Fractions for Fourth Grade Students: Practice Exercises

What Do Fourth Graders Learn About Fractions?

Kids usually are introduced to fractions in third grade, but they study them more in-depth the following year. This generally begins with students drawing visual representations of fractions, as well as comparing them.

Where some fourth graders struggle is addition and subtraction of fractions. These fractions usually have common denominators (the denominator is the bottom number in a fraction; the numerator is the top number), but some students still may need a visual aid to understand the concept. Fourth graders also learn to multiply fractions by whole numbers.

Practice Exercises by Topic

Comparisons

1. Which is larger: 1/5 or 1/8?

If your child is struggling with comparisons, have him or her draw a picture of each fraction. This can help your child comprehend the sizes of the fractions. The answer is 1/5 is larger.

2. Would you rather have 1/4 of a cake or 1/3 of a cake? Why?

This type of open-ended problem can make comparing fractions fun. However, with preferential questions like this, be sure to ask 'why' (in this case, some kids may not really like cake and would therefore want a smaller slice). The important thing is that your child is thinking about the fractions in comparison to one another.

Addition and Subtraction

1. 3/9 + 1/9 + 5/9

For this problem, you might have your child draw a circle that's divided into nine parts. Then, for each fraction, have him or her shade in the appropriate number of partitions. The whole circle should be filled in, which indicates that the answer is 9/9, or 1.

2. 14/50 + 3/50 + 11/50

Some kids may be intimidated by this problem because the denominator is so large; however, remind your child that he or she only has to add the numerators. The answer to this problem is 28/50, which can be reduced to 14/25.

3. When Sandy woke up, she discovered that 2/5 of the vegetables in her garden had been eaten by rabbits. The next morning, another 1/5 of her vegetables were missing, and on the third day, an additional 1/5 was gone. How many vegetables does Sandy have left in her garden?

Your child should begin by calculating how much the rabbits have eaten by adding 2/5 + 1/5 + 1/5, which equals 4/5. Then, he or she should subtract 4/5 from 5/5 to determine that 1/5 of Sandy's garden is left.

Multiplication

1. 3 x 5/6

For this problem, your child should multiply the whole number by the numerator. The denominator remains the same, so the answer is 15/6, or 2 1/3.

2. 4 x 7/30

As with the previous problem, your child should multiply the whole number by the numerator. The answer is 28/30, which can be reduced to 14/15.