Fourth grade math

Fourth grade is the arithmetic heavy lifting: two-digit by two-digit multiplication, long division with a one-digit divisor, and decimals to hundredths tied back to fractions. Fractions with equal denominators get added and subtracted, and equivalence gets formalized. Geometry picks up too, with angle measurement using a protractor and classification by parallel and perpendicular lines. TEKS adds a financial literacy strand covering profit and fixed versus variable expenses. Our rooms cover multiplication, division, fractions, place value, measurement, and multi-step problems. Angles, protractor work, and financial literacy are gaps.

• K
• 1st
• 2nd
• 3rd
• 4th
• 5th

What to aim for this year

By the end of fourth grade, a child working at grade level can usually do these.

• Represents decimals to tenths and hundredths with models, money, and number lines, and relates them to fractions
• Compares and orders decimals to the hundredths
• Adds and subtracts whole numbers and decimals to the hundredths using the standard algorithm
• Multiplies a two-digit number by a two-digit number using the standard algorithm, and models it with arrays or area
• Divides up to a four-digit dividend by a one-digit divisor
• Adds and subtracts fractions with equal denominators using objects and pictorial models
• Determines equivalent fractions and compares fractions with different numerators and denominators
• Classifies two-dimensional figures by parallel and perpendicular lines and by angle size, and identifies lines of symmetry
• Measures and draws angles with a protractor
• Converts measurements within the customary system and within the metric system
• Represents data in frequency tables, dot plots, and stem-and-leaf plots
• Calculates profit and distinguishes fixed from variable expenses (TEKS financial literacy)

Free, and legal to use

Every one of these costs nothing. The license tag says what you may actually do with it, which is not the same question as whether it is free to read.

• MEP Primary, Year 5 (CIMT) Free Free to use

  Full lesson plans and practice books covering the fourth grade range and beyond, and notably demanding on multi-step reasoning. It uses metric units and pounds sterling throughout, so you will need to supply customary units and dollar practice yourself.

  License: Free to download, copyright retained by the originators through CIMT, non-profit-making purposes only.

• Illustrative Mathematics K-5 Math, Grade 4 Free CC BY

  Free through Kendall Hunt. The fraction equivalence and comparison units are the strongest part, and the multiplication progression is built up rather than announced as a rule to follow.

  License: CC BY 4.0. Openly licensed for adaptation with attribution.

• Simply Good and Beautiful Math 4 (The Good and the Beautiful) Free Openly licensed

  120 full-color lessons, free as a PDF, with supporting video lessons posted on the level's FAQ page. More independent than the K-3 levels, which helps if you are teaching several children at once. General Christian worldview throughout.

  License: Free to download and use, copyright retained by the publisher. Not openly licensed.

• EngageNY Mathematics, Grade 4 modules Free CC BY-NC-SA

  The fraction modules are among the more carefully built free material at this level, and the long division sequence is patient and thorough. Free PDFs from the New York State archive.

  License: CC BY-NC-SA. Free for non-commercial use with attribution and ShareAlike. Eureka Math Squared is a separate paid product not covered by this license.

• Khan Academy, 4th grade math Free CC BY-NC-SA Not confirmed

  Strong this year for long division practice with step-by-step hints, and for decimal place value. The instant feedback matters when a child is making one small procedural slip over and over.

  License: Free to use. Terms of Service state CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 for Licensed Educational Content; video licensing has reportedly changed. Check before adapting.

Paid programs, honestly

Nothing here is required. These are the programs families most often ask about, with the real drawback of each one named rather than skipped.

• Beast Academy Level 4 Paid About $100 per year online, verified at $99.99, or roughly $120 to $130 for a printed level.

  Good at: Strong on the conceptual side of fractions and on multi-step problem solving. Children who find standard fourth grade math tedious often come alive here.

  Drawback: Long division and computational fluency get less attention than the standards require, so you will supplement. The difficulty ramps sharply at this level and a struggling child can fall off it entirely.

  Suits: A child who is already fluent and needs harder thinking, not more practice.

• Dimensions Math 4 (Singapore Math Inc.) Paid $14.50 per book, about $58 for student books, more with guides.

  Good at: Bar models make multi-step and fraction word problems tractable in a way few programs manage. The mental math strategies for multiplication are well designed.

  Drawback: Requires the Home Instructor's Guide, and the pace assumes solid mastery of everything from grade 3. A child with shaky facts will drown, and the program will not stop to fix that.

  Suits: A child arriving from a strong third grade, with a parent already comfortable with bar models.

• Math-U-See Delta and Epsilon Paid Roughly $130 to $145 per Level Up Set with blocks owned, and the Fraction Overlay kit is an additional purchase for Epsilon.

  Good at: Delta teaches division to mastery and Epsilon covers fractions with a manipulative system that makes fraction equivalence visible. The fraction overlays are the standout piece of the program.

  Drawback: The topic-per-level structure means fourth grade content is split across two levels, so pacing against grade-level standards takes planning. Geometry, data, and measurement remain thin.

  Suits: A child who needs division or fractions rebuilt from the ground up, taught by a parent willing to map the pacing.

• Saxon Math 5/4 Paid Roughly $130 to $200 for the complete home study kit, varying widely by retailer. Bundles with the Saxon Teacher digital lessons run higher, near $148 at some retailers.

  Good at: Constant cumulative review keeps long division and fact fluency from decaying, which is a common fourth grade failure point. Lessons are short and incremental.

  Drawback: Very light on conceptual explanation, particularly for fractions, and the daily problem sets are long enough to grind a child down. Presentation is dated and plain.

  Suits: A child who forgets procedures without daily revisiting and who tolerates a long problem set.

• Math Mammoth Grade 4 (Light Blue Series) Paid About $40 as a download, approximate, cheaper in a bundle.

  Good at: Thorough coverage of the full standards breadth, clear written explanations aimed at the child, and very inexpensive as a download.

  Drawback: Worksheet-dense and visually plain, and page counts at this level are substantial. Independent-minded children do fine; a child who needs a person talking him through it will not get that here.

  Suits: An independent worker whose parent is teaching several children at once.

Prices are approximate and change often. Check with the publisher before you buy. We describe and link to these programs; none of their material is hosted here.

What a week looks like

1. Five days, 45 to 50 minutes, split into two sittings if attention runs out.
2. Open with a five-minute mixed fact review. Facts still decay at this age.
3. Two days on the computation topic, two on fractions or decimals, one on geometry or measurement.
4. Protractor work needs a real protractor and real paper. Do it once a week.
5. End the week with one hard multi-step problem and let him struggle with it before you help.

Practice it here, free

These rooms on this site cover part of the year's work. No sign-up, and they work offline.

• times — Multi-digit multiplication practice
• share — Division, including long division steps
• frac — Equivalent fractions and comparing fractions
• place — Place value extended into decimals
• column — Standard algorithms for multiplication and subtraction
• measure — Area, perimeter, and unit conversion
• factors — Factor pairs, useful for simplifying fractions
• units — Converting within customary and metric systems
• graph — Frequency tables and dot plots
• clock — Elapsed time in multi-step problems
• treasure — Multi-step problem solving practice

The rest of fourth grade