Range-finding games ask students, for instance, to add a number to 342 that will give them an answer between 800 and 830. After the estimate is made, it is punched into the calculator to see whether or not it did the job. Calculators will also prompt students to be curious about mathematical topics to which they are about to be introduced. For example, while routinely using calculators in problem solving activities, some students may notice that whenever they add, subtract, or multiply two whole numbers, they get a whole number for an answer. Sometimes that happens for division, too, but sometimes when they divide they get an answer like 3.5.
Computers are a valuable tool for students in third and fourth grade.
MathKeys links on-screen manipulative materials to standard symbolic representations and to a writing tool for children. Logo can be used by students to explore computer programming and geometry concepts at the same time. The King's Rule is a program that asks students to determine the rules that distinguish one set of numbers from another, fostering creative and inductive thinking. Specifically, in these grades, they might look for state populations, meteorological data, and updates on current events. The cumulative progress indicators for grade 4 appear below in boldface type.