Knowledge Organisers

At Outwoods, we believe that the knowledge the children acquire is fundamental to their success in all areas. Embedding knowledge into the long-term memory is an essential part of the learning process.

Research shows that our brains remember things more efficiently when we know the 'bigger picture' and can see the way that chunks of knowledge within that subject area link, forming powerful schemes. Making links, essentially, helps information move into our long-term memory. Knowledge becomes 'sticky' - the more you know, the more you learn - which helps children gain a deeper understanding over time.

We believe that the Knowledge Organisers are a key tool to ensuring that this happens, One of the main benefits of Knowledge Organisers is they give children the overview of a topic, subject area or specific concepts. A Knowledge Organiser contains all of the core knowledge that a child needs to know, and will acquire, throughout a learning theme, topic or unit of learning in a particular subject.

These are a vital tool for the children and discussions about, and referral to Knowledge Organisers, is a method of keeping learning on track, as well as a scaffold for learning in any subject.

Our Knowledge Organisers are the 'go to' documents outlining the essential knowledge that the teachers will be covering across a unit of work; including dates, famous figures, vocabulary, definitions, and other information. We are sharing our Knowledge Organisers on our website with the aim that everyone knows exactly what is being taught, and what the children need to learn.

The knowledge Organisers set out in detail what we want children to retain by the end of a unit of work. They will help the children to re-visit the knowledge that has been and will be learned, helping to transfer knowledge from your child's short term to long-term memory. We would love for the majority of children to be able to recall all of the 'Key Facts' on the Knowledge Organisers, as well as be able to discuss the skills that they have learnt within the context of each unit of work. During lessons, the children will take part in re-cap activities that help stretch their long-term memory and develop their recall of key information for each unit of work.

At home, you may want to use the Knowledge Organisers as a basis for carrying out further research, revisit and support your child's learning or as a stimulus for an arts and crafts activity. They may also act as a handy prompt for asking the question, 'What did you do at school today?