PYP (Early Education Center)
The Program of Inquiry (POI) serves as a framework for the curriculum and illustrates the major concepts that students will be exploring. It consists of four units per grade level in PreK3 through Kindergarten. These units help students gain an understanding of themselves and the world around them. Our school collaboratively developed the program of inquiry to reflect the unique aspects of NOVA’s community. For more details on the units in each level, please see below.
PreK 3
Who we are
An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values; of personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; of our families, friends, communities and cultures; of our rights and responsibilities; of what it means to be human.
Theme Focus
- An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values
- Personal and social health;
- Friends.
Central Idea
Our social interactions and values which are part of who we are, help us develop friendship skills.
Key Concepts
Responsibility, connection,
Related Concepts
Friendship, respect, sharing, empathy, collaboration
Lines of Inquiry
- Experiences, feelings, and friendly interactions;
- Taking turns, sharing, and including other peers in the play;
- Appropriate manners keep interactions positive.
Learner Profile
Communicators, Caring, Thinkers
How we express ourselves
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs, and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Theme Focus
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, and feelings.
Central Idea
We express our feelings and ideas in order to come to an understanding.
Key Concepts
Form, Perspective
Related Concepts
Happiness, sadness, confusion, embarrassment
Lines of Inquiry
- Stories show characters’ feelings;
- Different expressions show different emotions;
- Resolving conflicts peacefully.
Learner Profile
Caring, Principled, Open-minded Balanced
How we organize ourselves
An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and environment.
Theme Focus
Human-made systems and communities.
Central Idea
People build things to meet their needs.
Key Concepts
Function, Causation
Related Concepts
Safety, rules, travel, vehicles, transportation
Lines of Inquiry
- Different modes of transportation (land, water, and air transport);
- Different vehicles and how they work;
- Being safe when maneuvering a vehicle.
Learner Profile
Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Risk-takers
How the world works
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world and human societies; how humans use their understandings of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on societies and on the environment.
Theme Focus
- An inquiry into the natural world and its laws;
- The interaction between the natural world and human societies.
Central Idea
All animals need proper care.
Key Concepts
Responsibility, Change
Related Concepts
Caring, endangered animals, habitats
Lines of Inquiry
- The differences in animal habitats;
- Taking care of animals;
- Different body covering on the animals (skin, fur, feathers).
Learner Profile
Caring, Reflective
PreK 4
Who we are
An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values; of personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; of our families, friends, communities and cultures; of our rights and responsibilities; of what it means to be human.
Theme Focus
- An exploration of the nature of the self;
- Our families, friends, communities and cultures.
Central Idea
The differences and similarities in body, heart and mind are all part of who we are.
Key Concepts
Responsibility, connection
Related Concepts
Similarities, differences, communities, rights, family, friendship, relationships
Lines of Inquiry
- Growing is process of changing;
- We discover the external body parts, and why we need them;
- Feelings are difficult to recognize. We will explore our feelings, and learn to communicate to express them;
- We are part of a family, and we will learn about each other's families.
Learner Profile
Communicators, Caring
How we express ourselves
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Theme Focus
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs and values.
Central Idea
Characters’ choices affect the outcome of the story.
Key Concepts
Form, Causation
Related Concepts
Moral, behavior, self perception, choices, cause-effect
Lines of Inquiry
- The good and bad choices the characters make (actions and consequences);
- Ways to express our thoughts and feelings;
- The way stories are made, parts of the stories.
Learner Profile
Thinkers, Open-minded, Principled
How we organize ourselves
An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities; the structure and function of organizations; societal decision-making; economic activities and their impact on humankind and the environment.
Theme Focus
- An inquiry into the interconnectedness of human-made systems and communities;
- the structure and function of organizations.
Central Idea
Communities need different occupations to meet their needs.
Key Concepts
Function, Responsibility
Related Concepts
Helpfulness, responsibility, community, care
Lines of Inquiry
- The different types of jobs in a community;
- Ways people work together to make a community;
- Different occupations and their importance to our community.
Learner Profile
Knowledgeable, Risk-taker
How the world works
An inquiry into the natural world and its laws; the interaction between the natural world and human societies; how humans use their understandings of scientific principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on societies and on the environment.
Central Idea
The world is made of living and non-living things.
Key Concepts
Change, Perspective, Causation
Related Concepts
Growing process, survival, care, planting
Lines of Inquiry
- Differences between living and non-living things;
- How living and nonliving things change.
- How we can help living and nonliving things change.
Learner Profile
Reflective, Well-balanced, Inquirer
Kindergarten
Who we are
An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values; of personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; of our families, friends, communities and cultures; of our rights and responsibilities; of what it means to be human.
Theme Focus
- An exploration of the nature of the self; of our beliefs and values;
- Our families, friends, communities and cultures.
Central Idea
Our families are similar and different in many ways, including the way they celebrate things and their day to day lives.
Key Concepts
Connection, perspective
Related Concepts
Celebration, family, community, traditions, rules, customs, culture, cooperation, respect.
Lines of Inquiry
- Who are members in a family and how ours compare to one another.
- The way that families learn and grow;
- The ways families celebrate with one another and their communities.
Learner Profile
Open-minded, Communicators, Caring
How we express ourselves
An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our nature, ideas, feelings, beliefs, and values; the ways in which we reflect on, extend and enjoy our creativity; our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Theme Focus
- An inquiry into the ways in which we discover and express our ideas;
- Our appreciation of the aesthetic.
Central Idea
Stories are reflections of ourselves.
Key Concepts
Form, Function
Related Concepts
Heritage, History, Community, Culture, Imagination, Performance, Creation, Audience, Genre
Lines of Inquiry
- Different ways to tell a story;
- The differences and similarities of stories through history;
- Stories teach us many things;
- The way toys can be used to tell a story.
Learner Profile
Knowledgeable, Thinkers,
Where we are in time and place
An exploration of our orientation in place and time; our personal histories; homes and journeys; discoveries, explorations, and migrations of humankind; the relationships between and the interconnectedness of individuals and civilizations, from local and global perspectives.
Theme Focus
- An exploration of our personal
Histories and homes.
Central Idea
Knowing the past helps to build a better future.
Key Concepts
Reflection, Causation
Related Concepts
History, chronology, communication, progress, artifacts, community, culture
Lines of Inquiry
- The differences between how people in the past and we eat, what they used to play, where they lived, what their clothes were like, etc.
- How are communities in the past different to communities now
- How have toys and other objects changed from our grandparents' generation to now..
-How has communication changed over time.
Learner Profile
Inquirers, Balanced
Sharing the planet
An exploration of our rights and responsibilities as we try and share finite resources with other people, with other living things; of communities and of the relationships within and between them: access to equal opportunities; peace and conflict resolution.
Theme Focus
An exploration of our rights and responsibilities with other living things.
Central Idea
We share the planet with plants and animals.
Key Concepts
Responsibility, Change
Related Concepts
Animals, plants, biodiversity, cooperation, climate, renewable vs nonrenewable, habitat, ecology
Lines of Inquiry
- How plants and animals grow and what they need to survive.
- How animals and plants adapt to different environments.
- How can we help animals and plants survive in places that aren't in their habitat.
- How we depend on animals and plants.
Learner Profile
Principled, Risk Taker, Reflect
