At the heart of the Berlin Metropolitan School’s curriculum for preschool through grade 5 is a commitment to structured, purposeful inquiry as the leading vehicle for learning. Through the framework of the Primary
Years Programme (PYP), students are engaged in inquiry-based learning experiences in which they ask questions, make connections to prior knowledge, explore new ideas and investigate ways to solve problems. Our school curriculum focuses on the development of the whole child; through creative problem solving, working in cooperative learning groups and collaborating to create shared understandings on a topic, children also develop their social skills and emotional competence in addition to their academic growth.  

Our curriculum is organized around six transdisciplinary themes: who we are, where we are in place and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organize ourselves and how we share the planet. These themes, revisited each year at a deeper level, are designed around areas of knowledge which are of global significance for all students. They offer students the opportunity to explore knowledge of genuine importance in the understanding of the human condition.

In preschool to grade 5, students study six units of inquiry, which enable a balance of subject-specific knowledge, concepts and skills. The Berlin Metropolitan School Programme of Inquiry (POI) contextualizes the transdisciplinary themes, providing a coherent and well-articulated program of study throughout the Primary School and the beginning of the Middle School. In our Programme of Inquiry, shown in the matrix provided, the six transdisciplinary themes run vertically, and the grade levels run horizontally. The PYP culminates in the Exhibition, a formal presentation of independent research projects undertaken by 5th grade students.

BMS: Primary School (PDF)

IB Organisation

Programme of Inquiry.pdf