Curriculum

Core Knowledge

What is Core Knowledge?

The "Core Knowledge" movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. The movement was started by Professor E. D. Hirsch, Jr., author of Cultural Literacy and The Schools We Need, and is based on a large body of research in cognitive psychology, as well as a careful examination of several of the world's fairest and most effective school systems. Professor Hirsch has argued that, for the sake of academic excellence, greater fairness, and higher literacy, early schooling should provide a solid, specific, shared core curriculum in order to help children establish strong foundations of knowledge. After wide consultation, the content of this core curriculum has been outlined in two books — the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and the Core Knowledge Sequence, K–8 — that state explicitly what students should learn at each grade level. Currently, hundreds of schools and thousands of dedicated educat ors are participating in this school reform movement throughout the United States. Above information taken from the Core Knowledge website. For further information regarding Core Knowledge please go to: http://coreknowledge.org/CK/about/FAQ/FAQ.htm

Saxon Math

Saxon Publishers, founded in 1981, is an imprint of Harcourt Education. Recognized as the nation’s best-selling and most thoroughly researched mathematics program for grades K-12, Saxon Math is designed to provide students and educators with a truly unique pedagogical approach. Based on more than 20 years of measurable success and built upon the idea that learning is cumulative, Saxon Math programs distribute instruction, practice and assessment of related concepts throughout the school year, while meeting evolving state standards.

Using Saxon Math, students work toward mastery in three ways: by reviewing, maintaining and building upon previously learned skills; through direct, explicit instruction of new content, mathematical thinking and vocabulary; and by applying, reinforcing and demonstrating cumulative learning.

Based on instruction, practice and assessment distributed across the grade levels, Saxon Math programs incorporate more than 25 years of research and classroom experience. Above information taken from the Saxon Math website. For further in formation please go to: http://www.saxonpublishers.com

Daily Spanish

Studies have shown that children who learn a language before the onset of adolescence benefit from:

• An ability to communicate with more people
• Improved overall school performance
• Superior problem solving skills
• Statistically higher scores on standardized tests

The program at Beacon Academy takes our experiences about how children learn languages in FLES (Foreign Language in Elementary School) and combines it with focused, content-specific curriculum. Our approach to Spanish is daily instruction, beginning in Kindergarten, that flows continuously through the 8th grade; complimenting our Core Knowledge instruction. The goals of the Spanish program are to develop Spanish language proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing and to broaden a students’ worldview through the study of diverse global cultures. In the earliest grades language instruction focuses on oral language while students are developing their English reading and writing skills. Language experiences are designed to engage a variety of learning styles; methods that are shown to work best with young children include songs, rhymes, chants, storytelling, and physical movement. To supplement the teaching of Spanish at an early age Beacon offers a focus on Latino Cultural studies. Interwoven throughout the curriculum students will learn about Spanish speaking countries: what they are like, local customs, geographies, and facts about their economies. We want our students to be knowledgeable in talking about any continent or country, not just in an academic sense, but also through a cognizance of their own possible roles in an increasingly interconnected world.