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Conceptual Learning in the PYP: Exploring the Shift from Skills to Understanding

The Big Shift: From Scope & Sequence to Subject Continuum

The International Baccalaureate has announced a major update in the 2025 PYP Subject Documents, marking a philosophical and practical evolution in how we view learning.

The familiar Scope and Sequence documents,  once our go-to reference for what students should know and be able to do,  are now being replaced with Subject Continuums.

But this isn’t just a terminology update. It represents a fundamental shift from skills-based planning to concept-based understanding.

Where the Scope and Sequence outlined a linear progression of skills, the Subject Continuum invites teachers to view learning as an ongoing, interconnected journey of conceptual growth across disciplines.

Why the Shift Matters

The move to Subject Continuums recognises that skills do not exist in isolation but that they are vehicles for understanding bigger ideas. By embedding conceptual understanding within skills, we move from “What can they do?” to “What do t...

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3 Powerful Ways to Teach the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the IB PYP

If you're struggling to bring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) authentically into your IB PYP classroom, know that you’re not alone. Many teachers wonder how to make these 17 global goals relevant and age-appropriate for younger learners.

In this post, my guest blogger is Amber Reynolds from @scribble_satisfaction_ is  an experienced IB PYP teacher, currently working in Albania. She creatively walks us through how to unpack what the Sustainable Development Goals are, how they connect naturally to the IB Primary Years Programme and shares three practical, classroom-ready strategies for bringing them to life through inquiry and authentic action. By the end, you’ll see that teaching the SDGs isn’t “extra” work but rather it’s a meaningful, integrated part of developing international-minded, caring global citizens.

Why It’s Important to Teach the SDGs from a Young Age

PYP Concepts: Connection, Responsibility
ATL Skills: Social, Thinking, and Self-Management Skills...

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Developing Inquiry and Research Skills in the IB PYP: Project Based Learning for Grades 1 -3

With hands on and meaningful investigations through project based inquiry, we can engage our young inquirers and IB PYP learners in research focusing on concepts through implicit research skills. Take a look at the examples below, including the chart that demonstrates the flow through the inquiry and see how project based learning ties in beautifully with concept-based inquiry. The examples I'm sharing were designed as age-appropriate tools to support our youngest learners whilst diving into transdisciplinary projects that help to build thinking skills, research skills and all leading to deeper conceptual understanding. 

 A Fantastic Entry Point to Inquiry for Young Learners

Project based learning instantly grabs children’s attention because there is an exciting purpose. But behind the fascination lies a rich opportunity to deeply explore disciplinary concepts and develop all important thinking & research skills. The example Im sharing for the purpose of illustrating

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Learning Walls That Breathe Inquiry: Making ATL Skills Visible in the PYP

Learning Walls That Breathe Inquiry: Making ATL Skills Visible in the IB PYP Classroom

Learning walls are living, breathing spaces for inquiry. They go far beyond decoration. They act as a third teacher, shaping thinking, talk, and reflection. Over my years as a PYP teacher, I’ve learned that when the classroom environment becomes a partner in learning, it transforms how children see themselves as thinkers, questioners, and collaborators. Please enjoy the examples of my inquiry boards/learning walls from my classroom over the years. Ive linked the units of inquiry below, if you'd like a closer look. 

What Makes a Learning Wall Come Alive?

A true learning wall is organic and flexible, evolving as learners’ questions, discoveries, and understandings grow. It’s not a teacher-owned disp...

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Assessment & Reflection: Using SOLO Taxonomy in the IB PYP

Developing Reflective Thinkers: Using SOLO Taxonomy in the IB PYP

Why SOLO matters in a concept-based classroom

In an inquiry-driven IB PYP classroom, assessment is not just about what students know. It is about how they think, how they connect concepts, and how they grow as reflective learners. SOLO Taxonomy (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes), created by John Biggs and Kevin Collis, provides a simple yet powerful framework to track and support this growth. Let me share how I use it in my classroom to develop and support our culture of on-going reflection. 

SOLO describes levels of understanding:

  • Prestructural – The student is missing the point

  • Unistructural – One relevant idea is identified

  • Multi-structural – Several relevant ideas are collected but remain unconnected

  • Relational – Ideas are linked into a meaningful whole

  • Extended Abstract – The learner transfers and applies understanding in new ways

In many ways, SOLO mirrors the learner’s journ...

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The Global Christmas Village: A Project-Based Math Inquiry for Upper Elementary Students

Challenge your upper elementary students with this inquiry-based math project! The Global Christmas Village engages Grades 4–5 learners in real-world problem solving with number sense, measure and design thinking using festive, global themes.

Transform Math into a Real-World Inquiry

In my Grade 4/5 classroom, the Global Christmas Village Math Inquiry became a highlight of our pre-holiday weeks. What began as a set of differentiated problem-solving sheets evolved into a bustling global village of characters, traditions, and beautifully measured designs all imagined, calculated, and constructed by the students themselves.

This project turned abstract math concepts into something tangible. My students weren’t just solving word problems; they were earning their way into creating a global Christmas village filled with characters and celebrations from around the world.

What the Project Involves

The goal of the activity is to collaboratively create a global village of Christmas tradi...

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5 Ways to Bring Inquiry Into Your IB PYP Math

Maths is so much more than “finding the answer.” When we connect it to everyday experiences, it becomes about seeing patterns, asking questions, and making sense of the world.

One simple but powerful guiding question is:

Where’s the maths here?

This question opens the door to authentic inquiry, giving students the chance to explore mathematics through curiosity, context, and connection. Below are five strategies you can use with any age group to nurture student agency and highlight maths through a conceptual lens.

I'm bringing you 5 ideas that can be applied with ANY age and really support student agency, identifying those threads for inquiry and all through a conceptual lens. 

 When we connect maths to everyday experiences, it becomes less about “finding the answer” and more about seeing patterns, asking questions, and making sense of the world.

Find the threads for inquiry.

Consider the big question: Where's the maths here?

Here are 5 simple, hands-on ways to bring that spiri...

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Anti-Bullying Month Activities for IB PYP: Inspiring Inquiry, Kindness and Student Action

 Inquiry, Empathy & Action in Anti-Bullying Month

Every October, schools worldwide focus attention on raising awareness about bullying, promoting kindness, and empowering students to act. National Bullying Prevention Month offers a timely frame for engaging learners in inquiry that leads not just to awareness, but to student-led action for positive change.  

Within an IB PYP classroom, we can leverage this month to deepen conceptual thinking (e.g. perspective, responsibility, relationships, identity, fairness) while scaffolding students’ capabilities to inquire, reflect, and act in their communities. Below I've suggested  a structure, some practical classroom examples, and ways to incorporate ready-made tools that encourage student agency.

BOOK LIST: And, Im including a book list for you too with some of my favourites for exploring the concepts of relationships, peace & conflict and caring. Scroll down😊

Core Research / Inquiry Skills in Anti-Bullying Projects

When framing an inqui...

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Developing ATL Skills in the IB PYP Early Years Slow Looking See Think Wonder

 

Slow Looking to Spark Inquiry: Using Look & Wonder Story Mats to Build ATL Skills in the PYP

One of my favourite parts of an inquiry is that moment when my students’ eyes widen and they lean forward, eager to share a question or idea that just popped into their minds. That’s when I know I’ve sparked genuine curiosity. Over the years, I’ve experimented with different provocations to tune into new units of inquiry, but one tool has really transformed the way my learners engage in those early stages: Look & Wonder Discussion Mats. What I didn’t anticipate at first was how powerfully they would support the IB PYP Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills - not just in the early years, but all the way through to upper primary.

Observations were superficial and questions were shallow. 

How to Use Look & Wonder Story Mats to Develop Observation, Thinking, and Communication Skills

I created these mats to help my students slow down, notice details, and wonder out loud. At first, their observati...

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How to Develop Conceptual Thinkers in the IB PYP with Inquiry-based Investigations

Fall into Conceptual Learning with the PYP

The leaves are turning already in Scotland and the air becoming crisp. It's actually my favourite time of year. Autumn provides a rich backdrop for inquiry in the IB PYP classroom. Seasonal changes are not just fun and exciting for children; they are also filled with opportunities to develop conceptual awareness. By connecting those additional concepts of harvest, change, natural cycles and patterns together with  autumn traditions to the PYP specified concepts and the Learner Profile, teachers can design learning experiences that are hands-on, inquiry-driven, and deeply meaningful. 

To help bring these ideas to life, I'm delighted to introduce our guest writer and fellow PYP educator,  Amber Reynolds, originally from the United States, now living and teaching in Albania. Amber has created a brand-new Fall Collection of resources that align with the IB PYP specified concepts. These activities combine the excitement of the season with the dep...

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