Fourth grade is a confidence-building year, and it can be one of the most enjoyable years of your homeschool journey if you approach it right.

By fourth grade, your child has made it through the hard phonics years, has most of their basic math facts, and is starting to have real academic opinions. They can engage with more complex material. They have something to say.

Here is how to make the most of fourth grade.

What Changes in Fourth Grade

Fourth grade is a genuine transition point. Content becomes more conceptually demanding. Reading material becomes more complex. Writing expectations increase significantly. Math moves toward multi-digit operations and fractions.

The good news: fourth graders are also more emotionally and cognitively mature. They can handle more challenge than younger grades, and they often respond well to being treated as capable learners.

Language Arts in Fourth Grade

Fourth grade language arts expands in several directions:

• Reading: More complex literary texts, non-fiction reading, and beginning literary analysis
• Writing: Organized multi-paragraph writing, opinion essays, narrative writing with structure
• Grammar: More sophisticated grammar concepts, sentence diagramming (if you use that approach), editing skills
• Vocabulary: Academic vocabulary becomes increasingly important. This is a priority year for vocabulary curriculum.

Math in Fourth Grade

Fourth grade math builds on the multiplication and division foundation from third grade. Key content areas:

• Multi-digit multiplication
• Long division
• Fractions (comparing, adding, and subtracting like fractions)
• Decimal introduction
• Geometry (angles, lines, area and perimeter with more complexity)

If multiplication facts are not solid coming into fourth grade, address that first before pushing into multi-digit work. Gaps at this level compound quickly.

Science and Social Studies in Fourth Grade

Fourth grade is an excellent year to dig into U.S. history with more depth. The American Revolution, the Constitution, and the founding era are fourth grade favorites that children this age can genuinely engage with.

Science in fourth grade often covers ecosystems, rocks and minerals, electricity and magnetism, and earth systems. Fourth graders are old enough to handle more complexity in science and to do more sophisticated experiments.

Building Study Skills in Fourth Grade

Fourth grade is also the right time to start explicitly teaching study skills:

• How to take notes from reading
• How to organize an essay before writing it
• How to review and self-quiz for tests
• How to break a longer project into manageable steps

These are not skills children naturally develop. They must be taught. Homeschool is the perfect environment to teach them individually.

Frequently Asked Questions

Our fourth grader is reading below grade level. How should we adjust?

Meet them where they are for independent reading. Read at grade level and above during your read-aloud time to continue building vocabulary and comprehension exposure. Address the root cause of the gap with targeted instruction.

Is it okay for our fourth grader to be ahead in some subjects and behind in others?

Completely normal and one of homeschooling’s great advantages. Teach each subject at your child’s actual level, not their grade level, and let them move at the pace that is right for them in each area.

How much independent work should a fourth grader be doing?

Fourth graders can handle increasing independence. Aim to introduce the lesson together, then allow independent practice. The goal over this year is building toward more self-directed learning.

Fourth Grade Is a Great Year

Enjoy this age. Fourth graders are old enough to have interesting conversations and young enough to still think you are the greatest teacher in the world. Make the most of it.

Browse our Fourth Grade curriculum and build a year that challenges and inspires your child.