Middle School / Middle Years Programme

IBO Middle Years Programme 6-10 (Click)

NEW BRUNSWICK GRADE SIX TO GRADE EIGHT (G6-G8)

The MYP requires at least 50 hours of teaching time for each subject group in each year of the programme. In years 4 and 5, students have the option to take courses from six of the eight subject groups within certain limits, to provide greater flexibility in meeting local requirements and individual student learning needs.

Each year, students in the MYP also engage in at least one collaboratively planned interdisciplinary unit that involves at least two subject groups. MYP students also complete a long-term project, where they decide what they want to learn about, identify what they already know, discovering what they will need to know to complete the project, and create a proposal or criteria for completing it.

Subjects:

■  Language and Literature

■ Mathematics

■ Individuals and Societies

■ Science

■ Physical and Health Education

■ Arts

■ Design

■ Language Acquisition

COURSE OUTLINE

Language acquisition.

MYP language acquisition is a compulsory component of the MYP in every year of the programme. Schools must provide sustained language learning in at least two languages for each year of the MYP.

Language and literature.

Schools are strongly encouraged to offer language and literature courses in multiple languages and to support students’ mother tongues.

Individuals and societies.

The subject encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them and equips them with the necessary skills to inquire into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural factors that have an impact on individuals, societies and environments.

Sciences.

MYP sciences courses usually include biology, chemistry and physics, but schools may develop and offer other sciences courses that meet the subject group’s aims and objectives.   Additional courses could include:

• environmental sciences

• life sciences

• physical sciences

• sport sciences

• health sciences

• earth sciences. 

MYP science courses can include interdisciplinary science units that explore concepts, skills and processes from two or more science disciplines.

Mathematics.

In the MYP, the topics and skills in the framework for mathematics are organized so that students can work at two levels of challenge:

• Standard mathematics, which aims to give all students a sound knowledge of basic mathematical principles while allowing them to develop the skills needed to meet the objectives of MYP mathematics

• Extended mathematics, in which the standard mathematics framework supplemented by additional topics and skills, providing greater breadth and depth.

Extended mathematics provides the foundation for students who wish to pursue further studies in mathematics, such as mathematics higher level (HL),

Arts.

In MYP years 1 to 3, arts course structures include a minimum of one visual arts discipline and one performing arts discipline followed by a choice of disciplines in years 4 and 5 of the programme. The arts disciplines offered in the MYP are: Visual art, Media., Drama., Music.,Dance.

Schools can organize the study of arts in the MYP as: 1. discrete disciplines, focusing on each discipline separately 2. integrated courses, in which a combination of either performing arts disciplines or visual arts disciplines are studied. Schools are not permitted to combine performing and visual arts as one integrated course 3. modular courses. Students undertake a consecutive rotation of disciplines for a set period of time each, though not necessarily a full school year. These modules each focus on a single arts discipline – such as visual art, music or drama.

Physical and health education.

MYP physical and health education courses must engage students in physical education activities for at least half of the total teaching time allocated to the subject group.

Design.

MYP uses the design cycle as a way to structure:

• inquiry and analysis of design problems

• development and creation of feasible solutions

• testing and evaluation of students’ models, prototypes, products or systems.
  
   

Structuring interdisciplinary teaching

In each year of the programme, MYP schools are responsible for engaging students in at least one collaboratively planned interdisciplinary unit that involves at least two subject groups.In MYP schools, collaborative planning is vital. Time for collaborative planning must be managed systematically and effectively, and it must involve all teachers. Meeting time is especially important for developing horizontal and vertical articulation of the curriculum. 

Long Term Project

MYP students also complete a long-term project, where they decide what they want to learn about, identify what they already know, discovering what they will need to know to complete the project, and create a proposal or criteria for completing it.