Fact families: kindergarten and 4th grade
Fact families begin as number bonds in kindergarten and help fourth graders check multi-digit work and find factor pairs.
Fact families appear across the early grades. In kindergarten they begin as number bonds within 10. In fourth grade they help children check multi-digit work and connect to factor pairs. This page explains both ends of the range.
Fact families in kindergarten
Kindergarten children are not expected to write full fact families, but they build the idea with objects. They break numbers up into two parts and learn to make 10 (Common Core K.OA.A.3 and K.OA.A.4). A child who sees that 5 is 2 and 3 is already thinking in fact families.
- 1 + 4 = 5
- 4 + 1 = 5
- 5 − 1 = 4
- 5 − 4 = 1
- 2 + 3 = 5
- 3 + 2 = 5
- 5 − 2 = 3
- 5 − 3 = 2
- 5 + 5 = 10
- 10 − 5 = 5
- Use two colors of counters and slide them between two boxes.
- Draw a simple fact family house with the whole in the roof.
- Say the facts aloud rather than writing them. “Two and three make five. Five take away two is three.”
Fact families in fourth grade
Fourth graders know their facts and use them with bigger numbers. Fact families help them:
- Check multi-digit multiplication and division (Common Core 4.NBT.B.5 and 4.NBT.B.6). If 48 × 5 = 240, then 240 ÷ 5 should be 48.
- Find factor pairs. The factor pairs of 24 are the pairs that make fact families with 24: 1 and 24, 2 and 12, 3 and 8, 4 and 6 (4.OA.B.4).
- Recall all facts to 12 × 12. In England, children are expected to know their times tables up to 12 by the end of Year 4.
- 4 × 6 = 24
- 6 × 4 = 24
- 24 ÷ 4 = 6
- 24 ÷ 6 = 4
- 3 × 8 = 24
- 8 × 3 = 24
- 24 ÷ 3 = 8
- 24 ÷ 8 = 3
- 2 × 12 = 24
- 12 × 2 = 24
- 24 ÷ 2 = 12
- 24 ÷ 12 = 2
- 6 × 12 = 72
- 12 × 6 = 72
- 72 ÷ 6 = 12
- 72 ÷ 12 = 6
Printable practice
Fact family worksheet for 4th grade review
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Frequently asked questions
What are fact families for kids?
They are groups of three numbers that make a set of related facts. For kids, the easiest way to see them is as a triangle or a house.
What are fact families for kindergarten?
Kindergarten fact families are mostly about breaking numbers into two parts and putting them back together, using objects and pictures.
What is the fact family definition for kids?
A fact family is three numbers that go together and make four related facts: two for adding and subtracting, or two for multiplying and dividing.
See the year-by-year pages for 1st grade, 2nd grade and 3rd grade.