The Written Curriculum

The most significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Program are the six transdisciplinary themes. These themes are about issues that have meaning for, and are important to, all of us. The program offers a balance between learning about or through the subject areas, and learning beyond them. The six themes of global significance create a transdisciplinary framework that allows students to “step up” beyond the confines of learning within subject areas:

• Who we are
• Where we are in place and time
• How we express ourselves
• How the world works
• How we organise ourselves
• Sharing the planet

The program puts great emphasis on learning about these transdisciplinary themes. Each theme is addressed each year by all students. The traditional disciplines retain a role in the IB Primary Years Program. The six specified subjects are:language, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, personal, social and physical education. The overall expectations for each subject area are defined for each year of the program.