IB Primary Years Programme
The IB Primary Years Programme at Le Monde
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Le Monde is the second school in Oklahoma to be named an IB Candidate School for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) — placing our students among a small, select group in the state pursuing the most rigorously researched framework for elementary education in the world. |
Why the IB PYP, and Why It's Rare in Oklahoma
The International Baccalaureate is not a curriculum brand — it is a 50+ year body of applied educational research, refined continuously through IB's own research arm and independent study, and implemented in more than 5,700 schools across over 150 countries. Becoming a Candidate School is not a marketing designation. It requires a multi-year process of self-study, staff training, curriculum mapping, and site verification by the IB organization to confirm a school has the structures, culture, and instructional practice to deliver the programme with integrity.
Very few Oklahoma schools have taken this on. Le Monde's candidacy means our teachers are trained in, and our curriculum is being built around, a framework that has been tested and refined against decades of research on how children actually learn — not just what a single school believes works.
The Research Foundation of the PYP
The PYP was not invented in a vacuum. It draws directly on some of the most influential findings in learning science:
Constructivism — students build understanding, they don't just receive it.
The PYP's inquiry-based design is rooted in the constructivist theory of learning associated with Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, and extended by Jerome Bruner's work on discovery learning and the “spiral curriculum” — the idea that revisiting big ideas at increasing levels of complexity builds deeper, more durable understanding than covering a topic once and moving on. This is why PYP units of inquiry return to the same transdisciplinary themes year after year, at growing depth, from Pre-K through Grade 5.
Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development.
The PYP's emphasis on scaffolded, teacher-guided inquiry — rather than either direct instruction alone or unstructured “free discovery” — reflects Vygotsky's finding that students learn best when supported just beyond what they can do independently, with structures (sentence frames, guided questions, peer collaboration) that are gradually removed as competence grows.
Formative assessment and feedback.
The PYP's assessment model leans heavily on ongoing, low-stakes formative assessment — a practice with one of the strongest evidence bases in all of education research. Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam's landmark research (Inside the Black Box, 1998, and subsequent studies) found that consistent, specific feedback tied to clear learning goals produces some of the largest measurable gains in student achievement of any classroom practice. John Hattie's large-scale synthesis of education research (Visible Learning) similarly ranks feedback and formative evaluation among the highest-impact interventions available to teachers — well above many more commonly discussed reforms like class-size reduction. The PYP's rubrics, reflections, and continuous benchmarking are built to put that research into daily practice.
Language and cognitive development.
For our immersion learners specifically, the PYP's approach aligns with Jim Cummins' research on bilingual cognitive development — particularly the “common underlying proficiency” model, which found that skills developed in a first or immersion language transfer to a second language rather than competing with it. This is the research basis for why strong target-language instruction in K–2 supports, rather than undermines, later English literacy.
A note on sources: the studies and researchers above represent well-established, widely cited work in education research. As with any research summary, we encourage families and board members who want to review primary sources to verify citations directly — happy to provide a formal bibliography on request.
The IB Learner Profile: Character Grounded in Outcomes Research
The ten Learner Profile attributes — inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective — are not a slogan. They reflect a body of research (often grouped under “21st-century skills” or “durable skills” literature) showing that dispositions like self-regulation, collaboration, and reflective thinking are strong predictors of long-term academic and life outcomes, independent of raw content knowledge. The PYP builds these explicitly into daily classroom language and routines, rather than treating them as a separate character-education add-on.
The Six Transdisciplinary Themes
Rather than teaching subjects in isolation, the PYP organizes learning around six themes that every IB PYP school in the world uses, ensuring Le Monde students are engaging with the same globally benchmarked framework as students in Geneva, Singapore, or Toronto:
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Theme |
Central Idea |
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Who We Are |
Identity, beliefs, values, relationships, and what it means to be human. |
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Where We Are in Place and Time |
Personal histories, homes, journeys, and humanity's exploration of the world. |
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How We Express Ourselves |
Creativity, ideas, feelings, and the ways people communicate through language and the arts. |
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How the World Works |
The natural world, science, technology, and the impact of scientific and technological advances. |
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How We Organize Ourselves |
Human systems, institutions, and the interconnectedness of societies and economies. |
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Sharing the Planet |
Rights and responsibilities in accessing finite resources, and coexistence with other people and living things. |
Each grade level engages with all six themes over the course of a year, building a spiraled curriculum that revisits big ideas with increasing sophistication as students mature — the Bruner principle in direct practice.
Approaches to Learning (ATL): Explicit Skill-Building, Not Assumed Skill
One of the PYP's most research-backed and often under-recognized components is its explicit teaching of Approaches to Learning — five skill categories that research consistently identifies as strong predictors of academic success across every subject area:
- Thinking skills — critical thinking, creative thinking, and transfer of understanding across contexts.
- Research skills — formulating questions, gathering and evaluating information, and drawing conclusions.
- Communication skills — exchanging thoughts, messages, and information effectively, in more than one language.
- Social skills — collaborating, resolving conflict, and adopting varied group roles.
- Self-management skills — organization, time management, emotional regulation, and reflection on one's own learning process (a skill set closely aligned with what researchers call metacognition — consistently one of the highest-leverage skills for long-term academic achievement).
Rather than assuming students absorb these skills incidentally, the PYP names them, teaches them directly, and has students set goals and reflect against them — turning “soft skills” into an explicit, trackable part of the curriculum.
Assessment for Learning
PYP assessment blends the same rigor as our benchmark and standards-based systems with practices research shows drive growth:
- Formative, ongoing assessment — frequent, low-stakes checks that inform next-day instruction, not just end-of-unit grades.
- Rubrics and co-constructed success criteria — research shows that when students understand what quality work looks like before they attempt it, performance improves measurably.
- Student reflection and goal-setting — building the self-management and metacognitive skills referenced above.
- Portfolios and culminating showcases — authentic evidence of growth over time, alongside traditional benchmark data (NWEA MAP, OSTP, and Avant STAMP for language proficiency).
The PYP Exhibition: The Capstone of Elementary Learning
In Grade 5, students undertake the PYP Exhibition — a collaborative, self-directed inquiry into a real-world issue they choose themselves. It is the single most research-referenced outcome measure within the PYP framework, because it requires students to demonstrate, in an authentic and public way, every Learner Profile attribute, every ATL skill category, and years of accumulated content knowledge — synthesized into independent, self-managed work. It is designed as a bridge to the independence and academic rigor expected in the IB Middle Years Programme and beyond.
From Candidacy to Authorization
Candidate School status means Le Monde has been formally accepted into the IB's Candidacy phase and is actively implementing the PYP's standards and practices under IB guidance, working toward a formal authorization visit. It is a multi-year commitment that touches every layer of the school — curriculum design, teacher training, assessment practice, and governance — and being only the second school in Oklahoma to reach this stage reflects a level of institutional investment in research-based practice that very few schools in our state have made.
The Bottom Line for Families
When you choose Le Monde, you are choosing a program grounded not in trends, but in decades of converging research on how children build understanding, develop language, and grow into capable, self-directed learners — delivered through a globally benchmarked framework, verified by an outside body, and now recognized as one of only two such programs in the state of Oklahoma.
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Le Monde International School aims to help students discover their academic identity and focuses on the holistic development of each student. Therefore, the assessments and assessment approaches facilitated at Le Monde International School are crafted to measure the growth of students in critical cognitive areas that indicate healthy development, not only as scholars but also as global citizens. The Approaches To Learning distinguished by the International Baccalaureate are the founding principles of all assessment, activities, and learning environments present at Le Monde International School.
Approaches to Learning
Research Skills
Le Monde International School focuses on equipping students with the ability to inquire, research, and draw conclusions with academic integrity.
Social Skills
Le Monde International School helps students develop the necessary skills to build relationships, foster social-emotional intelligence and collaboration skills, and cultivate a positive interpersonal perspective.
Thinking Skills
Le Monde International School fosters an environment that empowers students to develop their critical thinking, creative, and reflective skills and to apply these skills to real world contexts.
Communication Skills
Le Monde International School prides itself on equipping students with the skills to communicate ideas effectively to peers, facilitate presentations, develop literacy skills, and engage in positive dialogues in diverse cultural settings.
Self-Management Skills
Le Monde International School offers students opportunities to develop their organizational skills, self-motivation, adaptability, and decision-making abilities.
Aim of Assessment
All assessments at Le Monde International School aim to foster students with the ability to build the skills identified by the International Baccalaureate and the skills necessary to help students succeed in global settings, solving problems in real-world contexts.
Assessment Aims
Assessment provides quantitative and qualitative measurements of student growth.
- Assessment creates purposeful guidelines for teaching and learning.
- Assessment fosters reflection and actionable items to utilize new skills.
- Assessment provides parents, guardians, and students with quantitative and qualitative reports that distinguish progress, strengths, areas for improvement, and the merit of their performance.
Principles of Assessment
- Assessment is designed to accommodate diverse learning styles and approaches and is tailored to reach learners from all backgrounds.
- Assessment creates authentic learning experiences that provide opportunities to demonstrate the new skill set.
- The assessment provides clear guidance for students to understand the purpose, process, and targeted learning cycle.
- Assessment is created with the holistic growth of the student as the prioritized merit of success measurement.
Assessment Practices
- The assessment aligns with Oklahoma State standards and IB principles.
- The assessment is aligned with the scope and sequence appropriate to the grade level.
- Formative assessment is designed to highlight the learning process among all stakeholders in the classroom. The appropriate stakeholders facilitate a classroom that promotes guided learning, healthy student observation, progress monitoring, and preparation for summative assessment. Assessment equips students with opportunities for independent learning, guided instruction, and reflection, all of which support their success in the summative assessment.
Language Assessments
- Summative assessment is designed to distinguish the learning skills acquired at the end of the unit. The assessment measures the level of achievement and is dependent on the individual effort of the student.
- All assessments are designed to ensure vertical and horizontal learning across all subjects and grade levels, creating a learning environment that fosters fairness and integrity.
- Assessments are communicated to parents, guardians, students, and staff through various channels, including report cards, student-led conferences, web communication tools, phone calls, emails, and stakeholder dialogues.
- Assessments are also used as tools for student reflection, encouraging the execution of ideas, the generation of new concepts, and the opportunity to draw fresh conclusions.
Assessment Toolbox
- Formative assessment facilitators include but are not limited to class dialogues, class debates, activity observation, journaling, quizzes, prior learning presentations, mind mapping, primary presentations, and lab activities.
- Summative assessment facilitators include but are not limited to public presentations, public speeches, exhibitions, written tests, written assignments, communicative service, service actions, portfolios, student-led activities, and community learning events.
- Rubrics provide teachers, staff, and students with tangible goals. The rubrics identify the target areas for learning and development. Rubrics offer practical guidelines for students to monitor and reflect on their efforts, fostering agency in learning.
Panther Progression
At the end of each unit, teachers establish clear parameters to ensure that students fully understand the instructions and expectations communicated. This practice promotes effective communication and strengthens language comprehension in all target languages. Through reflection and guided discussion, students are encouraged to express their understanding, connect concepts across disciplines, and apply language in authentic and meaningful contexts, supporting the development of balanced, multilingual learners in alignment with IB philosophy.
Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion in Assessment
Le Monde International School provides a flexible and equitable learning environment to help ensure students of all backgrounds, language proficiency, and students of all learning profiles receive the highest standards of education. This equitable approach enables the school to cultivate a learning environment that fosters fair evaluation and a premier learning experience for all students.
- Le Monde International School provides an equitable learning environment for all learners. Teachers and staff work diligently to accommodate all student needs. Le Monde International School aims to provide the necessary environment, tools, and instruction necessary to help students have a positive learning experience with assessments.
- Teachers and staff identify the different formats that help students succeed on assessments and provide them with the necessary criteria without compromising the merit of the evaluation.
- Language learners are aided with tailored instruction and materials to eliminate any barriers that prevent the student from achieving success on the assessment.
- In accordance with I.D.E.A, students with 504s and IEPs are accommodated with instruction and materials specified by the state of Oklahoma.
Assessment Data
Le Monde International School strives to deliver the highest standards of education. Therefore, both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from assessments are reflected at all levels of analysis. Teachers, staff, and cabinet members rely on data analysis to create solutions for the future of Le Monde International School.
Analytical sessions are held to identify strengths and areas for improvement across all subjects for all students. These analytical sessions enable stakeholders to share information with parents, guardians, and students. Additionally, the analytical sessions provide the opportunity for reflection and insight needed to create new instruction, initiatives, and moments to merit the level of progression occurring in real-time.
Conclusion
Assessments at Le Monde International School are an integral part of the learning environment, tailored to the needs of the learning community. Assessments are utilized to guide stakeholders in providing the highest standards of learning. At the core of assessments is the emphasis on helping students grow holistically; all assessments are conducted with the purest intentions to help students develop in critical cognitive areas that indicate healthy development as scholars and as global citizens.
Le Monde International School aims to provide students with opportunities to be genuine problem solvers, community members, and global citizens equipped with the skills to make the world a better place.
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Le Monde International School takes pride in the immersive language learning program it offers to the Norman, Oklahoma, community. The school aims to deliver holistic learning with the highest standards. Our institution is equipped with an exceptional language learning environment that fosters cultural awareness, language appreciation, and a global mindset. Our highest priority is to develop our students into global citizens who will make a lasting impact beyond their local community.
The enriched language program at Le Monde International School helps students strengthen their cognitive development, cultural awareness, and global citizenship. The skills acquired through multilingual learning are celebrated throughout the halls of Le Monde International School. The benefits of multilingual learning extend beyond the classroom and have the potential to reach global communities. Every day, students at Le Monde International School experience the positive impact of sharing their ideas in more than one language.
Language Philosophy
At Le Monde International School, our language philosophy reflects the core principles of the International Baccalaureate (IB) framework. Our philosophy cultivates an environment that allows students to share their ideas in English, French, and Spanish. Multilingualism is an academic component that enables students to enter new environments where they can make a meaningful impact. Global appreciation is a key element in achieving a harmonious world, and multilingualism serves as a barrier breaker, enabling our students to be heard worldwide.
Agency of Language Learning
Global Citizenship
Immersive language learning is a tool utilized at Le Monde to provide students with a new perspective on life and culture. Languages are windows into cultures and carry a richness of cultural elegance. Le Monde International School aims to cultivate an appreciation for culture, language, and the individuals who embody the beauty of a culture. Dialogue is an effective means of sharing ideas, promoting peace, and addressing global issues.
Together, Le Monde International School and its students will engage in positive interactions with cultures worldwide, contributing to a culture of peace for future generations.
- Cultural Events: Host events such as Oktoberfest and Celebrations of Learning, immersing students in diverse cultures and enriching their global awareness.
- Diverse Cultural Studies: Engage students in the study of various cultures, fostering appreciation and respect for cultural diversity, aligning with IB principles of international-mindedness.
- Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrate Hispanic heritage to honor contributions that enrich the cultural tapestry of the school community.
- Global Influence in Curriculum: Develop units of inquiry with a worldwide focus, encouraging critical thinking about real-world issues and promoting a deeper understanding of interconnectedness.
- Celebration of Staff Backgrounds: Acknowledge and celebrate the diverse cultural backgrounds of staff members, providing authentic perspectives that enhance student learning.
- Cultural Education: Facilitate dialogue about cultural differences and similarities through lessons that teach students about the cultures represented by their teachers, fostering inclusivity and understanding.
Language Profile
At Le Monde International School, approximately 85% of students speak English as their primary language. Additionally, 15% of the students speak an array of languages, including French, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Aims
All Le Monde teachers, staff, parents, and students aim to:
- Provide opportunities to learn and utilize language in different contextual settings.
- Foster reading, writing, and oral communication skills through assessment, interactive learning, and IB curriculum.
- Foster student comprehension skills to utilize language in different contextual settings.
- Foster skills to enjoy literature, art, and healthy learning environments where kids are encouraged to learn and inquire to promote lifelong learning.
- Enable students to express different perspectives and ideas.
- Create appreciation for the different cultures around the world.
Language Pathways in the Primary Years
Le Monde International School is an immersion school serving students in Pre-K through Grade 5. Families select a language immersion track in French or Spanish, which serves as the primary language of instruction across subject areas.
Alongside immersion instruction, English Language Arts is provided to all students to intentionally develop English literacy skills. This ensures students build strong reading, writing, speaking, and listening abilities in English while continuing to grow academically in their chosen immersion language.
All language tracks are aligned with the IB Primary Years Programme and state standards. Instruction is designed to support bilingual development, conceptual understanding, and transfer of skills across languages.
Through daily instruction, collaborative learning, and cultural experiences, students develop language proficiency, confidence, and an appreciation for multilingual learning within an internationally minded school community.
Primary Language Support
Our goal is to create a learning environment that strengthens students' proficiency in both their immersive language and primary language. By prioritizing language development, we aim to ensure that students are well-equipped to succeed academically and socially in their primary language as well as in additional languages acquired through immersive learning.
- Le Monde International newsletters, bulletins, websites, and other publications are available in English, Spanish, and French.
- Telephone translators are readily available to help support community communication.
- The library is equipped with materials to support students' learning in both their immersive language and primary language.
Support of Language of Instruction
English, French, and Spanish are all languages of instruction at Le Monde International School. The diverse environment of Le Monde International School provides opportunities for students to learn from native French, Spanish, and English teachers. Clear guidelines are established to ensure that students fully understand instructions and expectations, fostering effective communication and supporting the development of language comprehension skills.
Le Monde International School supports students with Limited English Proficiency in language acquisition in the following manner:
- Use Bilingual Resources: Providing bilingual books, texts, and articles allows students to read duplicate content in both languages. This helps reinforce their understanding of the subject matter while simultaneously building vocabulary and language structures in both their native and immersive languages.
- Encourage Code-Switching and Translanguaging: Allow students to switch between languages or blend languages in discussions or written assignments. This approach acknowledges students’ full linguistic repertoires and helps them process complex ideas in both their native and immersive languages.
- Comprehension-tailored instruction via small group intervention.
- Implementing tailored levels of scaffold acquisition action plans to provide the learner with appropriate visual clues, collaborative learning environments, and formative and summative assessment opportunities.
Le Monde International School aims to support language acquisition in the following manners:
All Teachers of Le Monde Are Teachers of Language
Enhancing Language Development through Cross-Curricular Projects
- Clear Language Objectives: Set specific language development goals for each project, focusing on targeted vocabulary and grammatical structures in French or Spanish, along with written and oral task expectations.
- Collaborative Planning: Foster collaboration among teachers from various subject areas and language instructors to design projects that reinforce language objectives across disciplines.
Teacher Training for Language Integration
- Peer Collaboration: Facilitate mentorship among teachers proficient in French or Spanish to share practical strategies for incorporating language into daily lessons, supported by peer observations and feedback.
- Workshops on Multilingual Instruction: Provide professional development sessions on integrating target language vocabulary into non-language subjects, emphasizing scaffolding, bilingual resources, and subject-specific phrases.
Progress Tracking in Collaborative Projects
- Rubrics and Observations: Implement rubrics to assess language use during collaborative projects, focusing on vocabulary development and communication, supplemented by regular classroom observations.
- Peer and Self-Assessments: Encourage students to assess their peers' language use and reflect on their progress, fostering accountability and mutual support.
Role of Peer Tutoring in Language Development
- Reinforcement of Learning: Utilize peer tutoring to allow students with advanced language skills to support their peers.
- Building Confidence: Create a comfortable space for students to practice new language skills with peers.
Creating Authentic Language Experiences
- Cultural Exchanges and Pen Pals: Partner with schools or organizations in French- or Spanish-speaking countries.
- Cultural Event Participation: Encourage student involvement in local cultural festivals or language-themed events.
- Extracurricular Activities: Provide opportunities for students to use language skills outside the classroom through clubs, festivals, field trips, and peer interactions.
Resources to Support Cross-Curricular Language Projects
- Professional Learning Communities: Establish PLCs to share strategies, lesson plans, and project ideas.
- Technology Tools: Provide access to language-learning apps, digital dictionaries, and tools such as Google Translate or Duolingo.
Community Outreach
Parental Engagement and Cultural Events
- Le Monde International School hosts events such as the Celebration of Learning, Oktoberfest, cultural luncheon festivals, and others to showcase academic achievements through cultural learning.
- Encourage families to support reading and writing activities in the student’s native language at home.
Community Connections
- Le Monde International continuously seeks opportunities to engage with organizations locally and globally, connecting students and staff with broader communities.
Review and Continuous Improvement
Our policies are reviewed annually or as needed to ensure they foster an environment of scholastic excellence. Parents, students, and staff are encouraged to share feedback to support continuous improvement.
Conclusion
Le Monde International School aims to create a language learning environment that nurtures students' academic identities while fostering a deep appreciation for the world around them. Students are provided opportunities to develop and showcase language skills, participate in international experiences, and engage in a curriculum that promotes academic excellence and global citizenship.