"Grade 4 math syllabus" is searched by parents who want to know what the year holds, by families comparing systems, and by parents whose child has just had the first difficult report card: fourth grade is where multi-digit arithmetic, fractions as numbers and multi-step word problems arrive together, and it is the year where "good at math" starts to separate from "quick at facts". This page gives the five Common Core domains in the order schools teach them, the fluency the year expects, a month-by-month plan, the state test, the comparison with CBSE Class 4, and a twelve-question check for the end of the year. The printable checklist has every skill as a tick box.
Download the grade 4 math syllabus checklist (PDF) (the five domains with every skill as a tick box, the month-by-month plan, the state test, the CBSE comparison and the twelve-question check with answers; two pages, free).
The five domains, in the order schools teach them
The Common Core State Standards for grade 4 (4.OA, 4.NBT, 4.NF, 4.MD, 4.G) are used, with small changes, by most states; Texas (TEKS), Virginia (SOL) and a few others have their own standards with the same content in a slightly different order.
| Domain | What it covers | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Number and operations in base ten | Place value to 1,000,000 and the ten-times relationship between places; reading, writing and comparing numbers; rounding to any place; adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm (the year's named fluency); multiplying a whole number of up to four digits by a one-digit number, and two two-digit numbers, using place value and area models; dividing up to four digits by one digit, with remainders | 10 |
| 2. Operations and algebraic thinking | Multiplicative comparison ("three times as many"); multi-step word problems with all four operations and a letter for the unknown; interpreting remainders; factors and multiples to 100; prime and composite numbers; number and shape patterns with a rule | 5 |
| 3. Number and operations: fractions | Equivalent fractions with models and multiplication; comparing fractions with different numerators and denominators using benchmarks and common denominators; decomposing fractions; adding and subtracting fractions and mixed numbers with like denominators; multiplying a fraction by a whole number; fractions with denominators 10 and 100 as decimals; comparing decimals to hundredths | 10 |
| 4. Measurement and data | Units within a system (km, m, cm; kg, g; lb, oz; l, ml; hours, minutes, seconds) and converting larger to smaller; word problems with distance, time, volume, mass and money; the area and perimeter formulas for rectangles; line plots with fractional data; angles as parts of a circle; measuring and drawing angles with a protractor; adding angles | 6 |
| 5. Geometry | Points, lines, line segments, rays, angles (right, acute, obtuse), perpendicular and parallel lines; classifying two-dimensional shapes by their lines and angles; right triangles; lines of symmetry | 3 |
Thirty-four weeks of content; the remaining weeks go to review before the state test and the end-of-year assessments.
The fluency the year expects
| By the end of grade 4 | Note |
|---|---|
| Multiplication facts to 10 × 10 (12 × 12 in many schools) automatic | A grade 3 expectation that grade 4 depends on; a child without it cannot do the year's multiplication and division |
| Add and subtract multi-digit numbers with the standard algorithm, fluently | The year's named Common Core fluency |
| Multiply 3- or 4-digit by 1-digit, and 2-digit by 2-digit | With understanding (area model, partial products), not only the algorithm; the standard algorithm is a grade 5 fluency |
| Divide up to 4-digit by 1-digit with a remainder | Using place value, arrays and area models; long division comes in grade 5 and 6 |
| Compare any two fractions; add fractions with like denominators | Fractions become numbers on the number line this year |
| Read and compare decimals to hundredths | As another way to write tenths and hundredths |
| Find the area and perimeter of a rectangle; measure an angle |
A month-by-month plan for the standard year
| Months | Domain | What to check at home |
|---|---|---|
| August to September | Place value to a million; rounding; multi-digit addition and subtraction | Reads 3,407,215 aloud correctly; rounds 46,318 to the nearest thousand (46,000) |
| October to November | Multiplication: by one digit, then two-digit by two-digit; multiplicative comparison | 328 × 6 and 24 × 37 correct with working; "6 times as many" set up as 6 × n |
| December to January | Division with remainders; factors, multiples, primes; patterns | 1,254 ÷ 6 = 209 remainder 0; lists the factors of 36; knows 37 is prime |
| February to March | Fractions: equivalence, comparison, adding and subtracting, multiplying by a whole number; decimals | 3/4 = 6/8 explained; 2/3 vs 3/5 compared; 3 × 2/5 = 6/5 = 1 1/5; 0.4 = 4/10 = 40/100 |
| April | Measurement and data; angles | Converts 3 km to m and 2 hours to minutes; measures a 65° angle; finds the perimeter of a 7 by 4 rectangle |
| May | Geometry; review; state test | Classifies a shape by its angles and parallel sides; draws the lines of symmetry |
The state test
Federal law requires a math test every year from grade 3 to 8, so every state tests grade 4 math in the spring. Texas's STAAR grade 4 math has 40 points, with 17 for Approaches (passing) and 24 for Meets in the latest published tables; the full table is in what grade do you need to pass the STAAR test. Florida's FAST, California's CAASPP, New York's state test and Massachusetts's MCAS cover the same five domains. On every one of them, fractions and multi-step word problems carry the most marks and cost the most, because they are the two places where a child who is quick at facts can still be lost. Nothing rides on the grade 4 result for the child (promotion is the school's decision), but the result tells the school which fifth grade group the child joins.
US grade 4 against CBSE Class 4, for families from India
| US grade 4 domain | CBSE Class 4 (NCERT Math-Magic) |
|---|---|
| Place value to a million; rounding | Numbers to 5 or 6 digits, with the Indian system (lakhs); rounding is lighter |
| Multiplication and division | Ahead: tables to 15 or 20, larger multiplications, long division introduced earlier |
| Fractions and decimals | Behind: halves, quarters, equivalence by pictures; decimals come in Class 5 |
| Measurement | Similar: length, weight, capacity, time and money in metric units |
| Angles and geometry | Behind: angles are measured with a protractor in Class 5 or 6; symmetry and shapes are similar |
| Data | Behind: pictographs and bar charts; no line plots with fractions |
| Word problems | Behind: fewer multi-step problems; the US tests set two- and three-step problems as standard |
A child arriving from CBSE Class 4 is comfortable with the arithmetic and needs the fractions unit and the word-problem habit; a child leaving for India needs the Indian number system and more arithmetic drill. Our guide to the US math syllabus grade by grade has the full mapping.
A twelve-question check for the end of grade 4
Fifteen minutes, no calculator.
- Write 2,305,019 in words.
- Round 847,562 to the nearest ten thousand.
- 60,342 − 28,795
- 1,274 × 8
- 46 × 32
- 2,538 ÷ 7, with the remainder
- List all the factors of 48. Is 51 prime?
- Which is larger, 5/8 or 3/5? Show how you know.
- 2 3/4 + 1 3/4
- 4 × 3/8, as a mixed number
- Write 0.35 as a fraction with denominator 100, and compare 0.35 with 0.4.
- A rectangle is 9 cm by 4 cm. Find its perimeter and area. Then: 3 km 250 m in metres.
Answers: 1) Two million, three hundred five thousand, nineteen. 2) 850,000. 3) 31,547. 4) 10,192. 5) 1,472. 6) 362 remainder 4. 7) 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48; 51 = 3 × 17, not prime. 8) 5/8 = 25/40 and 3/5 = 24/40, so 5/8. 9) 4 2/4 = 4 1/2. 10) 12/8 = 1 1/2. 11) 35/100; 0.35 < 0.4 because 35 hundredths is less than 40 hundredths. 12) Perimeter 26 cm, area 36 cm²; 3,250 m.
Ten or more right: ready for grade 5. Seven to nine: the missed questions name the domain to work on over the summer. Six or fewer, or questions 4 to 6 wrong: the multiplication facts are not automatic yet, and that is the one thing to fix before anything else.
Download the grade 4 math syllabus checklist (PDF)
Where to get help
A 1-on-1 online class with a tutor who holds a master's in mathematics and teaches the elementary grades in Common Core language and order: the facts made automatic first, the area model and the standard algorithm side by side, fractions on the number line, and the word problems the state test sets. After school or weekend mornings, US time; the recording and a short note after every class; the same tutor into grade 5. US$10 to $13 an hour, billed monthly. The grade 4 math page has the units; the free 30-minute class is a real lesson on this week's homework.
Questions parents ask
1What is in the 4th grade math curriculum?
2What should a child be able to do by the end of 4th grade math?
3Is there a state test in 4th grade?
4How does US grade 4 compare with CBSE Class 4?
5Why is 4th grade math considered a turning point?
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