Frequently Asked Questions: the alignment of Math Mammoth to the Common Core Standards (CCS)

This document explains some common questions and answers concerning the common core alignment of Math Mammoth Light Blue series (the complete curriculum), and the changes between the new (revised) and old versions.

1. Which Math Mammoth materials are aligned to the CCS, and which are not?

2. Does Math Mammoth align to the California Common Core Standards?

3. What are the differences between the old version and the new aligned version?

4. Does it "dumb down" the books?

5. Is one more advanced (introducing concepts earlier) than the other?

6. Why have you aligned Math Mammoth to the Common Core?

7. What is your position on the Common Core Standards?

9. Can I continue from non-aligned version grade X to aligned version grade X+1?

10. Can I purchase the old, non-aligned versions?

1. Which Math Mammoth materials are aligned to the CCS, and which are not?

Math Mammoth Light Blue series (the complete curriculum for grades 1-8) meets, or in some grade levels exceeds, the CCS.

The old version of the Light Blue series is not aligned, and it is available as a download of all 6 grades at this link: Add to cart ($136 USD).

The Blue Series books are not aligned to the Common Core. Make It Real Learning workbooks are not aligned.

Also, the units I sell at my Teachers Pay Teachers storefront are aligned to the CCS.

2. Does Math Mammoth align to the California Common Core Standards?

California amended the generic Common Core Standards document with THREE additions.

• The first addition is to the standard 2.MD.7 in 2nd grade:

  Know relationships of time (e.g., minutes in an hour, days in a month, weeks in a year).

  Math Mammoth grade 2 covers the number of days in each month, the thought that there are 60 minutes in an hour, and has extensive practice with dates and calendar, which helps cement the fact that there are seven days in the week. The curriculum does not cover in 2nd grade how many weeks there are in a year. Students continue to work with various time units in both 3rd and 4th grade in Math Mammoth.

• The next addition (in bold) is in grade 4:

  4.G.2 Classify two-dimensional figures based on the presence or absence of parallel or perpendicular lines, or the presence or absence of angles of a specified size. Recognize right triangles as a category, and identify right triangles. (Two-dimensional shapes should include special triangles, e.g., equilateral, isosceles, scalene, and special quadrilaterals, e.g., rhombus, square, rectangle, parallelogram, trapezoid.) CA

  Math Mammoth covers right, acute, and obtuse triangles in 4th grade, and equilateral, isosceles, and scalene triangles in 5th. The curriculum does cover all the special quadrilaterals listed above, in 4th grade (and in more detail in 5th).

• And the last addition is in 5th grade:

  5.OA.2.1 Express a whole number in the range 2-50 as a product of its prime factors. For example, find the prime factors of 24 and express 24 as 2 × 2 × 2 × 3. CA

  This is covered both in MM5 and MM6.

3. What are the differences between the old pre-common core version and the new aligned version?

For Math Mammoth Light Blue Series, the alignment has involved moving some topics up a grade level, a few topics down a grade level, adding a few topics, and revising the presentation of some.

In some grade levels, I have left topics in the curriculum that are beyond the CCS, such as some easy conversions between measuring units in grade 3. Grade 6 has a review of decimal arithmetic (not mentioned in the CCS).

Also, CCS are not all-comprehensive. They are silent about some "lesser" topics such as line graphs, Roman numerals, prime factorization, or learning about parts of the circle. I haven't dropped such topics from Math Mammoth if they were there already. In some topics, CCS are very vague. For example, for one particular grade they say "students work with time and money". Telling time and money are still included in Math Mammoth, just as they were before.

Please see this page for details about the different editions and changes in each.

4. Does it "dumb down" the books?

I cannot feel so at all, because the Common Core Standards for mathematics emphasize conceptual understanding a lot, and like mentioned above, Math Mammoth already was "aligned" to them in many aspects. I have not made changes that would make the books "dumber"; I could never do that! Math Mammoth is still committed to delivering "conceptual math," the understanding of "why" math works, and lots of word problems, including challenging ones.

Now, some topics have moved up a grade, and some may feel that means the curriculum has gotten "dumbed" down because of that. I do not feel any of those moves are so critical as to make Math Mammoth a "dumb" program. Your child can still start pre-algebra in grade 7.

To give you examples of topics moving up a grade: rounding moved from grade 2 to grade 3, long division with a two-digit divisor and multiplying 3-digit nubers by 2-digit numbers moved from grade 4 to grade 5, and integers & percent moved from grade 5 (they had been optional in MM5 anyway) to grades 6 and 7.

And, some topics have moved down a grade: most notably, factoring and primes to grade 4, and area & perimeter to grade 3. Additionally, grade 6 now has lessons about some algebraic concepts (distributive property, simplifying expressions, inequalities, solving one-step, and some two-step equations). As it is, grade 5 exceeds the CCS somewhat (please see above), and the same is true of grades 6 and 7.

Also, the presentation of topics has not changed towards "dumber" at all. I wouldn't want such, and I don't know if I could even accomplish such!

5. Is one more advanced (introducing concepts earlier) than the other?

For grades 5-6, the old version is more advanced and the CCS aligned version will be less so. However, the old version of MM 6 has been almost "too advanced" as it had many pre-algebra concepts in it. I will be writing a true pre-algebra program (MM7) and move many things from current MM6 to it.

I cannot exactly say one is more advanced than the other for grades 1-4. Some topics moved up a grade (two-digit divisor in long division, even/odd, rounding), but some moved down a grade (perimeter/area of rectangles in depth, factoring). Most topics didn't actually move, because Math Mammoth fit the common core standards in many aspects already, before this revision process. Maybe overall the new, revised version is a tad easier since there have been more concepts that moved up a grade than those that moved down.

6. Why have you aligned Math Mammoth to the Common Core?

I became aware of these standards maybe in 2009 or 2010, but didn't pay any mind to them until late 2011, when I noticed that practically all states had decided to adopt them. So, I took a closer look then. I noticed the standards didn't look bad, AND that Math Mammoth (Light Blue Series) actually was "aligned" in many aspects already, especially in grades 1-5.

Now that I've studied them in detail, I have found a few that are "out of place", but for the most part, I feel the standards are a VAST improvement over most of the states math standards, many of which were really long "laundry lists" that have caused the typical math curricula to be "inch deep and mile long".

I have always felt the long lists of standards was the wrong way to go, as it causes teachers and curricula to teach many, many multitudes of topics with shallowness. The CCS have fewer standards per grade, allowing more focus on certain topics and themes, thus hopefully allowing for true mastery, instead of teachers hurrying through the topics and passing kids to the next grade without them mastering the math.

Also, the common core standards for math are quite similar to how I think math should be taught (and how the old version of MM was written): they emphasize conceptual development a lot, and include the standards algorithms and fact mastery. Like I said, Math Mammoth was already "aligned" in many major aspects to the CCS.

If you are planning to put your child back to public school in a certain grade or if your child needs to take a yearly test based on the CCS, you can be assured that your child has studied the necessary topics when using Math Mammoth. Hopefully I am able to help the homeschooling community in that respect.

7. What is your position on the Common Core Standards?

The answer to this question is here.

9. Can I continue from the non-aligned version in some grade to the aligned version in the next grade?

In general, yes, you can. However, please check the points above as to what was changed in any particular grade level. In some cases the student might need to study a topic before going on with the new, revised version. For example, a child going from old version grade 3 to the new version in grade 4 would need to study area & perimeter of rectangles in depth as it is now covered in grade 3. You can also email me for advice.

10. Can I purchase the old, non-aligned versions?

Yes. The bundle for grades 1-6 is available as a download at this link: Add to cart ($136 USD).

However, since I have improved upon my older work in the revised versions, I don't feel the old versions are as good as the new.

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