In Unit 1, fourth graders will learn about place value understanding within 1,000,000. They will represent numbers in different ways, such as written form, standard form, and expanded form. Students will learn mental math strategies such as estimation and rounding. Furthermore, students will primarily solve addition and subtraction problems involving large numbers. Students will use a variety of strategies to solve the problem, however teachers will guide the students to use the standard algorithm. Students will understand why this method works and will apply this strategy to solve problems involving larger numbers efficiently. Children go through different phases to quickly and accurately solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems. In third grade, students were primarily in phase 2 with a focus on invented strategies. In fourth grade, students will primarily be in phase 3 with a focus on the standard algorithm.
There are a variety of strategies that your child learned in second and third grade to solve multi-digit addition and subtraction problems besides the standard algorithm. The type of strategy depends on types of numbers used in the problem. The handout below gives an explanation of the different types of multi-digit addition and subtraction strategies.
Check out the videos below to see the math strategies in action. Most of the explanations are from students from our district. Thank you to the students for volunteering to explain their thinking!
There are several ways to have your child practice the math concepts at home. Try the following activities: