4th Grade · Math · 4.NF.C.6, 4.NF.C.7
Decimals Lesson Plan for 4th Grade
A ready-to-teach decimals lesson for 4th Grade. Everything below is classroom-tested structure: an objective, a 45-minute sequence, a way to check who got it, and 6 printable practice pages.
Approximately 45 minutes
Learning objective
- Compare two decimal numbers using place value analysis
- Apply <, >, or = symbols to express decimal comparisons
- Identify which decimal is greater by examining each place value digit
Materials
Lesson steps
1. Warm up together (5 min)
Open with a quick count-around or number talk that touches decimals. Ask students where they have seen decimals outside of math class. You are listening for who already has the vocabulary and who does not, so keep it light and let several students answer.
2. Model it (I do) (10 min)
Work two examples of decimals on the board, thinking out loud the whole way. Say the quiet parts: what you notice first, which step you do next, and why. Deliberately make one small error on the second example and let the class catch it.
3. Practice together (we do) (10 min)
Work three more problems as a class. Ask a different student to supply each step rather than the whole answer. If a step stalls, drop back to concrete objects or a drawing before moving on.
4. Independent practice (you do) (15 min)
Hand out "Adding Decimals (1 digit plus 2 digits) - Chocolate". Students work independently while you circulate. Note who is fluent, who is counting on fingers, and who has not started, because that grouping drives tomorrow's small group.
5. Close the loop (5 min)
Pull the class back. Ask one student to explain a problem they got right and one to name something that is still confusing. End on the confusion, not the success, so students learn that naming a gap is normal.
Check for understanding
Collect the practice pages and sort them into three piles: fluent, developing, and not yet. Any student in the third pile needs decimals retaught in a small group before the class moves on.
Differentiation
Extra support. Students who stall: pull them into a small group and rebuild decimals with concrete materials or a simpler text before asking for the written work again. Do not send the page home as homework, it will just rehearse the misunderstanding.
Extension. Students who finish early: ask them to write their own decimals problem for a partner to solve, then check the partner's work. Creating a problem is harder than solving one and it surfaces whether they really understand decimals.
Skills covered in this lesson
Compare decimals · Order decimals · Decimal addition (1 digit) · Decimal addition (missing addend) · Decimal addition - 1 digit plus 2 digit · Decimal addition - Some 2 digits · Decimal addition in columns · Decimal subtraction (1 digit) · Decimal subtraction (1 or 2 digits) · Decimal subtraction (missing number) · Decimal subtraction in columns · Decimals and money notation
