The Lakes International
curriculum is modeled around the IB Primary Years (PYP)
Program.
The IB Primary Years Programme provides a curriculum framework
for students in grades K through fifth which focuses on the development
of the whole child. It is a unique international program of
guidelines that encompass social, physical, emotional, and cultural
needs in addition to academics. High standards are set and there
are high expectations for the students.Curriculum in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) is shared throughout the world. The PYP seeks to identify a body of significant knowledge for all students in all cultures in these principal domains: Languages, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Personal and Social Education, Physical Education, Social Studies, and Arts.
The cornerstone of the PYP is the Programme’s Student Profile. These are the ten most important attributes of an international person and answer the question, What do we want the children to learn? At Lakes International we want the students to learn to become inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers, knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, well-balanced and reflective. The objective of our curriculum is the Student Profile. In the classroom the teachers model these attributes and while promoting learning, using a variety of strategies. The profile helps teachers and students establish goals, plan units of inquiry, and assess performance.
The methodology of this program uses strategies of inquiry to gain more knowledge and to create depth in learning about particular topics. In a nutshell, a great deal of time is spent by students and teachers working toward answering a few broad questions using many resources and a combination of subject areas. Students will still be practicing skills, but the learning that is taking place goes toward answering those broad questions. This adds the element of relevance to the learning taking place and a sense of a product, rather than a seemingly unrelated collection of facts and skills.
The heart of the curriculum is research units, called Units of Inquiry, which are designed by teachers and students. There are eight fundamental concepts which are expressed as key questions that drive the inquiry process. Research results have led the PYP to conclude that there are clusters of important ideas which can usefully be grouped under this set of overarching concepts, each of which has major significance, regardless of time or place, within and across disciplines.
