4-Digit Subtraction with Regrouping

Inside the case file

4 digit subtraction with regrouping worksheets for 3rd grade and 4th grade, a robot themed math game of five Mystery Detective cases with sixteen problems each. No prep, print and go, with full answer keys, for math centers, morning work, early finishers, homework, test prep and sub plans any week of the year. Space bandits, drained robot oil and a machine that has malfunctioned carry the story, students borrow across zeros and match every answer to a clue, and a dropped digit simply never appears on the list, so they find it themselves at problem three rather than at marking time, all inside one CSI Mini Mystery Detective download that owes nothing to a holiday.

Four digit subtraction asks for two borrows in the same problem, and this pack is where a student learns to trust their own answer. The clue list only carries the right ones, so they hunt down any digit they dropped themselves. The robots keep them at it until the borrowing is automatic, five robot math pages, Mystery Detective style, and not a pumpkin in sight.

The Cases

• Space Bandits - something has been taken from the ship
• Missing Robot Oil - the supply has drained away overnight
• Robot Malfunction - working out which machine failed
• Robot Color - a paint job nobody owns up to
• Bad Robot - the last case, and the hardest to pin down

What's Inside

• Five robot case files, sixteen subtraction problems on each
• Four digit subtraction with regrouping throughout
• Answer keys for all five cases
• Suspect and clue lists printed beside the problems
• A teacher instruction page - print and go, nothing to cut
• One download, no prep, no laminating

What Is a CSI Mini Mystery Detective?

One printed page holding one crime and the clue lists that solve it. Every clue carries a number, the sixteen problems on the page produce those numbers, and a correct answer crosses a clue off. Work to the last question and a single suspect is left standing. Drop a borrow and nothing matches, so the page checks itself.

When to Use This Resource

Reach for this after four digit subtraction has been taught and needs practicing until it sticks, which is normally the middle of 3rd grade. It also works as revision at the start of 4th grade, before long division puts the same borrowing under pressure. Nothing in it is seasonal, so it can run in any month. Use it for math centers, morning work, early finishers, homework, sub plans and homeschool lessons, with a whole class, a small group or one student.

Grade Levels

Written for 3rd grade and 4th grade, and useful in 5th grade for students who still need subtraction firmed up before they meet decimals.

Why Teachers Love These Cases

• A wrong answer matches no clue, so students find their own slips
• Robots hold a class that has gone cold on plain worksheets
• Five cases is a full week from one print run
• Works any month - nothing in it is tied to a season

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