Support for Grade 4 Families

If your child is using Bridges Grade 4, you may find the resources below helpful.

What Your Fourth Grader Will Learn  (PDF)

Your child’s teacher may use the Math Skills & Concepts Student Report to communicate with you about how your child is doing in math class. This report is meant to provide an overall picture of your child’s progress at a given point in the year. It does not include every skill or idea your child will study in math class. To get a more complete picture of how your child is doing, you can also read your school’s report card, talk to your child’s teacher, and ask to see examples of your child’s work including class work and tests.

Revised standards in some states expect students to master some of the skills we have designated as “beyond fourth grade.” For example, updated Washington standards require fourth graders to know the basic multiplication and division facts and multiply 2-digit by 3-digit numbers using efficient and effective paper-and-pencil methods, including the standard algorithm.

Overview of Grade 4 Units  (PDF)

Each two-page handout below provides a quick overview of what students will learn in a single Bridges unit. They include sample problems with answers, so you may find them useful when helping with homework. If you're not sure what unit your child's class is in right now, ask his or her teacher, or look at the small print at the top of the most recent homework assignment.
Unit 1,  Unit 2,  Unit 3,  Unit 4,  Unit 5,  Unit 6,  Unit 7,  Unit 8

Alternate Parent Letter for Unit 5 Replacement Supplement A5

For those fourth grade teachers in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, and elsewhere who are using Supplement A5, Multi-Digit Multiplication (in place of most or all of Unit 4 or 5), download this alternate parent letter.

Math with Your Fourth Grader (PDF)

This handout offers advice on how to help with homework and make math a fun and useful part of family life. English  Spanish

Parents as Partners

The Oregon Council for Teachers of Mathematics (OCTM) offers a pamphlet to assist parents in their efforts to support and encourage their children in mathematics. Download the pamphlet.  English  Spanish

Math Vocabulary for Grade 4  (PDF)

Use these pages to refresh your memory of key terms you may need to help with your fourth grader’s homework. Definitions include examples and pictures. English  Spanish

If you want to look up other words, we recommend using A Maths Dictionary for Kids, which includes definitions, examples, animations, and even practice games.

Home Connections for Grade 4

Pages and assignments from Home Connections.

Online Skills Practice for Grade 4

Age-appropriate computer games can help your child practice basic skills. The links below will take you to free online games that may be helpful and fun for your fourth grader. (You may need to update the browser on your computer or install free plugins like Flash or Shockwave for these games to work.)

Play each game first to make sure it matches your child’s interests and abilities. You might need to help your child get started with each game. If your child has trouble focusing, the graphics may be too distracting. Children benefit from hands-on experiences and interaction with other people, so when you have time, play board games and talk to your child about the math he or she is doing. There is no substitute for your interest and involvement!

Note: Relevant sections of Bridges noted in parentheses following description.

Basic Multiplication
Times Square  This game provides great practice with multiplication facts as players race to be the first to get 4 products in a row on the game board.
 
Factor Dazzle  Players score points for finding all the factors of target numbers set by their opponents.
 
Table Numbers  The player chooses a factor between 2 and 9. He or she is then presented with 3 different numbers, and has to choose the one that is a multiple of the chosen factor. Good visuals; good practice.
 
Two Minute Warning   The player has 2 minutes to answer as many multiplication problems as he or she can. At the end of the game, the computer will show how many correct and incorrect answers the player got.
 
Pumpkin Multiples   The player races to collect multiples of a number. Before your child starts playing, talk about how you can tell if a number is a multiple of the number he or she selected. At the end of the game, the computer will show the multiples: talk with your child about any patterns he or she sees in those numbers. What do the multiples have in common?

Basic Division
Timed Flashcards   The player recalls 30 basic division facts. You’ll need to click on a few links to get to the flashcards. There are also links on this page to basic multiplication facts, as well as more advanced multiplication and division flashcards.

Money: Subtraction with Decimal Numbers
Making Change   The player finds the difference between a price and the amount of money paid. Then the player shows that change using the fewest coins and bills possible. Talk to your child about some ways to calculate the amount of change mentally. For example, can he or she add up from the price to the amount paid to figure the difference?

Fractions
Dig It  Players take turns digging in a field loaded with precious stones. The object is to collect as much dirt and as many stones as possible. Players tell the shovel where to dig by using a set of numbers to make a fraction, and then locating that fraction on a number line that runs across the field. The more accurately they locate the fraction, the better their score.
 
Fraction Feud  Players use number "cards" to create fractions that are larger (or smaller) than their opponents' in a series of mock jousts.
 
Drop Zone  Players add fractions that will total 1 as they race to win 5 points in this action-packed game. Develops fraction sense, estimation, and skill at adding fractions with like and unlike denominators. A winner!
 
Pizza Party   The player selects the fraction that shows how much of a pizza is left on the pan.

Geometry
Geometry Transformations  A cartoon host invites players to move shapes in a sequence of steps intended to review translation, rotation, and reflection. (Nov. Calendar Grid)

Strategy and Basic Addition
Killer Sodoku   The player fills in a grid of numbers according to specified rules that draw on logical reasoning and basic addition facts.

All Basic Facts
Numberboard  In this engaging, puzzle-like activity, the player is challenged to add, subtract, multiply and/or divide a set of 4 numbers to come as close as possible to a target number.
 
Quick Math   The player must select the operational symbol (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) that will make the equation true. All equations are based on basic facts. After your child has played a few times, talk about some quick ways to tell which operation will complete the equation. Your child might be using strategies that don’t involve doing all the calculations, and that is fine: the strategies probably rely on a strong sense of number and operations.

Area & Perimeter
Square Off  Children learn more about the relationship of area and perimeter as they create force fields to capture alien spaceships in this fast-moving game.

Symmetry
neXtu  Players place shapes on a tessellating game board, collecting points and capturing opponent's pieces. Math concepts include: Greater Than, Less Than, Tessellations, and Symmetry

More Games
The sites below contain some of the best games for elementary math students. Look through the sites to find other games for your child to play.
Primary Games 
Math Games on Fun School
National Library of Virtual Manipulatives
Calculation Nation

Math Books for Grade 4

Reading books with mathematical themes can help students improve their skills and foster a good attitude toward math. This list will direct you to books that you and your child may enjoy.

Counting & Number Sense
How Much Is a Million? by David M. Schwartz
A Million Dots by Andrew Clements

Multiplying
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar by Mitsumasa Anno
Sea Squares by Joy Hulme (used in Bridges Grade 4)
The Best of Times by Greg Tang