Primary Years Program (3K - Grade 5)

Through the Primary Years Program (PYP), we’re building critical thinkers from a very young age. Our students become globally-minded children able to think conceptually and to connect disparate information to effectively solve complex problems—and to do so collaboratively with individuals from different cultures and world views.

Structured around six transdisciplinary themes, the Primary Years Program (PYP) is an international, concept-driven program that fosters the development of the whole child, encompassing his or her academic, social, emotional and physical well-being.

The program ultimately aims to instill in students the essential elements—the attitudes, concepts, knowledge, skills and action—that create caring global citizens positioned for success in the Middle Years and Diploma Programs as well as in college and their chosen professions.

Core Principles

List of 4 items.

  • Transdisciplinary

    Students learn concepts and issues across all disciplines and are able to make connections between them. They’re also able to apply what they’ve learned to their own lives, as teachers pull real-world issues (local and global) into the classroom.

  • Inquiry-Driven and Constructivist

    Our teachers impart knowledge through guiding open-ended inquiry directed by students themselves. Students ask questions, making sense of the world around them. They explore their own thinking and that of other students, and learn to negotiate and compromise with others when their thinking differs.

  • Action-Oriented

    Students are encouraged to take action on their learning—and this action can come in the form of doing or just thinking or feeling differently about something.

  • Reflective

    The PYP incorporates reflection, time for students to think about their work, to think about what they learned, what they did well and what they could have done differently. Through this reflection comes growth as well as the ability to handle feedback. 

    Our teachers also reflect and continually think about how to improve and optimize the curriculum to meet each individual student’s needs.

The PYP curriculum is engaging, relevant, challenging and rigorous —  as well as being transdisciplinary — focusing on issues that cross subject areas.

  • Language

  • Art    

  • Mathematics

  • Music
  • Science

  • Physical Education

  • Social Studies

  • Personal Social Education

The culminating experience of the Primary School is the Grade 5 Exhibition, during which students demonstrate what they’ve learned. For the Exhibition, students work collaboratively in groups to select, research, develop, present and take action on a real life issue of their choosing.

For more information, or further documents pertaining to the Primary School curriculum, please contact Leonie Ley-Mitchell, PS Curriculum (IB PYP) Coordinator, at 404-841-3860 or lley@aischool.org.

IB Coordinator

List of 1 members.

  • Leonie Ley-Mitchell 

    IB Primary Years Program Coordinator
    404-841-3840 x507

IB Learner Profile

  • Inquirers

    We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.

  • Knowledgeable

    We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.

  • Thinkers

    We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyze and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.

  • Communicators

    We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.

  • Principled

    We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

  • Open-Minded

    We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.

  • Caring

    We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.

  • Risk-Takers

    We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.

  • Balanced

    We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives— intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

  • Reflective

    We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Units of Inquiry 3K - Grade 5

The following video and galleries depict the PYP's six transdisciplinary themes, or units of inquiry, in which students engage to make sense of the world around them.



Atlanta International School

A private, non-profit, international, IB World School for grades 3K-12,
featuring full and dual-immersion language programs.

2890 North Fulton Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30305, USA
404.841.3840
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