First queries

Once the curriculum-knowledge-graph connector is enabled, start with discovery and bounded retrieval before asking the host model to compare or generate educational material.

This page uses a real accepted Ghana English standard as a concrete walkthrough. The same sequence applies to other loaded frameworks, but local terminology and available search modes remain package-specific.

Recommended first-query sequence

%%{init: {"themeVariables": {"fontSize": "18px"}}}%%
flowchart LR
    A[list_frameworks] --> B[get_capabilities]
    B --> C[search_standards]
    C --> D[get_standard]
    D --> E[get_standard_context]
    E --> F[Host interpretation]

Hold "Alt" / "Option" to enable pan & zoom

This order matters: discover the framework first, inspect its implemented capabilities, retrieve a bounded candidate, then expand only the source context you need.

1. Discover the catalog

Ask the MCP host:

Use the curriculum-knowledge-graph connector to list all available frameworks. For each
framework, show the framework ID, snapshot ID, jurisdiction, subject, local grades or
stages, validation status, and available graph types. Preserve the source terminology.

The server's list_frameworks tool returns accepted immutable framework snapshots. Its output includes exact framework and snapshot identity, source metadata, package capabilities, and pagination state.

Framework identity is part of the evidence

Keep the returned frameworkId and snapshotId when you need reproducible retrieval. A framework ID identifies the framework family; a snapshot ID selects an immutable version of that framework.

2. Inspect capabilities before choosing a search mode

Next ask:

Use get_capabilities. Summarize the implemented search modes for the Ghana English
framework and tell me whether exact-code and code-prefix search are actually available.
Do not infer support from code coverage alone.

get_capabilities is authoritative for the currently accepted runtime. Generic tool schemas describe possible request variants, but an individual graph package may support only a subset of them.

For example, all current packages support lexical text search, while code-search support varies by framework.

3. Run a bounded lexical search

Use the accepted Ghana English framework:

ghana-nacca-primary-english-language-basic-1-3

Ask the host:

Within the Ghana English framework, search BASIC 1 for the exact phrase
"structure of a story". Exclude grouping nodes. Return the exact source wording,
statement code, node ID, local grade label, and package identity. Do not paraphrase the
source wording in the evidence section.

The accepted package contains the Indicator:

B1.2.7.2.6

with node ID:

aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754

and source description:

Identify the structure of a story e.g. beginning part, middle and the end

This makes a useful first search because the expected item is specific, coded, and anchored to an exact package-local node.

4. Retrieve the exact standard

Once you have a node or CASE identifier from search, retrieve the exact item rather than continuing to rely on the search summary:

Use get_standard to retrieve node aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754 from the Ghana
English framework. Show its exact source description, statement type, statement code,
local and normalized grade evidence, language, attribution, license, and graph-package
identity.

get_standard resolves an exact standard or grouping by node ID, CASE UUID, or CASE URI within the selected framework or snapshot.

5. Expand only the hierarchy context you need

Now ask for structural context:

Use get_standard_context for node aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754 in the Ghana
English framework. Show its direct parent and all complete root paths within the tool's
bounded defaults. Preserve local statement-type labels.

The context tool can return direct parents and children, bounded ancestors and descendants, complete bounded root paths, and retained relationship-resolution evidence. It is designed for tree and multi-parent DAG packages.

Hierarchy is structural evidence

A hasChild relationship records retained source hierarchy. It does not establish prerequisite knowledge, instructional sequence, conceptual dependency, or learner mastery.

Understand lexical search behavior

Text search is deterministic and lexical. It matches normalized description tokens or contiguous normalized phrases. It does not perform stemming, lemmatization, fuzzy matching, semantic similarity, or automatic synonym expansion.

That means these expressions are not interchangeable by default:

fraction
fractions

Likewise, an exact_phrase request for:

story structure

is not equivalent to the source phrase:

structure of a story

A zero-result query only means that the supplied lexical expression did not match within the requested bounds.

Zero matches do not prove curriculum absence

If the original wording returns no or visibly narrow results, a host may issue a small number of separate conservative lexical alternatives. Keep the same framework, snapshot, grade, subject, statement-type, grouping, match, and limit settings for each alternate call. Once a relevant branch is found, prefer bounded hierarchy context over open-ended synonym generation.

Preserve local curriculum terminology

When presenting source evidence, keep local labels such as:

BASIC 1 for Ghana;
PRIMARY THREE for Nigeria;
P3 for Rwanda; and
Class-5 for Tamil Nadu.

Normalized grade values are useful retrieval facets, but they do not establish official grade equivalence across frameworks.

Know when the host starts reasoning

The tool sequence above remains source-grounded and deterministic until the MCP host interprets the returned evidence.

For example, this request adds model reasoning:

Based only on the retrieved Ghana English standard and its hierarchy context, explain in
plain language what a teacher might focus on. Separate the exact source evidence from
your generated teaching suggestions.

That separation is intentional:

Layer	Responsibility
MCP server	Retrieve and assemble bounded source-grounded evidence
MCP host/model	Explain, synthesize, compare, hypothesize, or generate new material

Generated teaching suggestions are not official curriculum wording unless the source evidence explicitly says so.

Good next queries

After completing the walkthrough, try one of these bounded tasks:

List the accepted mathematics frameworks and preserve each framework's local grade
labels.

Search the Nigeria Primary 1-3 Mathematics framework for fraction-related standards in
PRIMARY THREE. Show exact source wording and identifiers, and explain the lexical search
bounds.

For a standard returned by search, show its direct parents, direct children, and complete
root path without inferring progression.

Then move to the task-specific guides for more complete workflows:

Next: Discover frameworks