Word problems in Year 4 — for parents
Year 4 is the year word problems get serious. They have two or three steps, they use all four operations, and they sneak in extra information that isn't needed. Children who can already do the arithmetic still trip up here — because the hard part isn't computing, it's deciding what to compute.
What your child should master
- A four-step routine for every word problem: read → find the question → plan → solve and check.
- Multi-step problems that need two or three calculations in the right order.
- Multiplicative comparison — "how many times as many" — using multiplication or division, not subtraction.
- Division with a remainder, including knowing whether to round up, round down or use the remainder as the answer.
- Writing the answer as a full sentence with the right unit.
- Recognising and ignoring extra information the problem doesn't need.
Common mistakes
Jumping straight to a calculation
The child sees numbers and starts computing before reading the question. Often it's the wrong operation.
Help: insist on writing down the question first (or underlining it). Numbers come second.Reading "5 times as many" as "5 more"
Multiplicative comparison vs. additive. Five times as many of 7 is 35; five more is 12.
Help: stress the word times every time it appears. "Times" means × (or ÷ if you're going the other way), never +.Doing the steps in the wrong order
In multi-step problems, the child does the calculations in the order numbers appear in the story rather than the order the story requires.
Help: insist on a written plan before any computation. "Step 1: … Step 2: …" Even one-line plans help.Writing the bare remainder as the final answer
"32 ÷ 5 = 6 r 2" — but the question was "how many cars". The answer is 7 cars, not "6 r 2".
Help: a small mantra — "after the maths, look back at the question. What is being asked?". Then write a sentence.Ignoring units
"45 minutes" vs "45 hours" — the child writes the answer with the wrong unit.
Help: copy the unit from the question onto the answer line. If the question asks in grams, the answer must be in grams.Stopping after the first calculation
Three-step problems are particularly sneaky. The child computes the first big number and forgets there were two more steps.
Help: after every word problem, re-read both the question and the answer. Does the answer actually answer the question? If not, there's a missing step.Activities at home
Story-time arithmetic
Read out a Year-4 word problem and ask your child to only identify the question and the plan — not solve it. Once they can plan correctly, the arithmetic is easy.
Shopping trip
At the supermarket, make up real questions: "These cereal boxes cost £3 each. I'm buying 5. How much altogether?" Then "I have a £20 note. How much change?" That's a two-step problem in real life.
Pizza fractions and shares
"This pizza has 8 slices. We're 3 people. Can we share equally? What's left over?" 8 ÷ 3 = 2 r 2 — two slices each, two left for tomorrow.
Multi-step at the kitchen table
"There are 24 cookies in the jar. You and your sister each eat 3. How many are left?" — two-step problem (3 + 3 = 6, then 24 − 6 = 18). Build the habit of planning before computing.
"More" vs "times as many" game
You give two numbers, your child gives both answers: "how many more?" and "how many times as many?". Practise the two ways of comparing until the words are obvious.
Why this matters
Word problems are the bridge between maths and real life. Every grown-up calculation — splitting a bill, comparing prices, working out a journey time — is, at heart, a word problem. The reading and planning skills started in Year 4 are exactly the skills needed for those grown-up moments.