The IB PYP
Table-Graph of IB Primary Years Programme Age Ranges
| IBO Year Group | Age | Birth Dates for academic year 2011 – 2012 | Birth Dates for academic year 2012 – 2013 |
| Kindergarten | 3 turning 4 years | 1 Sept 2007 – 31 Aug 2008 | 1 Sept 2008 – 31 Aug 2009 |
| Transition | 4 turning 5 years | 1 Sept 2006 – 31 Aug 2007 | 1 Sept 2007 – 31 Aug 2008 |
| Grade 1 | 5 turning 6 years | 1 Sept 2005 – 31 Aug 2006 | 1 Sept 2006 – 31 Aug 2007 |
| Grade 2 | 6 turning 7 years | 1 Sept 2004 – 31 Aug 2005 | 1 Sept 2005 – 31 Aug 2006 |
| Grade 3 | 7 turning 8 years | 1 Sept 2003 – 31 Aug 2004 | 1 Sept 2004 – 31 Aug 2005 |
| Grade 4 | 8 turning 9 years | 1 Sept 2003 – 31 Aug 2004 |
Instruction at IS Brescia is based on the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme, a course of studies divided into units of inquiry. Central ideas and lines of inquiry within our units include all of the disciplines (language, mathematics, science, social studies, personal, social, and physical education, and the arts). This ‘transdisciplinary’ approach assures that learning is engaging, relevant, challenging and significant across various contexts. Students see the big picture of why it is important to learn and to reach a deeper understanding of the world and their own place in it.
For example, a unit on “Where We Are In Place and Time” could involve the central idea of looking at homes.
Language: Speaking, listening, reading and writing activities about homes in English, Italian and Mandarin Chinese
Mathematics: Measuring and collecting data about homes, home construction
Science: Environmental factors, green spaces, city-planning
Social Studies: Studying changes in homes across cultures and across time
PSPE: Examining home safety issues, improvising games that involve ‘home’ base
The Arts: Interpreting homes in horizontal and vertical formats, homes in art, homes around the world, role-playing aspects of home life
In such a way, student curiosity is a motivating factor. Learning becomes relevant and a source of pride and accomplishment. As a result, students do not passively receive information but actively pursue it. By assuming responsibility for their learning, they become independent thinkers. By communicating and cooperating with their peers, they develop skills and behaviours that will prove fundamental in their daily lives, both as children and, later, as adults.
International in scope, our curriculum fulfils the aims of the IB Learner Profile. Our students are encouraged to become thinkers, inquirers, communicators and academic risk-takers, while displaying knowledge, principles, open-mindedness and compassion that lead to a well-balanced, reflective outlook on the world.
For additional information on the IB PYP, see: http://www.ibo.org/pyp/
