Core Knowledge
Helping Schools and Parents Develop
Responsible, Productive Citizens
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
2
E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Founder
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
3
Based on cognitive science,
Core Knowledge corrects
several mistaken theories
about what constitutes
effective instruction.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
4
Mistaken Ideas from the
Romantic Movement
• Because human nature is innately good it
should be permitted to take its “natural
course.”
• A child is a unique being, whose development
should be left to unfold naturally, without the
unnatural constraints imposed by traditional
education.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
5
Mistaken Ideas from
Progressivism
• Child-centered, child-directed learning is the
only way foster love of learning, individuality
and creativity.
• Discovery learning and active, hands-on
learning are always superior to teacher-directed
learning.
• Process and skills are more important than
content.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
6
Romanticism & Progressivism
A Legacy of Failed Ideas in U.S. Classrooms
• Learning is natural; it happens automatically as
nature intended.
• Individual choice is paramount.
• Process and skills do not depend on knowledge.
• Verbal skills, including reading, will develop
when the child is ready.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
7
The Consequence:
Achievement Gaps
The excellence gap internationally
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
8
The Consequence: No Growth in
12th Grade Reading
(NAEP, 1971–2012)
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
9
A Snapshot of Reading Achievement
in the U.S.
(NAEP, 2009)
• 62% of 12th graders failed to meet the
Proficient standard.
• 26% of 12th graders failed to meet the Basic
standard.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
10
The Fairness Gap within the U.S.
American children from low-income families lag
far behind their peers from higher-income
families.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
11
A Snapshot of The Fairness Gap
(NAEP, 2009)
• 54% of white 12th graders failed to meet the
Proficient standard.
• 78% of Latino 12th graders failed to meet the
Proficient standard.
• 83% of African American 12th graders failed to
meet the Proficient standard.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
12
CORE KNOWLEDGE
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
13
“Knowledge makes
people competent
regardless of race, class,
or ethnicity. It is the
great social equalizer.”
- E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
14
Speakers and Writers
Assume Certain Knowledge
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
15
Core Knowledge Teaches the Content
Adults Are Expected to Know
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
16
The Core Knowledge Foundation
Founded in 1986
by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., Core
Knowledge is a nonprofit in
Charlottesville, VA. It offers
instructional materials,
professional development,
and networking to educators
and parents in over 1,000
schools in 47 states.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
17
What is Core Knowledge?
• A Powerful Idea
• A Source for Research-Based,
Content-Rich Instructional Materials
• An Education Reform Movement
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
18
A Powerful Idea
Intellectual Capital
“Just as it takes money to make
money, it takes knowledge to make
knowledge.”
- E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
19
A Source Research-Based,
Content-Rich Instructional
Materials
• What people are able to learn at any given
moment depends on what they already know.
• What they already know is a function of their
previous experiences.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
20
An Education Reform Movement
The Foundation’s Motto:
Educational Excellence and Equity for All Children
The Foundation’s Mission:
Offer all children a better chance in life and create
a fairer and more literate society by educating
America's youth in a content-specific, coherent,
cumulative and shared curriculum.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
21
The Core Knowledge Sequence
Content and Skill
Guidelines for
Preschool and K–8
 Content specific
 Coherent
 Cumulative
www.coreknowledge.org/download-the-sequence
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
22
Content Specific
Explicit Identification of What Students Should
Learn at Each Grade Level
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
English Language Arts
World History and Geography
American History and Geography
Visual Arts
Music
Math
Science
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
23
Coherent
Content is carefully organized so knowledge builds on
knowledge, as in this example from kindergarten:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Nursery Rhymes and Fables
Five Senses
Stories
Plants
Farms
Native Americans
Kings and Queens
Seasons and Weather
Columbus and the Pilgrims
Colonial Towns and Townspeople
Taking Care of the Earth
Presidents and American Symbols
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
24
Cumulative
Content is carefully organized
so knowledge builds across grade
levels:
Kindergarten: The Five Senses
Grade 1: The Human Body
Grade 2: Human Body: Building Blocks
and Nutrition
Grade 3: Human Body: Systems and
Senses
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
25
Instructional Materials &
Professional Development
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
26
CKLA is a new,
revolutionary
approach to
reading
instruction.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
27
“We need to see the reading comprehension
problem for what it primarily is—a
knowledge problem. There is no way
around the need for children to gain broad
general knowledge in order to gain broad
general proficiency in reading.”
—E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
The Knowledge Deficit
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
28
Knowledge Matters
Teaching science is teaching reading.
Teaching history is teaching reading.
Teaching geography is teaching reading.
Teaching art is teaching reading.
Teaching music is teaching reading.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
29
CKLA: Key Insights
CKLA is based on the insight
that reading is a two-lock box;
it requires two keys to open:
 The first key = decoding skills
 The second key = oral
language, vocabulary, and
background knowledge
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
30
CKLA: Key Insights
• Decoding skills, along with
writing skills (including
spelling, grammar, and
punctuation), are taught in
our Skills strand.
• Content knowledge and
vocabulary are taught in
our Listening & Learning
strand.
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
31
Teaching with CKLA
CKLA for preschool–grade 3 is available online for
free download: www.coreknowledge.org/ckla-files
For details on the Skills strand, the
Listening & Learning strand, and
the foundational research, see:
www.coreknowledge.org/ckla
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
32
“We will achieve a just and
prosperous society only when our
schools ensure that everyone
commands enough shared
knowledge to communicate
effectively with everyone else.”
—E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
33
Join the Core Knowledge
community today!
www.coreknowledge.org
© 2013 Core Knowledge Foundation
34