's skill with an answer key, so your child can check their own work. When a factor or a prime number comes up in homework, the times table chart is the quickest way to list the factors: 24 appears as 3 × 8, 4 × 6, 2 × 12 and 1 × 24.