Work in Progress: Core Knowledge Science™
The Core Knowledge Foundation is currently developing Core Knowledge Science™ (CKSci), a comprehensive Science program for grades K–5. The CKSci units will be organized according to major Science topic areas in the Core Knowledge Sequence, such as Astronomy, Meteorology, Plant Structures and Processes, and many more.
Now Available: Knowledge Maps
We are happy to share with you the working draft Knowledge Maps that we are developing as conceptual blueprints for each planned CKSci unit.
Download CKSci Knowledge Maps
For each CKSci unit, the Knowledge Map:
Organizes content from the Core Knowledge Sequence.
Includes alignment information and rationale for addressing the relevant Next Generation Science Standards.
Articulates common misconceptions to support teachers as they help children overcome obstacles to understanding.
Lists recommended content objectives for student mastery.
Outlines several possible activities and assessment ideas for each domain of study.
Excellence and Equity in Education
The mission of the Core Knowledge Foundation is to advance excellence and equity in education for all children.
To achieve this mission, we offer detailed curricular guidance and materials to schools, teachers, parents, and policy makers—to anyone who believes, as we do, that every child in a diverse democracy deserves access to enabling knowledge.
By providing open access to an exemplary curriculum for preschool through eighth grade, we endeavor to:
create literate citizens able to contribute to a democratic society
empower each child to achieve his or her greatest academic potential
shrink the excellence gap between the academic achievement of American students and that of their international peers from high-performing countries
shrink the fairness gap between the academic achievement of American students living in poverty and that of their economically advantaged peers.
Knowledge-Based Schooling
Knowledge-based schooling opens doors to enabling knowledge, which in turn opens doors to productive and responsible citizenship.
To support knowledge-based schooling, the Core Knowledge Foundation has since its founding worked to identify and make available the knowledge and skills essential to the development of literacy and responsible citizenship. The results of this ongoing effort are presented in the Core Knowledge Sequence, the blueprint for a coherent, cumulative, and content-specific curriculum in preschool through eighth grade.
Sharing the Knowledge
The Core Knowledge Foundation, a 501©3 not-for-profit organization, has published a wide variety of educational books and materials, from curricular guidelines to comprehensive instructional programs. We offer many of these materials as open educational resources (OER), available at no cost for non-commercial use. While we need to pay our bills, our greatest motivation is to share the knowledge.
As Core Knowledge founder E. D. Hirsch, Jr., explains in Why Knowledge Matters, “Only a well-rounded, knowledge-specific curriculum can impart needed knowledge to all children and overcome inequality of opportunity.”