Someone recently was wondering if perhaps aligning Math Mammoth curriculum to Common Core standards wasn't a good idea, or at least wasn't going to help them any, because they have found value in curricula outside of American ones.
So why am I doing that?
I have known of Common Core standards for a few years, but in December 2011 I noticed that nearly all states were or are going to implement them. So, they are in essence providing a framework for a national curriculum in mathematics.
So, I decided to consider them, and to take a closer look at the standards. And I realized that Common Core standards aren't that "bad." They are NOT like most state standards have been, "inch deep and mile wide," with tons of topics per grade.
These are "core" standards, meaning there aren't a huge amount of them per grade. So it's a BIG improvement over many of the states' standards.
I also noticed that some of the "core" standards were already in place in Math Mammoth, such as a focus on single-digit multiplication in third grade, or multi-digit multiplication in 4th, or fractions in 5th.
I liked the fact that the standards explicitly mentioned some mental math!
Also, I am not fundamentally changing the teaching approach or style in Math Mammoth. Aligning to the Common core is more a question of reorganizing topics, moving some topics to a different grade, than anything else.
Yes, I've added a few little things they require such as measuring how much longer one thing is than another, or problems with unknowns shown with shapes, or asking children to divide a shape into quarters. But it is not affecting the development of major concepts.
At the same time, I have also revised many of the lessons and made them better -- this is happening regardless of the standards. It's just when I see my earlier work, I find ways to improve it.
I hope this helps!
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