Grade 4 Subtraction Drill
Grade 4 subtraction drill sheet: 30 problems on four-digit subtraction with the standard algorithm.
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Three different problem sets — same skill, same layout, fresh numbers.
Preview — Set A
Solve each problem. Show your work in the space provided.
- 1.7495 - 4643 =
- 2.2752 - 2461 =
- 3.2891 - 2053 =
- 4.1270 - 1059 =
- 5.2147 - 1977 =
- 6.5766 - 2507 =
- 7.3629 - 3289 =
- 8.9180 - 5958 =
- 9.2480 - 2004 =
- 10.3079 - 2197 =
- 11.4288 - 1351 =
- 12.6623 - 5207 =
- 13.5347 - 2184 =
- 14.2214 - 1016 =
- 15.4804 - 3455 =
- 16.2137 - 1222 =
- 17.1208 - 1131 =
- 18.6353 - 1026 =
- 19.5144 - 4307 =
- 20.8298 - 7571 =
- 21.9459 - 2470 =
- 22.8788 - 2811 =
- 23.8535 - 1580 =
- 24.2740 - 1707 =
- 25.6206 - 4491 =
- 26.4906 - 1573 =
- 27.6811 - 5192 =
- 28.5006 - 3968 =
- 29.3611 - 1622 =
- 30.2923 - 1047 =
What this worksheet covers
30 subtraction problems fill this drill page; problem 11 asks "4288 - 1351", and the sheet stays at that level throughout. Within that, all 30 column problems need regrouping and the numbers run as high as 9,459. Further down, problem 21 asks "9459 - 2470". It is written against Common Core 4.NBT.4 — Number & Operations in Base Ten, grade 4.
Skills practised
The grade 4 subtraction sequence covers the standard algorithm on four- and five-digit numbers; this page sits inside it. The skill on the page: four-digit subtraction with the standard algorithm. To finish it, a student has to carry or borrow across place-value columns without losing a digit.
About the drill format
This drill runs 30 problems in a steady layout, so the eye never has to hunt for the next one; problem 11, "4288 - 1351" shows the level it holds. A page of same-shaped differences is where a borrowing method either settles or shows its cracks.
Set A, Set B and Set C
The three sets come from the same generator with three different seeds: same skill, same layout, fresh numbers, and an answer key computed with the problems. Where Set A's problem 16 is "2137 - 1222", Set B's is "5786 - 1983".
How to use this worksheet
Work the 30 problems straight through, then check against the key together rather than handing it back marked; asking a grade 4 student to find their own subtraction error teaches more than seeing it circled. Use the key as a check, not as a grade; none of the 30 problems needs a score attached to be useful.
One mistake to watch for
The smaller digit is always taken from the larger: 52 − 38 becomes 26. Problem 21 on this grade 4 drill page, "9459 - 2470", is where to look for it.
The student is applying "big minus small" column by column instead of treating the top number as a whole.
Model 52 with base-ten blocks and ask whether 8 ones can be taken from 2 ones; the trade of a ten for ten ones has to be seen before it can be written.
Other grade 4 subtraction formats
The same skill in the other formats available at this grade.
- Timed Drill — Grade 4 Subtraction Timed Drill, 72 problems
- Missing Number — Grade 4 Subtraction Missing Number, 24 problems
- Mixed Review — Grade 4 Subtraction Mixed Review, 30 problems
- Word Problems — Grade 4 Subtraction Word Problems, 10 problems
- Vertical Format — Grade 4 Multi-Digit Subtraction (Standard Algorithm), 16 problems
A step either side
The same format one grade down and one grade up — the easier sheet is often the faster fix when this one is not landing.
- Grade 3 Subtraction Drill — grade 3, 30 problems
Drill sheets in other grade 4 topics
Six PDFs, no sign-up: three versions of this grade 4 subtraction drill and three answer keys, each 30 problems long.