Core Knowledge Content Guidelines for Grades K-6

by FamilyEducation Staff

Reprinted with permission from The American School Board Journal, March, 1997. Copyright 1997, The National School Boards Association. All rights reserved.

Kindergarten
Native American peoples
The seven continents
Count forward from 1 to 31
The five senses and associated body parts

First grade
Early civilizations: Africa, Mesopotamia, and Egypt
World religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
The three states of matter

Second grade
Chinese and Japanese culture and geography
Mythology of ancient Greece
The American Constitution
The War of 1812
Civil Rights
The 50 states
Seasonal cycles
Cells

Third grade
Norse mythology
Parts of speech
Ancient Rome
Early Americans and early exploration of North America
The 13 colonies
Classification of animals
Speed of light
Muscular and skeletal system

Fourth grade
Europe in the Middle Ages
The spread of Islam
Medieval African kingdoms
Medieval China
The French and Indian War
The American Revolution
The Declaration of Independence
Reforms such as abolitionism and women's suffrage
The circulatory system
Electricity and chemistry

Fifth grade
The Renaissance
The Reformation
The English Revolution, early growth and expansion of Russia, and feudal Japan
Westward expansion
The Civil War and Reconstruction
Native American cultures and conflicts
Photosynthesis
The human reproductive system
Atoms
Astronomy

Sixth grade
The legacy of ideas from ancient civilizations
The French Revolution
Romanticism
The Industrial Revolution
Capitalism and socialism
The Latin American independence movements
Immigration
Genetics
The immune system
Energy
Stars and galaxies