Arts are integral to the PYP. The Arts are a powerful mode of communication through which students explore and construct a sense of self and develop an understanding of the world around them. Arts provide students with a wide range of opportunities and means to respond to their experiences and engage with historical, social and cultural perspectives. The students are stimulated to think and to articulate their thoughts in new ways, and through a variety of media and technologies. The PYP recognizes that not all learning can be supported solely through language, and that arts as a medium of inquiry also provide opportunities for learning, communication and expression. Learning about and through arts is fundamental to the development of the whole child, promoting creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving skills and social interactions.

Arts strands:

• Responding
• Creating

The languages offered at AISVN are English and Vietnamese.

The need to communicate is instinctive. The development of language is fundamental to that need to communicate; it supports and enhances our thinking and understanding. Language permeates the world in which we live; it is socially constructed and dependent on the number and nature of our social interactions and relationships. The learning process simultaneously involves

• learning language - as learners listen to and use language with others in their everyday lives;
• learning about language - as learners grow in their understanding of how language works;
• and learning through language - as learners use language as a tool to listen, think, discuss and reflect on information, ideas and issues (Halliday 1980).

Language plays a vital role in the construction of meaning. It empowers the learner and provides an intellectual framework to support conceptual development and critical thinking. In the PYP, it is recognized that the teaching of language should be in response to the previous experience, needs and interests of the student, rather than the consequence of a predetermined, prescriptive model for delivering language.

Fragmenting learning into the acquisition of isolated skill sets can create difficulties for learners - for example, learners may be able to read, write and spell words correctly in isolation but may not be able to read, write or spell those same words in other contexts.

Learners’ needs are best served when they have opportunities to engage in learning within meaningful contexts, rather than being presented with the learning of language as an incremental series of skills to be acquired.

Language strands:

• Oral communication: listening and speaking
• Written communication: reading and writing
• Visual communication: viewing and presenting

Mathematics is viewed as a vehicle to support inquiry, providing a global language through which we make sense of the world around us.

In the PYP, mathematics is viewed primarily as a vehicle to support inquiry, providing a global language through which we make sense of the world around us. It is intended that students become competent users of the language of mathematics, and can begin to use it as a way of thinking, as opposed to seeing it as a series of facts and equations to be memorized. The power of mathematics for describing and analysing the world around us is such that it has become a highly effective tool for solving problems. It is also recognized that students can appreciate the intrinsic fascination of mathematics and explore the world through its unique perceptions. In the same way that students describe themselves as “authors” or “artists”, a school’s programme should also provide students with the opportunity to see themselves as “mathematicians”, where they enjoy and are enthusiastic when exploring and learning about mathematics.

Mathematics strands:

• Data Handling
• Measurement
• Shape & Space
• Pattern & Function
• Number

Personal, social and physical education (PSPE) is part of the core curriculum at AISVN. We empower students through experiences designed to develop their sense of personal identity and their identity within their social and cultural context. PSPE is concerned with the individual students’ well-being through the promotion and development of concepts, knowledge, attitudes and skills that contribute to this well-being. Well-being is intrinsically linked to all aspects of a student’s experience at school and beyond. It encompasses physical, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and social health and development, and contributes to an understanding of self, to developing and maintaining relationships with others, and to participation in an active, healthy lifestyle. PSPE is integral to teaching and learning in the PYP and is embodied in the IB learner profile that permeates the programme and represents the qualities of internationally minded students and effective lifelong learners.

The PSPE strands:

• Identity
• Active learning
• Interactions

Science at AISVN is viewed as the exploration of the biological, chemical and physical aspects of the natural world, and the relationships between them. Our understanding of science is constantly changing and evolving. The inclusion of science within the PYP leads learners to an appreciation and awareness of the world as it is viewed from a scientific perspective. It encourages curiosity and ingenuity and enables the student to develop an understanding of the world.

The science strands are:

• Living things
• Earth and space
• Materials and matter
• Forces and energy

Social studies at AISVN is viewed as the study of people in relation to their past, their present and their future, their environment and their society. Social studies encourage curiosity and develop an understanding of a rapidly changing world. Through social studies, students develop an understanding of their personal and cultural identities. They develop the skills and knowledge needed to participate actively in their classroom, their school, their community and the world: to understand themselves in relation to their communities. The aim of social studies within the PYP is to promote intercultural understanding and respect for individuals and their values and traditions.

The social studies strands are:

• Human systems and economic activities
• Social organization and culture
• Continuity and change over time
• Human and natural environments
• Resources and the environment

PYP technology learning and teaching immerses students in the interplay between learning technology, learning about technology and learning through technology. Viewed broadly, as a tool or resource, technology facilitates and expands learning possibilities. It refers to devices such as a pencil, a laptop, an iPad, a camera, as well as resources such as a book, a website, a game, an interactive story. As a concept, it incorporates coding, communication, information, design and innovation. As a learning extension, it supports the development of critical, creative and transfer thinking, in addition to systems and computational thinking.