What New York 4th graders
learn this year
Math, English, science and social studies, one quarter at a time.
Last verified 4 October 2026. Topics are the New York State standards for this grade, grouped into quarters by a typical school-year order, which is our estimate.
Fourth grade is where the math gets long: numbers in the hundred thousands, multiplying and dividing several digits, and fractions that have to be compared rather than just named. It is also the year of New York State history.
Fall: September to November
- Math: Whole-number place value and representations; Compare multi-digit whole numbers; Round multi-digit whole numbers; Add and subtract multi-digit whole numbers and 2 more
- Science: Observe energy transfers and conservation; Use evidence about speed, collisions and energy; Compare energy-converting devices; Natural energy resources and environmental effects
- Social studies: New York physical, thematic and political maps; Native communities, environments and resources; Exploration, colonization and diverse colonial lives
Winter: December to February
- Math: Multiplicative comparisons; Multistep problems and interpreted remainders; Factors, multiples, primes and composites; Generate and explain number and shape patterns and 2 more
- Science: Patterns that communicate information; Wave amplitude, wavelength and motion models; Reflecting light and seeing objects; Plant and animal structures and functions
- Social studies: Haudenosaunee and Algonquian-speaking societies and living cultures; French and Indian War and the American Revolution in New York; Federal, state and local government
Early spring: March and April
- Math: Decompose, add and subtract fractions and mixed numbers; Multiply a whole number by a fraction; Combine tenths and hundredths; Connect decimal and fraction representations and 3 more
- Science: Evidence from rocks, fossils and changing landscapes; Sensory information, brain processing and responses; Patterns in maps of Earth features
- Social studies: Slavery, abolition and New York in the Civil War; Constitutional rights and civic responsibilities; Westward movement, Erie Canal and transportation change
Late spring: May and June
- Math: Rectangle area and perimeter; Fractional measurement line plots; Angle measures, protractors and additive angles; Identify lines, rays, segments and angle types and 2 more
- Science: Weathering and erosion investigations; Engineering criteria and constraints; Compare ways to reduce natural hazard impacts; Fair tests and improving prototypes
- Social studies: Struggles to expand women’s rights; New York resources, technology and changing industries; Immigration, migration and New York communities
The four subjects in 4th grade
Math. Place value and multi-digit multiplication and division first, then factors, patterns and equivalent fractions, then decimals to hundredths, and angles and shapes last.
English. Longer stories and articles, with more questions about why an author made a choice, not only what happened.
Science. Energy and how it moves, waves and light, rocks, fossils and changing landscapes, and engineering a fair test.
Social studies. New York State itself: its geography, the Haudenosaunee and Algonquian-speaking peoples, the Revolution in New York, the Erie Canal and the immigrants who built its cities.
Where 4th graders slip
Watch long division and fraction comparison. Both depend on knowing the multiplication facts cold, and both arrive in the winter.
Common questions
Why does fourth grade math feel so much harder?
The numbers get bigger and the steps get longer at the same time. A gap from third grade multiplication usually shows up here first, which is why the fall quick check covers place value and multiplication.
Is New York history on the practice?
Yes. Fourth grade social studies in New York is state history, and every quarter carries questions on it: maps, Native nations, the Revolution, the Erie Canal and immigration.
Practice the real thing
4th grade practice is on sale now. See how it works.