Nearly all of our most cherished ideals for education—from reading comprehension and problem solving to critical thinking and creativity—rest on a foundation of knowledge. With What Your Year 1 Child Needs to Know, Civitas places itself firmly among those who understand the need for knowledge as a non-negotiable, primary purpose of effective schooling. —E. D. Hirsch, Jr.
Core Knowledge UK provides teachers, parents, grandparents and home educators with the resources to help children succeed.
Gradually developed and refined by teachers and educational specialists, the Core Knowledge Sequence UK is a year-by-year outline of the specific and shared content and skills to be taught in Years 1 to 6. The Sequence UK is the backbone of the Core Knowledge UK curriculum, a springboard for learning that provides the foundation for a sound, well-rounded education in the arts, humanities and sciences.
The Core Knowledge UK curriculum is specifically designed to bring out the best in every child from every background, which is why the motto of the Core Knowledge Foundation is 'educational excellence and equity for all.' Core Knowledge UK visited schools in some of New York's most disadvantaged areas to see how they used the curriculum and were inspired by what we found. Children from low-income backgrounds, living in the most challenging areas of the Bronx and Queens, were achieving the highest standards. What's more, their parents, despite living in the most trying of conditions, were often fully engaged.
We are keen to work with teachers who share our ideals and who would like to play a leading part in developing this new curriculum in Britain. In co-operation with teachers, we will be evolving model lesson plans and resource guides, and if any teachers would like their school to be one of the pioneers, please let us know.
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What Your Year 1 Child Needs to Know is the first in a series of Core Knowledge UK resource books for teachers, parents, grandparents and home educators who want to give children the best education.
- It helps parents to bring out the best in their children. It provides a guide to what young people should be learning and helps parents decide on the school best suited to their child. It also engages parents, grandparents and home educators to become more involved in their child's learning.
- It helps teachers. By providing clear expectations that are shared with parents, It helps teachers are better able to benefit every child. Schools are always at their best when parents and teachers work together.
- It helps children to learn on their own initiative. The resource books are written in language suitable for each year group, so that children can read alone or with their parents.
- It provides more equal opportunities for everyone. Some children do not receive effective support at home, perhaps because some of us did not ourselves get the best education. A good school can do much to make up for lost ground and the Core Knowledge UK curriculum is designed for this very task. The books describe what every child can learn if given the chance. What's more, many parents find that they learn as much as their children!
- It encourages social cohesion. Britain today has more cultures, ethnic groups and religions than 50 years ago. If we all share in a common stock of knowledge, social solidarity based on mutual respect for our legitimate differences is more likely.
- It strengthens democracy. A free and democratic society depends on the mass of people being well-informed. We often say that modern societies are 'knowledge based'. It's true. People who do not share in the knowledge that is regularly used by television news programmes or in our newspapers are at risk of being misled.
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