Fourth Grade Math Topics
Fourth grade students should have basic computation skills, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division; however, they may need help refining that general knowledge. Although teachers cover many math topics in the classroom in a year, fractions, rounding, estimating and Roman numerals are important to the overall classroom.
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Fractions
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Fourth grade students should be comfortable enough with fractions that they can add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. By the end of the school year, students should be able to convert improper fractions into mixed numbers, and add mixed numbers together.
Rounding
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Rounding is done all the time to make numbers easier to work with. For example, if you ask someone what time it is, the person might say it is about 4:00. That does not mean it is exactly4:00, it is merely an approximate time. Rounding can be done either up or down, based upon the actual number. Numbers one through four round down to zero, and numbers five through nine round up to the nearest 10s place. For example, the number 93 would round down to 90, but the number 96 would round up to 100.
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Estimating
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Numbers are estimated when the exact number is not important, but want to get a general idea of the value. It is a quick way to compute rounded numbers. For example, if you want to know how many days there are in two years, but do not want to add the exact numbers together, you might add 360 and 360, to give you 720 days, which is close to the correct answer of 730.
Roman Numerals
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Help students recognize Roman numerals by posting a chart of them in the classroom. Integrate the numerals into the everyday classroom activities by swapping the face on the classroom's clock with Roman numerals, and integrate the numbers into assignments and page numbers listed on the board. Give word problems using the Arabic numerals, but then ask students to write the correct answer in Roman numerals on the board.
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References
Resources
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