20 Word Problems For Year 4: Develop Their Problem Solving Skills Across Single and Mixed KS2 Topics

Word problems for Year 4 play an important role in Year 4 maths. In Year 4, the main focus is to ensure that pupils are becoming more fluent with whole numbers and the four operations. Students work to develop efficient written methods and to be accurate with their calculations. Pupils in Year 4 are exposed to a wider range of problem-solving questions and progress from one to two-step problems.

It is important that all children are given regular opportunities to access reasoning and word problem style questions. Fluency, reasoning and problem solving should be intertwined through every lesson, with all children having the opportunity to tackle each of these question types. 

There can sometimes be a tendency for reasoning and problem solving questions to be treated as extension activities for only the higher attaining pupils to attempt, but children of all abilities need to be accessing them on a regular basis.

To help you with this, we have put together a collection of 20 word problems aimed at Year 4 pupils. For more Year 4 maths resources, take a look at our collection of Year 4 maths worksheets.

Year 4 Maths Word Problems in the National Curriculum

In Year 4, pupils progress from solving one-step problems, to also being exposed to two-step problems across a range of topics, as set out in the National Curriculum.

Place value 

Solve word problems involving counting in multiples of 6,7,9, 25 and 100; finding 1000 more or less than a given number; counting backwards through 0 to include negative numbers; ordering and comparing numbers beyond 1000 and rounding numbers to the nearest 10. 100 and 1000

Addition and subtraction 

Solve addition and subtraction word problems with up to 4 digits, including two-step word problems, deciding which operations and methods to use and why.

Multiplication and division

Solve problems involving multiplying and adding, including using the distributive law to multiply two-digit numbers by 1 digit, integer scaling problems and harder correspondence problems.

Fractions, decimals and percentages

Solve problems involving increasingly harder fractions word problems to calculate quantities, and fractions to divide quantities, including non-unit fractions where the answer is a whole number. Also Solve simple measure and money problems involving fractions and decimals to 2 decimal places.

Measurement

Solve problems involving converting from hours to minutes, minutes to seconds, years to months, weeks to days.

Statistics

Solve comparison, sum and difference problems using information presented in bar charts, pictograms, tables and other graphs.

Why are word problems important in Year 4 maths?

Word problems are increasingly important as pupils move through Key Stage 2. As they become more confident with some of the core concepts pupils need to be applying this knowledge to a range of situations. By the end of Year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 times table and should be showing precision and fluency in their work.

How to teach problem solving in Year 4

Word problems in Year 4 should be fun and engaging for students. There are many ways to do this, including:

• acting out the problem;
• using manipulatives and visual images to help children understand the maths within the problem;
• use of talk partners to encourage children to discuss the question and share strategies for reaching a solution;
• using relatable problem solving situations.

Children need to be encouraged to read word problem questions carefully, to ensure they have identified the key information needed to be able to solve the problem. Pupils need to think about what they already know and how that information can help them to answer the question. They should also be encouraged to draw pictures and visual images, where appropriate, to help them to understand what the question is asking.

Here is an example:

A shop has an 8m roll of fabric.

The first customer buys 125cm of fabric and the second customer buys 3m from the same roll.

How much fabric is left on the roll, once the two customers have taken theirs?

How to solve:

What do you already know?

• The amount the first customer buys is given in cm, the amount the second customer buys is given in m. These needed to be converted to the same unit.
• Pupils in Year 4 need to be able to convert cm to m and vice versa. In this question, both the cm can be given as m or the m changed to cm to solve it.
• Once the units are the same, the two amounts need to be added together, to work out the total amount bought by the two customers.
• We can see this is a two-step question. To calculate how much fabric is left on the roll, the total amount bought by the two customers needs to be subtracted from the initial amount of fabric on the roll.

How can this be drawn/represented pictorially?

We can draw a bar model to represent this problem:

• To calculate the total amount of fabric bought, we need the units to be the same. We can either calculate in cm (300cm + 125cm = 425cm) or in m (3m + 1.25m = 4.25m)
• The amount of material bought needs to be subtracted from the original amount. This can again be solved in m or cm. Either in m: 8m – 4.25m = 3.75m or in cm: 800cm – 425cm = 375cm
• The total amount of material left is 3.75m or 375cm

Addition word problems for Year 4

In Year 4, addition word problems involve questions up to 4-digit numbers. They can include one and two-step addition and incorporate a range of concepts, such as measures and money word problems 

Subtraction word problems for year 4

Subtraction word problems in Year 4, also involve numbers up to 4-digits, including both one and two-step problems, covering a range of concepts. By this stage, children should be confident in estimating and using the inverse, to check calculations.

Multiplication word problems for year 4

In Year 4, multiplication word problems can include recalling facts for times tables up to 12 x 12 and multiplying two and three-digit numbers by a 1-digit number, using formal written layout.  

Division word problems for year 4

Division word problems in year 4 require pupils to be able to recall division facts for multiplication tables up to 12 x 12. Formal written method of division isn’t a requirement until Year 5 however, many schools choose to teach the formal method in Year 4. Pupils need to understand the concept of grouping and sharing and to understand the link between multiplication & division.

Fraction and decimal word problems in Year 4

In Year 4, decimal and fraction problems involve increasingly harder fractions to calculate quantities and fractions to divide quantities, including non-unit fractions, where the answer is a whole number. Decimal word problems include measure and money problems involving fractions and decimals up to 2 decimal places.

Time word problems in Year 4

In Year 4, time word problems include: converting from hours to minutes, minutes to seconds, years to months and weeks to days.

Multi-step word problems in Year 4.

In Year 4, children are introduced to multi-step word problems requiring up to two steps. These problems cover a range of concepts, including the four operations, fractions, decimals and measures.

Third Space Learning’s online one-to-one tutoring frequently incorporates multi-step questions to test students’ knowledge and problem solving skills. Our personalised tutoring programme works to identify gaps in students’ learning, fill those gaps, reinforce students’ knowledge and build confidence.

More primary word problems resources

Third Space Learning offers word problems for all primary year groups. Take a look at our word problems for year 3, word problems for year 5 and word problems for year 6. Our word problems span a range of topics such as ratio word problems and percentage word problems.