Multi-Digit Addition & Subtraction

If your fourth grader is shaky on addition and subtraction with larger numbers, you’re not alone. This is one of those foundational skills that either clicks or becomes a recurring headache through the rest of elementary math. These worksheets give it the time it deserves — nine weeks of structured, progressive practice that starts simple and builds toward the kind of problems kids actually encounter on state tests and in real life.

The first week focuses purely on multi-digit addition. We’re talking 3-digit and 4-digit numbers, with and without regrouping (carrying). It sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many kids rush through addition and make careless mistakes with place value. Getting this solid first matters.

Subtraction comes next, and it’s split across three weeks for good reason. Week 2 handles subtraction without regrouping — just lining up columns and subtracting. Week 3 introduces borrowing across one or more columns. And then Week 4 tackles the one that trips up almost every kid: subtracting across zeros. If your child has ever stared blankly at a problem like 5,000 minus 2,347, that week exists specifically for them. The worksheets break down chain-borrowing step by step instead of just expecting kids to figure it out.

Week 5 starts mixing addition and subtraction together in the same problem sets, which is honestly where a lot of kids first stumble. When they can’t just assume every problem is the same operation, they have to actually read and think. It also introduces the idea that addition and subtraction are inverse operations — understanding that relationship helps with checking work and solving unknowns.

Then things shift. Week 6 is all about estimation and mental math — rounding, front-end estimation, compatible numbers. This isn’t just a nice-to-have skill. Kids who can estimate before solving catch their own mistakes. It changes how they relate to numbers.

Week 7 brings multi-step word problems. Two operations, extra information thrown in as distractors, comparison problems, budgets. The kind of math that actually looks like something you’d do outside a classroom. These problems require planning, not just computing.

Week 8 extends everything to 5-digit and 6-digit numbers. Same algorithms, just longer. Real-world contexts like city populations and distances keep it grounded. And Week 9 wraps the whole thing up with a cumulative review — addition, subtraction, regrouping, zeros, estimation, mixed operations, and word problems all mixed together. Five worksheets that test whether your child can pick the right approach for each problem, not just follow a pattern they’ve been drilling.

Every week includes five printable worksheets with full answer keys. The whole set aligns to Common Core standard 4.NBT.B.4, and it’s free.