Core Knowledge Foundation

The Challenge

Core Knowledge Foundation needed to adapt an existing History & Geography program for grades 3–6 to better reflect its knowledge-based educational philosophy while ensuring the materials were engaging, coherent, and classroom-ready. The program required significant editorial refinement, instructional alignment, and visual updates to meet Core Knowledge’s standards and support teachers effectively across multiple grade levels.

The Partnership

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Six Red Marbles partnered closely with the Core Knowledge Foundation to revise and enhance student readers and teacher guides for the Core Knowledge History & Geography series. Adapted from an existing Pearson program, Six Red Marbles revised and edited 27 units of four-color student readers, aligning the content with Core Knowledge’s instructional philosophy while maintaining clarity, engagement, and academic rigor.

The Strategy

SRM applied a learning experience design approach that blended:

Aligning content to Core Knowledge’s knowledge-based framework

Strengthening instructional supports for teachers across all units

Ensuring consistency and clarity across grades and topics

Updating visual assets to support comprehension and engagement

This strategy ensured that financial literacy concepts were not only taught, but experienced and reinforced.

What SRM Designed & Developed

Working in close collaboration with FitMoney, SRM designed and developed the full $uperSquad experience, including:

Revised student readers for grades 3–6

Newly written teacher guides for each unit

Detailed lesson plans, timelines, and assessments

Instructional activity pages aligned to learning goals

Updated art, photos, and maps

Photo research and full page composition through final files

SRM led learning design, creative development, and production from concept through launch.

The Learning Experience

The updated program integrates civics, the arts, and historical knowledge to help students build a deeper understanding of diverse civilizations, cultures, and concepts. For educators, the new teacher guides provide clear instructional pathways, ready-to-use resources, and structured support that makes implementation straightforward and effective.

The Impact

By aligning content, instruction, and visuals to Core Knowledge’s philosophy, the revised History & Geography series delivered a cohesive, engaging learning experience supported by robust teacher resources. The program strengthened classroom usability while preserving academic depth across a wide range of world and U.S. history topics.

Why It Matters

Through careful revision and instructional alignment, Six Red Marbles helped transform an existing program into a cohesive, classroom-ready series that supports knowledge-building, teacher confidence, and student engagement—at scale and across multiple grade levels.

The entire Six Red Marbles team is outstanding. This project would not have happened without them. I cannot thank them enough.

Senior Leader Core Knowledge Foundation

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