Fourth Grade Math: Is your child ready to tackle division?The fourth grade math curriculum focuses on mastery of division, along with a thorough review of the other core elementary math topics of addition & subtraction learned in second grade math and multiplication skills learned in third grade math.
Review of past topics is very important in 4th grade math because division is essentially the inverse of multiplication, (just as subtraction is the inverse of addition.) 108÷9 = ? is the same as 108 = 9 X ? The more comfortable your child is with multiplication, the more natural both the concept and the skill of division will be. Here are some free, printable multiplication practice worksheets your fourth grade math student can use to review his multiplication skills. Long Division: The main reason long division is often regarded with distaste by 4th grade math students is that it is overwhelming for the student with unstatisfactory multiplication and subtraction skills. 
In a world with calculators, one might mistakenly think one doesn't need to be able to divide well. But, facility with fractions (most obviously, reducing fractions) and certain algebra skills (such as factoring), depend on confident division.
If your child is struggling with mastering division and other concepts in the fourth grade math curriculum, do the math homework together with him or her to try and diagnose where the problem lies. Is the problem in remembering the times table? In subtraction with regrouping? I would recommend purchasing an appropriate skills workbook To set your child up for success with the fourth grade math curriculum, you need to emphasize mastery of division, even if your child's teacher doesn't! For homeschooling parents, your challenge is to avoid the weak public math curriculums, and find a fourth grade math curriculum that is comprehensive, incremental and focuses on core skills. You want to be sure to includes enough practice for your child to gain mastery of they key 4th grade math topics. You may want to try one of the Kumon Skills Workbooks By the way, there are lots of ways to encourage division practice around the home.
Here are some ideas I would encourage you to try. Want more helpful tips and ideas to help your child achieve 4th grade math success? Complete the form below to receive the Sensible Math Tips - the e-Zine for parents.
A fourth grader should be able to handle problems with:
Secondary topics in the 4th grade math curriculum are:
None of these topics normally requires reinforcement. Topics like geometry are taught systematically, from scratch, in older grades. The advanced arithmetic topics (fractions and decimals) will follow smoothly in Fifth Grade and Sixth Grade if we get the basic arithmetic topics mastered now!
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to help re-teach and review those skills with your child.
for remediation or even enrichment with your child. These books focus on mastery of one math skill at a time and are super well-organized... as a math teacher, I give them an A+! : )
