California Math & YOU Elementary Series (K-5)

Give Young Learners a Strong Mathematical Foundation

California Math & YOU K-5 is a cohesive, coherent, and rigorous mathematics curriculum built on the California Mathematics Framework and fully aligned to the California Common Core State Standards (CA-CCSS) 

Written by renowned author Dr. Ron Larson and his expert authorship team, California Math & YOU K-5 incorporates the highest impact strategies for empowering teachers to accelerate learning for ALL students. With a strong conceptual framework and connections to the big ideas of mathematics, students are guided to learn more deeply and retain their conceptual understanding.

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Why Choose California Math & YOU?

Cultivate Growth for Every Learner

The California Math & YOU Elementary (K-5) series includes rich features that help young learners achieve learning growth by making connections and applying mathematical concepts to the world around them. 
  • Learning Targets and Success Criteria are part of each lesson so both teachers and students can readily identify the goals of each lesson and monitor understanding. 

  • The California Common Core State Standards in Mathematics are visible on the first page of each lesson, which makes it easy for California educators to identify the standards and how they will be met. 

  • Career-Themed Chapters with Career Explorations Videos inspire students with relatable connections to their lives now and in the future. 

  • Performance Tasks conclude each chapter and are tied to each Career focus.  

  • Math Talk & Data Talk Callouts help teachers initiate meaningful classroom and small group discussions around math and help build students’ data literacy. 

  • California’s Environmental Principles & Concepts are integrated into each chapter and accompanied by teacher notes that help students bridge environmental concepts with math.  

  • With each Investigate, students are encouraged to look back, before proceeding to look ahead, supporting the development of conceptual understanding. 

  • The Reasoning page features non-routine problems that require students to practice conceptual thinking in every lesson. 

  • In Connect to Real Life, colorful and engaging real-life examples are incorporated, making mathematics meaningful. Data literacy is also encouraged with frequent Connect to Data elements. 

  • Each Dig Deeper Problem promotes multi-step thinking and conceptual understanding to apply different strategies to solve more rigorous problems. 

  • The Big Ideas of the Chapter enable students to partake in an investigative activity that requires them to relate a big idea of the upcoming chapter with real life data contexts.  

  • Connecting Big Ideas includes engaging data-science infographics that help students connect to the big ideas of the grade.  

Engaging Elements in California Math & YOU for Grades K-2

To connect with our youngest learners in kindergarten through second grade, the engaging elements in California Math & YOU are designed to enrich and enhance their learning experience. 

Engaging Visuals

To connect with our youngest learners in kindergarten through second grade, California Math & YOU includes engaging elements to enrich and enhance their learning experience. 

Career Explorations Videos

Featured at the beginning of every chapter, two endearing furry friends, Newton and Descartes, interview real-world professionals to inquire how they use math every day.

Math Musicals

Stories, songs, and differentiated rich math tasks center around the adventures of Newton and Descartes as a fun way to connect to math through music and literature. Learn More

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Explore

California Math & YOU K-5

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Manipulatives, Resources, & Supplemental Curriculum

Students develop conceptual understanding through investigation and exploration. Big Ideas Learning is your partner in providing relevant, rigorous, and conceptually rich K–12 mathematics instructional programs.  

We partner with Didax to give teachers the ability to enhance students' conceptual understanding and visualization of mathematical concepts. Didax is the exclusive provider of Big Ideas Learning’s K-5 manipulative kits. These kits are intentionally designed to include the appropriate manipulatives recommended for each lesson. Through models, teachers can readily assess students’ grasp of mathematical principles.  

California Math & YOU Elementary
Diagnostics & Assessments

California Math & YOU features a robust reporting system that provides teachers with immediate feedback on diagnostic, formative, and summative assignments and assessments.  
Formative assessments are featured in the Practice Workbook: Lesson and Standards-Based Practice which contains Lesson Extra Practice and individualized standards practice to better prepare students for the types of questions they frequently encounter on the California Smarter Balanced Assessments.
Teachers can assign Standards-Based Practice digitally for detailed reports online and can even customize to create their own.
 
The Self-Assessment tool allows students to assess their understanding of the Learning Targets & Success Criteria.      
Summative assessments are available for mid-chapter, end-of-chapter, multi-chapter, and post-course tests, as well as practice tests to give teachers everything needed to summatively assess student learning. 
The Diagnostic Adaptive Progression (DAP) assessment adapts in real time based on students' abilities and provides helpful data to teachers to indicate whether students are performing on, above, or below grade-level expectations for each skill. *Note: The DAP assessment is available as a pre-course test, three quarterly assessments, and as a post-course test. 
Take a Look Inside

Preview California Math & YOU K-5

Our Impact

What Our Users Have To Say

The digital platform is a game changer for me.  The video tutorials are explicit, engaging, and well-paced.  The Formative Check provides immediate feedback on student progress, making it quick and easy to differentiate and provide support where needed.  Since implementing the program 2 years ago, I have seen student growth and mathematical understanding that I've never seen in 20 years of teaching.
Grade 4 Teacher
Our students have seen exponential growth after implementing Big Ideas Learning’s program with fidelity for two consecutive years. The lessons are concise and challenging.  Additionally, we use the Progressions and Resources to meet with students either individually or in targeted small group instruction, to revisit specific skills as necessary, to enrich their understanding, and monitor their progress. The way the curriculum spirals supports the continuity of understanding in students from year to year.
Grade 5 Teacher
As teachers, we all know anything new is always viewed with some level of skepticism. In our first year using Big Ideas, 63% of our grade 3-5 students met or exceeded their desired growth on our Spring 2022 state testing. As a team, we set a goal of 65% for Spring 2023 and committed to following the Big Ideas pacing and rigor. We were thrilled when our Spring 2023 growth for grades 3-5 on our state testing was 76% of students met or exceeded their desired growth! As we plan for 2024, we know teaching the program with fidelity is the way to go!
Elementary Principal
At the end of 2022 after our first year of BIM, our students were asked, "How often do you use ideas from school in your daily life?" and only 50% answered, "Almost always" or "Frequently". We made some adjustments to be sure all teachers were teaching the program with fidelity including keeping up the pace to cover all of the material. At the end of 2023, 65% of our students answered "Almost always" or "Frequently". We are thrilled at that increase as we seek success in how our students can see the connection between what happens in the classroom and what happens in life! Our teachers shared that the program is a big part of helping our students make that connection!
Elementary Principal
Big Ideas Learning allows teachers to have various tools at their fingertips (both print and digital) to help students practice and come to a deeper understanding of an array of math concepts. The proof of the program's success is in the data from the beginning-of-the-year assessments compared to the middle and end-of-year assessments. We are thrilled with the results and look forward to seeing how our students continue to grow this year as we head into the third year of using the program!
Grade 5 Teacher
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The California Math & YOU Digital Experience

California Math & YOU’s brand-new digital experience provides a high-quality, engaging, and interactive learning environment for both teachers and students. The flexible interface allows teachers to readily customize lessons, student groups for targeted intervention, and assessments while also ensuring equity and access for all students as they meet the standards at appropriate depths.
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Your California Math & YOU Journey Starts Here!

Let's talk California Math & YOU! Connect with one of our California representatives.

Trusted Partners in Education 

Our exclusive partnership with National Geographic Learning | Cengage, gives Big Ideas Learning access to their outstanding expertise, resources, and global distribution network.

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A Digital Experience Built for YOU

The Big Ideas Learning digital experience empowers teachers, helps students achieve math fluency, and provides the right tools to maximize teacher and student effectiveness. With data-driven insights to improve student outcomes, teachers are empowered to make instructional decisions that have the highest impact on student learning.
FUNDAMENTAL PILLARS

Why Choose Math & YOU?

Conceptual Foundation

Increased emphasis and features dedicated to conceptual thinking and rigor that balance understanding, fluency, and real-life application.

Teaching Support

Create impactful lesson plans, identify gaps in student learning, and quickly connect to sources for remediation, extra practice, or enrichment.

Engaging Content

Address the perceptions that math is hard to teach by engaging and inspiring students with relatable connections to their lives, now and in the future.

Your Math & YOU Journey Starts Here

See Math & YOU in action! The headline and subheader tells us what you're offering, and the form header closes the deal. Over here you can explain why your offer is so great it's worth filling out a form for.

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MEET THE AUTHORS

The Math & YOU Authorship Team

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Math Musicals

Math Musicals are a fun and dynamic component of the Math & YOU K-5 program. Led by a delightful duo of furry friends, Newton and Descartes, these stories and songs offer an engaging connection between math, music, and literature to support student learning. Join Newton and Descartes as they team up in these educational stories, songs, and videos to bring mathematics to life!
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Learning Manipulatives

We partner with Didax to give teachers the ability to enhance students' conceptual understanding and visualization of mathematical concepts. Didax is the exclusive provider of Big Ideas Learning’s K-5 manipulative kits. These kits are intentionally designed to include the appropriate manipulatives recommended for each lesson.

RESOURCES

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OUR IMPACT

What Our Users Have To Say

The digital platform is a game changer for me.  The video tutorials are explicit, engaging, and well-paced.  The Formative Check provides immediate feedback on student progress, making it quick and easy to differentiate and provide support where needed.  Since implementing the program 2 years ago, I have seen student growth and mathematical understanding that I've never seen in 20 years of teaching.

Grade 4 Teacher

Our students have seen exponential growth after implementing Big Ideas Learning’s program with fidelity for two consecutive years. The lessons are concise and challenging.  Additionally, we use the Progressions and Resources to meet with students either individually or in targeted small group instruction, to revisit specific skills as necessary, to enrich their understanding, and monitor their progress. The way the curriculum spirals supports the continuity of understanding in students from year to year.

Grade 5 Teacher

As teachers, we all know anything new is always viewed with some level of skepticism. In our first year using Big Ideas, 63% of our grade 3-5 students met or exceeded their desired growth on our Spring 2022 state testing. As a team, we set a goal of 65% for Spring 2023 and committed to following the Big Ideas pacing and rigor. We were thrilled when our Spring 2023 growth for grades 3-5 on our state testing was 76% of students met or exceeded their desired growth! As we plan for 2024, we know teaching the program with fidelity is the way to go!

Elementary Principal

At the end of 2022 after our first year of BIM, our students were asked, "How often do you use ideas from school in your daily life?" and only 50% answered, "Almost always" or "Frequently". We made some adjustments to be sure all teachers were teaching the program with fidelity including keeping up the pace to cover all of the material. At the end of 2023, 65% of our students answered "Almost always" or "Frequently". We are thrilled at that increase as we seek success in how our students can see the connection between what happens in the classroom and what happens in life! Our teachers shared that the program is a big part of helping our students make that connection!

Elementary Principal

Big Ideas Learning allows teachers to have various tools at their fingertips (both print and digital) to help students practice and come to a deeper understanding of an array of math concepts. The proof of the program's success is in the data from the beginning-of-the-year assessments compared to the middle and end-of-year assessments. We are thrilled with the results and look forward to seeing how our students continue to grow this year as we head into the third year of using the program!

Grade 5 Teacher

Trusted Partners in Education 

Our exclusive partnership with National Geographic Learning | Cengage, gives Big Ideas Learning access to their outstanding expertise, resources, and global distribution network.

NGL-Cengage HED logo-FullColor-2022-1