The Power of the Process: Unlocking Student Potential Through CKLA

As an early supporter of the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum, Bannach Elementary third-grade teacher Craig Dakins has witnessed the true impact of the program. Having taught second-grade during last year’s pilot, Mr. Dakins now sees the program’s building blocks in action as his current third graders benefit from the District’s first year of full implementation.

“After taking part in some of the knowledge-building lessons in second grade, I really see how everything is connected,” he said. “Those good, intentional things are designed for a reason and the kids are going to get what they need as they go through the system that our District is now using.”

What makes CKLA stand out to Mr. Dakins is its foundation in the science of reading and the science of learning. By integrating science, history, and literature with speaking, reading, and writing in a whole-class environment, the curriculum removes traditional barriers to education.

“It’s really nice to know that as teachers we now have what we need to support every student in our classroom,” he said. “When every student is involved in the learning process, they get access without any barriers to the instruction.”

This year, third graders have embarked on deep dives into a wide variety of topics including astronomy, classic stories, and Ancient Rome. For many students, these units are changing how they view their own potential.

“I see it very often that a student might think that science really isn’t for them, but then they start learning about astronomy and space,” said Mr. Dakins. “All of a sudden we have a student who has completely changed their mind about what they thought about themselves.”

The students agree. The variety is what keeps them engaged.

“My favorite CKLA unit was poetry because we got to write a lot of poems,” said third grader Autumn. “I had an idea for a story but instead of turning it into a story, I turned it into a poem and that helped a lot.”

“We just learned about a lot of fun stuff,” said third grader Henry.

“My favorite unit on CKLA is animal classification because I liked learning about animals and how they are classified in different groups,” said third grader Chevelle.

The true strength of CKLA is the way it fuels cognitive growth. By challenging students to connect complex ideas, the program builds the high-level thinking skills they’ll need to thrive throughout their entire academic journey.

“It’s really training kids how to think and not necessarily just what to think which is really cool for all kids at all levels,” said Mr. Dakins.

Hear more from Mr. Dakins and his class!