Whitehead Learning Group
Empowering students to thrive.

Academic Milestones

Curious on ways to help support your elementary school student academically and socially at home? We've curated a list of educational and social benchmarks by grade-level, including strategies to partner with your student during each year's transition.

4th-Grade: Educational and Social Benchmarks

4th Grade

Math:

  • In fourth grade, students focus most on using all four operations - addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division - to solve multi-step word problems involving multi-digit numbers. 

  • Fourth-grade math extends their understanding of fractions, including equal (equivalent) fractions and ordering fractions. They add and subtract fractions with the same denominator (bottom number), multiply fractions by whole numbers and understand relationships between fractions and decimals.


English:

  • In fourth-grade English, your fourth-grader will learn to read, discuss, and write about complicated stories, rich poems, plays, informational books, and articles. 

  • Your child will also learn to show an understanding of literature and topics being studied in science and social studies by writing summaries, essays, and research papers. 

  • Fourth graders will orally report on a topic, tell a story, or recount an experience clearly and experiment with adding audio and visual elements to a presentation to help express ideas.

  • Increase vocabulary by building an understanding of relationships between words.

  • Use basic rules of English grammar, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

  • Type at least one page of writing in a single sitting.

Social:

  • The late elementary years are a time of great personal and social growth. As children grow older, they become better at making decisions, solving problems, and working in groups. 

  • Early adolescence begins around the age of 11, and this brings along its own challenges. As children’s bodies begin to change their emotions can seem to change at a moment’s notice. 

  • Developing your child’s social and emotional skills can help him manage his emotions and behavior and make responsible choices.

Rebekka Whitehead