Dear 4th Grade Math Families,
Many parents have been asking about what they can do to make sure their children are mastering
fourth-grade math skills, and are prepared to move on to fifth grade. The best piece of advice I
always tell students and parents is: Practice, Practice, Practice!
First and foremost, help your child practice their math fluency, or math facts. After students practice
they will track their work on their Weekly Math Fact Practice Log. Each week students will have a
chance to take a short test to show their progress. Once a student has mastered all 4 domains
(+, - , x , /) they will not be required to practice at home any longer.
Fourth-grade students must be able to quickly add, subtract, multiply and divide in order to move on
to the higher-level math that they will be introduced to this year and in the future. In fourth grade,
we need to move quickly into multi digit multiplication and division. Having the basic facts memorized
will make it possible for students to be successful with these more advanced math processes. Not
having the basic facts memorized will make learning these concepts very difficult.
I would encourage student to spend just a few minutes each day or a few days each week practicing,
rather than long practice sessions. Five to 10 minutes per day would be ideal. Once the math
becomes frustrating for your child, they will quickly lose motivation and associate homework time as
something they do not want to do.
fourth-grade math skills, and are prepared to move on to fifth grade. The best piece of advice I
always tell students and parents is: Practice, Practice, Practice!
First and foremost, help your child practice their math fluency, or math facts. After students practice
they will track their work on their Weekly Math Fact Practice Log. Each week students will have a
chance to take a short test to show their progress. Once a student has mastered all 4 domains
(+, - , x , /) they will not be required to practice at home any longer.
Fourth-grade students must be able to quickly add, subtract, multiply and divide in order to move on
to the higher-level math that they will be introduced to this year and in the future. In fourth grade,
we need to move quickly into multi digit multiplication and division. Having the basic facts memorized
will make it possible for students to be successful with these more advanced math processes. Not
having the basic facts memorized will make learning these concepts very difficult.
I would encourage student to spend just a few minutes each day or a few days each week practicing,
rather than long practice sessions. Five to 10 minutes per day would be ideal. Once the math
becomes frustrating for your child, they will quickly lose motivation and associate homework time as
something they do not want to do.
Some possible ways to practice the math facts:
1.) Play games. Try to find ways to make practice fun! I have a list of games that I will share with
the students.
the students.
2.) Use time that is usually “wasted” (waiting in line, sitting in traffic) to drill facts. I always
tell kids- when mom or dad is stirring the spaghetti sauce, or driving to the grocery store, have them
ask you your multiplication facts! Or, mute the TV on commercials and study flash cards then!
tell kids- when mom or dad is stirring the spaghetti sauce, or driving to the grocery store, have them
ask you your multiplication facts! Or, mute the TV on commercials and study flash cards then!
3.) Use flashcards. Make it a game. Give them three seconds to get the correct answer and retry
the ones they miss.
the ones they miss.
4.) You can access numerous websites on my classroom blog at mrbennettblog.blogspot.com.
I’m looking forward to seeing the progress of my mathematicians over the remainder of the
school year!
school year!
