i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 4, Unit 1: Place Value and Operations with Whole Numbers
In this unit, your child works with whole numbers up to a million: understanding place value, reading and comparing large numbers, rounding, and adding and subtracting with the column method. They also start reading multiplication as a comparison and solve multi-step story problems. It opens the year and leads into multiplication and division strategies.
By Robert “Bobby” BarnettMath teacher, parent, and founder of Bobby’s Math Club
What is my child learning in Unit 1?
- Explaining with place value that a digit in one place is worth 10 times the same digit one place to its right. Learn more: Why each place is worth ten times the next
- Reading and writing large numbers in three forms, and comparing them place by place, starting from the left. Learn more about reading and writing numbers up to a million: Reading and writing numbers up to a million · Learn more about comparing numbers up to a million
- Rounding to the nearest thousand, ten thousand, or hundred thousand to estimate, like 6,812 to 7,000. Learn more: Rounding big numbers to any place
- Adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers in columns, regrouping, and checking subtraction by adding back. Learn more about adding numbers up to a million: Adding numbers up to a million · Learn more about subtracting numbers up to a million
- Writing "times as many" sentences for multiplication equations, like 18 is 3 times as many as 6. Learn more: Reading multiplication as "times as many"
- Solving comparison problems by deciding whether the story asks "how many times as many" or "how many more." Learn more: Story problems about "times as many"
- Solving multi-step story problems with whole numbers, writing equations, and estimating to check. Learn more: Multi-step story problems and leftovers
Sample questions to try together
These are real questions from our practice. Tap the speaker to hear one read aloud, or the light bulb for a hint, and talk about the answer together.
Question 1 of 3
Compare 40 thousands and 4 ten thousands. Which is true?
- 4 ten thousands is more
- They are equal
- 40 thousands is more
How you can help
- Make a pretend shopping list for a big purchase: a $1,349 couch and a $2,875 table. Have your child find the total, $4,224, and check it by subtracting.
- Look up the heights of two tall mountains together, like 14,505 and 14,440 feet. Ask your child which is taller and which place decides it.
- Compare amounts with "times as many" at the store. If juice costs $2 and a big pack costs 5 times as much, ask the price, then what "$5 more" would be.
Where kids can get stuck
- Lining up 4,526 + 381 by their first digits, adding the 3 to the thousands.
- Picking 8,700 as greater than 10,200 because 8 is bigger than 1.
- Turning "4 times as many as 6" into 4 + 6 = 10.
Practice makes perfect
Bobby's Math Club has practice problems that adapt to your child’s level, each with a detailed explanation and an easy-to-follow video, so your child can build confidence in these skills one step at a time.
Words your child will hear
- place value
- The value a digit has because of its place in a number.
- digit
- Any of the symbols 0 through 9 used to write numbers.
- expanded form
- A number written as the sum of each digit's value, like 3,000 + 400 + 5.
- round
- To change a number to a nearby, easier number, like 6,812 to 7,000.
- algorithm
- A step-by-step method for solving a problem, like adding numbers in columns.
- regroup
- To trade 10 of one place for 1 of the next, like 10 tens for 1 hundred.
- times as many
- A way to compare two amounts by saying how many copies of one make the other.
- multiplicative comparison
- Comparing two amounts by multiplying, as in "15 is 3 times as many as 5."
- estimate
- A close guess, often made with rounded numbers, to check whether an answer makes sense.
Ready to build your child’s confidence with whole number place value?
In Bobby's Math Club, your child practices these skills at just the right level, with a hint when they need one, a clear explanation after every question, and kid-friendly videos. Unlimited practice is free.
Join the club
Written by Robert “Bobby” Barnett
Bobby is an award-winning math teacher, the author of Meet Every Learner’s Needs, and the father of two elementary-school math learners. He uses Bobby’s Math Club with his own kids a few times every week. Learn more or contact Bobby.
Which math standards does i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 4 Unit 1 cover?
i-Ready Classroom Mathematics Grade 4 Unit 1 covers these math standards. Each one links to what it means, sample questions, and teaching strategies.
- 4.NBT.A.1: Know that each place is worth 10 times the place to its right.
- 4.NBT.A.2: Read, write, and compare numbers up to a million.
- 4.NBT.A.3: Round large numbers to any place, like 6,812 to 7,000.
- 4.NBT.B.4: Fluently add and subtract numbers up to a million.
- 4.OA.A.1: Understand "times as many": 35 is 5 times as many as 7.
- 4.OA.A.2: Solve "times as many" word problems by multiplying or dividing.
- 4.OA.A.3: Solve word problems with several steps, including ones with remainders.
For teachers: Unit names and order vary between editions and districts, so your school’s own materials have the exact sequence. Learn how Bobby's Math Club can help your students grow.