The Primary Years programme (PYP) combines the best research and practice from a range of national systems and from international schools with a wealth of knowledge and experience, to create a relevant and engaging educational programme.

The PYP offers a comprehensive, inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning, for students aged 3 to 12, it focuses on the development of the whole child, in the classroom but also in the world outside, through other environments where children learn. It offers a framework that meets children's several needs: academic, social, physical, emotional and cultural.

The programme is a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning with an international curriculum model that provides:

• Guidelines for What Students Should Learn
• A Teaching Methodology
• Assessment Strategies

Guidelines for What Students Should Learn: What do we want to learn?

When planning the content of our curriculum, we expect students to spend approximately 60% of their time exploring a unit of inquiry, 20% working on content outside the units with their regular teacher (mathematics, reading, writing) and 20% with specialist teachers (computer, physical education, swimming, music, library and Portuguese).

The Learner Profile is central to the work of the PYP. It represents the programme's aims, drives the curriculum, and represents the qualities of internationalism, which the school strives to develop in all students.

At the heart of the PYP is a commitment to structured inquiry as a vehicle for learning.  Teachers and students use key questions that are concept-based to structure the units of inquiry.

Six transdiciplinary themes help teachers and children explore knowledge in the broadest sense of the word.  They acquire and apply transdisciplinary skills while developing an understanding of these important concepts.

Six units of inquiry are explored each year, one from each of the transdiciplinary themes. These six themes offer students the opportunity to explore knowledge which is of genuine importance in understanding the human condition.

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

In selecting a focus for individual units the following criteria are applied:

• Significant: contributing to an understanding of meaningful, important life experiences and therefore to an understanding of the essence of the overall theme.
• Relevant: linked to the student’s prior knowledge and experiences and therefore placing learning in a more meaningful context for the student.
• Engaging: having the potential to interest the students and actively engage them in their own learning
• Challenging: having the potential to extend the prior knowledge and experiences of the students

A Teaching Methodology: How best will we learn?

At the heart of the Primary Years Programme is a commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry, which engages students actively in their own learning.

The PYP believes that students should be invited to investigate important subject matter by proceeding with research, experimentation, observation and other means that will lead them to their own responses to the issues.

The starting point has to be the student’s current understanding, and the goal is the active construction of meaning by building connections between the students’ experience and information and processes derived from the inquiry into new content.

Students are able to practise and develop their skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, mathematics and thinking in the realistic context of the units.

Assessment Strategies: How will we know what we have learned?

Assessment is integral to all teaching and learning. It is central to the PYP goal of thoughtfully and effectively guiding students through the understanding of concepts, the acquisition of knowledge, the mastering of skills, the development of attitudes and the decision-making making process.

Assessment focuses on the quality of student learning during the process of inquiry and the quality of student learning which is evident in the products of this inquiry. It is the means by which we analyze student learning and the effectiveness of our teaching, and acts as the foundation on which to base our future planning and practice.

Homework Policy

All children from Years 1 to 13 will receive a notebook in which homework will be recorded.  Parents are asked to write a note to the classroom teacher when they have concerns or questions about homework. Students are expected to be able to complete their assignments independently. Homework will not be given for unexcused absences.

Belief Statement 

“We believe”…

• That homework can help students develop as independent learners if it is differentiated to meet the specific learning needs of the individual.
• That homework is done to improve learning. Homework should be designed to benefit the student, rather than an exercise to be completed and checked by the teacher. The results should be seen in applications at school.
• That the purpose of homework is to develop and consolidate the skills necessary for further learning, both in and out of school.
• That reading daily, both assigned and/or personal choice, will develop life long reading habits.
• That students need time at home to pursue personal interests, mother tongue fluency, and to partake in physical, recreational and intellectual activities with their families and friends.

Primary Years (Years 1-7) Homework Practices

Mathematics:

• Homework will help children develop automatic recall of mathematics facts and skills appropriate to the student’s stage of development.

Spelling:

• Homework will help children develop and apply knowledge of sight words and patterns in spelling, and to develop strategies to become proficient spellers.

Handwriting:

• Homework will help develop fluent and legible letter formation and penmanship.

Reading:

• Homework should help children to become proficient, independent and enthusiastic readers.

Expectations for Teachers:

• Each student should have a homework notebook, and homework should be recorded when necessary to improve the student’s learning. Teachers should use this notebook to provide feedback to the student and to dialogue with the parents about monitoring the student’s progress.

Expectations for Parents:

• To support and provide an environment conducive to learning and working, by talking and discussing the topics and books being studied.
• To help develop the study skills required for sustained application to work.
• To make provisions for a dedicated area set aside for concentrated study.
• To communicate with the teachers concerned if there is any homework issues.
• Parents should help their children to practice and develop necessary skills and enable them to apply them in new situations both in and out of school.
• Parents should read to their children daily and also listen to them read.

Homework should be:

• Relevant to the student’s learning at school
• Able to be completed independently
• At a level that appropriately challenges the student
• Assigned to allow for flexible working times at home (Monday through Friday)
• Checked by the teacher

Homework should not be:

• Ongoing school projects
• Graded
• Assigned at weekends (Saturday and Sunday) or holidays, except for reading
• Unfinished school work

Estimate of time per day including reading:

• Year 1: 10 minutes
• Year 2: 15 minutes
• Year 3: 20 minutes
• Year 4: 30 minutes
• Year 5: 40 minutes
• Year 6: 50 minutes
• Year 7: 60 minutes

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LIS Handwriting Policy

Good handwriting should be modeled by teachers and assistants, labels and notices should be in the style of handwriting that is being taught, in the early stages using lower case letters only  (with the exception of the first letters of names), in the transitional stages they should be in cursive.

From the point at which children begin to attempt to write letters, they should be taught their correct formation.  The methods will vary depending on the age of the children.  Letter formation should be taught using the continuous style. (See example below)  Ongoing assessment and intervention are particularly important at the early stages to discourage the development of bad habits which will inhibit the children's progress later on, particularly when beginning cursive writing.  Parents should be informed how to encourage correct formation so that they can reinforce good habits.  No writing should be done in capital letters.

In Pre-Primary and Year 1 children are taught the correct formation of lower case letters and significant upper case letters using the D’Nealian style.

In Year 2 the children concentrate on producing properly oriented and legible upper and lower case letters of continuous style of the D’Nealian style.  They learn to use cases consistently, not randomly mixed within words; use ascenders and descenders clearly, use spacing appropriately and begin to use a clear legible style.

In Year 3 these skills are reinforced so that they are fluent and consistent in their handwriting style.

In Year 4 D’Nealian cursive is taught and reinforced.

In Years 5-7  it is expected that most written work will be written using the D’Nealian cursive style.  If children are not writing in cursive at these grade levels, it should be introduced.  The purpose for cursive writing is to be able to write quickly, (as in taking notes), as printing is tiring.

Exceptions:  If a child comes to LIS and has already been introduced to a different cursive style (e.g. British ‘joined up’ writing or German, French cursive, then they should be encouraged to further develop that style.  Writing should be correctly oriented, consistent and legible.  During handwriting practice they can work on improving their style.  If they are not able to improve their style, then D’Nealian should be introduced.

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LIS Spelling Policy

Spelling is about problem solving. Through the teaching of spelling patterns, children acquire strategies to encode words.

Spelling is a highly visual skill, but as we know, children learn in a variety of ways.  Most of us do not fall exclusively into  one group, and most children will benefit from experiencing three mains way of learning.

• visual (record words in order to note configurations and patterns, form words with letter cards)
• auditory (hear words, generate words orally, listen for patterns, play word games)
• kinaesthetic ( record words in plasticene, in a sand table, handle and feel words in different sizes and textures, movement activities)

1. Why spelling is important

• Spelling, and the neat presentation of work, makes an impression on the reader.
• If your writing is hard to read, others will often give up and not bother to finish reading everything that you have written.
• Poor spelling can distract the reader away from the content of your work.
• Sometimes a misspelling can change your meaning.
• Spelling and neatness are more for the reader than the writer.
• Learning to spell is only one aspect of learning to write.

2. How children learn to spell.

• Spelling is generated, not dictated.
• Spelling is integrated, not isolated.
• Spelling is internalized, not memorized.
• Good spelling is a result of informed prediction, not wild guesses.    
• Good spellers know a great deal about language, not just phonics.
• Spelling is an interactive language process, not just a set of rules.

Spelling is a continuous developmental process.   Accurate spelling requires a lot of knowledge and experience.  Accumulating and assimilating this knowledge takes many years of example, practice and instruction.  The way children learn to spell is much like the way they learn to talk.  They start by imitating, gradually coming closer to using standard forms.  When children have reached a stage where they are close to standard spelling, they can begin to learn patterns and generalizations, which will enable them to become good spellers.  Because there are so many patterns to learn, it will take a number of years before they have enough experience and knowledge to become accurate spellers.  Writing creates a need for spelling, and reading provides models of what spelling looks like. 

3. Approaches teacher use to successfully enable children to become good spellers.

• Children need to be equipped with strategies that will enable them to attempt words they wish to spell.  Patterns provide meaningful ways to structure the teaching of spelling.
• The purpose of assessment in spelling is to find out what the child knows, and what can reasonably be taught.
• The purpose of learning lists of spelling words is to focus on a particular pattern in spelling, not to learn words in isolation.  The objective is for the children to learn to apply their knowledge to new words with similar structures when they are writing.  Spelling is a skill of constructing words, not of memorizing words.
• When evaluating spelling, we are not looking for misspelled words, we are looking to see if children are learning new concepts and spelling patterns.

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