What children learn in each class
A plain-English guide to Maths, English and Irish in primary school in Ireland – so you know what your child is working on, from Junior Infants to 6th Class.
4th Class · Stage 3 (3rd and 4th Class): bigger numbers, times tables, fractions and decimals; reading for meaning and writing in different styles.
Maths
Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023)
- Numbers to 9,999; place value and rounding
- Knowing multiplication tables by heart
- Multiplying and dividing larger numbers
- Equivalent fractions; tenths and hundredths as decimals
- Time: minutes, timetables, how long something takes
- Money: budgeting and best buys
- Area (cm²) and perimeter
- Angles: right, acute and obtuse; symmetry
- Grid references and compass directions
- Collecting data, bar charts, and chance
- Word problems with more than one step
- Standardised tests in Maths at the end of 4th Class
English
Primary Language Curriculum (2019)
- Reading comprehension: detail, inference, prediction, main idea
- Putting events in order and summarising
- Fact and opinion; working out new words from clues
- Types of text: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays
- Building sentences with joining words (because, but, so)
- Past, present and future tenses
- Punctuation: commas, apostrophes, speech marks
- Spelling patterns, prefixes and suffixes
- Planning, writing and proofreading their own work
- Listening to and following longer instructions
- Standardised tests in English reading at the end of 4th Class
Gaeilge (Irish)
Primary Language Curriculum (2019)
- Verbs in three tenses, including the séimhiú in the past (dhún, d'ól)
- mo and do + séimhiú: mo chóta, m'athair
- Building sentences – the verb usually comes first in Irish
- Themes: Bia, Éadaí, An Aimsir, An Scoil, Caitheamh Aimsire
- Reading a short Irish story and answering questions
- Writing a short paragraph, e.g. about the weekend
Easy ways to help at home
- Practise times tables little and often (5 minutes a day)
- Ask 'Why do you think…?' questions about books
- Let them help with measuring in cooking and DIY
Good to know
- The official curriculum sets goals for two-year stages (Infants, 1st–2nd, 3rd–4th, 5th–6th). The points for each class are typical examples – every school plans its own order, so your child may meet some topics a little earlier or later.
- Children learn at different speeds. If something here seems far ahead of where your child is, that's completely normal – their teacher is happy to help with any questions.
- Standardised tests in English reading and Maths take place at the end of 2nd, 4th and 6th Class.
- In Gaelscoileanna and Gaeltacht schools, children learn through Irish, so their Irish is usually well ahead of this guide.
Sources: Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023) and Primary Language Curriculum (2019), NCCA – curriculumonline.ie. More parent resources: ncca.ie/en/primary/resources-for-parents.