Core Knowledge^®K–8 Schools

Core Knowledge Home > K-8 Schools > State curriculum alignments

State Alignments

As part of our strategic plan, it is the goal of the Core Knowledge Foundation to align the Core Knowledge® Sequence with the standards for all fifty states. We have started this process. State alignments are only available as part of a workshop.

The Core Knowledge Foundation's "new" philosophy on state alignments is to keep the content on the grade level assigned by the Core Knowledge Sequence because this eliminates gaps and repetitions in student learning. You may move the content topic ONLY if the content is explicitly listed in your state standards. For example, if the state standard for Grade 2 says, "The student will explain how the contributions of ancient China and Egypt have influenced the present world in terms of architecture, inventions, the calendar and written language," then you may move the Core Knowledge topic of Egypt from Grade 1 to Grade 2. Moving topics arbitrarily is strongly discouraged since it leads to gaps and repetitions in student learning.

The following state alignments were developed by schools implementing the Core Knowledge Sequence with our old philosophy of introducing a topic where first referenced (usually in Core Knowledge) and reviewing it where it is referenced the second time (usually at the state standard level). In keeping with the Core Knowledge Foundation’s motto, “Share the Knowledge,” all writers have voluntarily contributed their ideas for publication. The Core Knowledge Foundation is pleased to make them available to all on a not-for-profit basis. We wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has graciously shared their work for the benefit of others. Our goal is to provide at least one sample alignment for each of the fifty states to reduce the need to “reinvent the wheel” at individual schools.

The alignments are intended to be used in conjunction with the Core Knowledge Sequence. Only the major headings for each grade level and content area are included; you will need to refer to the Core Knowledge Sequence to add the specific bulleted items. As you review the alignment for your state, you will see that there are many ways to combine the topics to create a usable document for your school, but the information provided will serve as a useful starting point to ensure that both the Core Knowledge content and the skills and standards required by the state are addressed in a systematic and organized manner.

It is important to note that the alignments reflect the ideas and work of those who completed them and they do not represent an official Foundation statement of the “best” way to align the Core Knowledge topics with individual state standards. In addition, the Foundation has not edited the documents and is not responsible for any inaccuracies that may appear within these documents. We do feel, however, that all documents contain valuable information and will serve as a useful resource as schools develop their yearlong plans that integrate the Core Knowledge topics with individual state standards.

If your school has a completed alignment with our new philosophy, and you are willing to share it, please contact for details about the benefits of Sharing Your Knowledge!

Under each state heading, alignments are listed in order by grade level.

A gold star indicates that The Core Knowledge Foundation has complete alignments available for this state. The complete alignment is only available through our professional development. Please contact the K–8 Professional Development Coordinator for details.

Select the state alignment you wish to view.

AK
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO

CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
HI

IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY

LA
MA
MD
ME
MI
MN

MO
MS
MT
NC
ND
NE

NH
NJ
NM
NV
NY
OH

OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD

TN
TX
UT
VT
VA
WA

WI
WV
WY

Alabama

Alaska

back to state list

Arizona

Arkansas

click link » Sample alignment pages

California

click link » Sample alignment pages

Thanks to St. Paul Lutheran School in Merced, CA, for sharing the following alignment with us.

Thanks to Santa Barbara Community Academy in Santa Barbara, CA, for sharing the following alignment with us.

back to state list

Colorado

Please see the alignment created by Holly Hensey, National Core Knowledge Coordinator of Colorado.

Connecticut

Delaware

District of Columbia

Florida

Alignment for Grades K through 5

These files are based on the K-2, 3-5 grouping of the Sunshine Standards, and will be revised in time to reflect the new grade-level specific standards. Every standard is included at least once within this grade-level span. The standards that do not correlate with Core Knowledge are listed at every grade level, so all grade levels can work to achieve these standards.