Primary School Curriculum

(Grade 1-5)

The Primary Years Programme: preparing students to be active participants in a lifelong journey of learning

All our curriculum materials are designed based on the three interrelated components of a curriculum which will enable teachers to plan meaningful inquiries. Our curriculum documents incorporate these components in the following form:

• The written curriculum: What do we want to learn? (Learning outcomes/expectations)
• The taught curriculum: How best will we learn? (Teaching and learning strategies)
• The learned curriculum: How will we know what we have learned? (Assessment strategies)

The relationship between these three components is best displayed as a cycle:

The words at the centre of this cycle mirror the belief that students bring to any learning situation their prior knowledge and engage with the curriculum through the activities and assessments designed by the teacher. Within the interrelated components of the curriculum, the student makes sense of his/her experiences and constructs meaning. It is our responsibility as educators to identify the students' prior knowledge, provide appropriate experiences, assess their new learning and begin the cycle anew.

In the PYP a balance is sought between acquisition of essential knowledge and skills, development of conceptual understanding, demonstration of positive attitudes, and taking of responsible action.

To read more about the specific areas of the Primary School Curriculum, click on the following: