Utah Grade 4 Math

Adding four changes the number but preserves its parity

Start with 3 and repeatedly add 4. Write the first six terms, including the starting number. A student says, “Every term will be odd, even after our list ends.” Explain whether the rule supports that claim. Then decide what would change if the starting number were 2.

Follow the reasoning

Each new term is four more than the previous term: 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23. Each listed value is odd, but listing six values alone is not the reason every later value is odd. An odd number can be arranged in pairs with one left over. Adding four adds two complete pairs and leaves that single leftover unchanged. Therefore, the next term is also odd, and the same reasoning applies each time the rule is used. Starting at 2 instead gives 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22: complete pairs stay complete when two more pairs are added, so all those terms are even.

Check the claim’s scope

The add-four rule preserves whether the starting number is odd or even. It does not make every possible starting value odd. Keep the stated starting number in the explanation. The first term is the starting value; counting six additions would produce seven terms. This activity selects number-pattern reasoning, while the complete reference also includes shape patterns.

Try a changed rule

Start at 3 again but add 5 each time. The first six terms are 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28. Explain why odd and even alternate: adding an odd number changes whether an unpaired object remains. Compare the two rules with paired objects or a drawing before making a claim about later terms.

Utah reference for this worked activity

The Utah mathematics standards directory identifies January 2016 adoption and lists a revision process that is still underway. The elementary PDF says revised April 2016; the middle-school PDF says revised September 2015–April 2016. These file revision labels do not establish adoption of a new 2026 edition. Use the school’s current learning sequence and consult later department updates.

This selected reference identifies the activity focus. The complete standard and grade curriculum include additional work. These labels do not certify alignment of every independent lesson, worksheet, or quiz in the broader directory.

Choose a next task from the student’s explanation

Use a different set of numbers to check whether the student can explain the same relationship. If the explanation is unclear, return to the model; if the reasoning is sound but a calculation is wrong, work through a shorter calculation and check it against the model. Use the related learning resources alongside the teacher’s assigned goals.

The Utah RISE overview lists mathematics summative assessment in Grades 3–8, including this grade. Follow the school’s current directions and accommodations. Independently published practice has its own timing, tools, question count, and scoring; its result does not establish a state performance level. This original activity is not an official state assessment question. Read Utah assessment guidance.

State sources and the selected complete PDF page checked October 6, 2026. Confirm later guidance and local assignments before planning assessment preparation.