Curriculum
Introduction to a balanced, transdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning
At CGK, we have always been committed to developing acute cognitive ability, strong self-expression, and a spirit of inquiry. In the elementary school curriculum, we are building on our mission and experience with hands-on, project-based learning by implementing the transdisciplinary approach of the International Baccalaureate (IB) as an IB PYP candidate school.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, please visit IB website.
IB PYP Curriculum
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Transdisciplinary learning in 6 key subject areas
- Language Arts
- Math
- Science
- Social Studies
- The Arts
- Personal, Social, and Physical Education (PSPE)
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The Learner Profile Attributes - character development that ensure our students are
- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
- Principled
- Open-minded
- Caring
- Risk-takers
- Balanced
- Reflective
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Deep conceptual understanding of 7 Key Concepts
- Connection
- Responsibility
- Perspective
- Form
- Causation
- Change
- Function
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Approaches to learning in 5 key areas
- Social skills
- Research skills
- Thinking skills
- Communication skills
- Self-management skills
Learning is organized through Units of Inquiry in 6 transdisciplinary themes
- Who we are
- How we organize ourselves
- How we express ourselves
- How the world works
- Sharing the planet
- Where we are in time and place


Teaching Approach
Lessons are hands-on, conceptually based, and combine learning across subjects. Single-subject lessons are also taught as appropriate, particularly in math, English, and Japanese.
As a non-article 1 school, we are able to choose the best educational standards and practices from around the world. We continually assess and improve our learning and teaching, committing to professional development for all of our staff and administrators.
As an example, we are developing our mathematics learning standards based on meeting or exceeding the Japanese national standards. The Singapore Maths curriculum consistently results in the highest scores in international assessments such as PISA. The combination of concrete and abstract learning with problem-solving and analytical skills help students to develop not only math skills but skills that transcend math and will be useful in their professional life as well. We have the flexibility to follow Singapore Maths, as well as teach the abacus and skills in the year expected in Japan or sooner.
Every teacher will use approaches and techniques to track learning and offer appropriate differentiation. This means students will learn to the best of their personal abilities, rather than having to go too fast or too slow. By teaching children at their appropriate pace and understanding, we can ensure children will be learning and engaging during every activity. This also allows children who excel to in moving and the curriculum standards for their grade as appropriate while offering support to those students who need it.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, please visit IB website.
Field Trip
CGK, which emphasizes the development of an spirit of inquiry, has consistently valued special experiences since preschool for young children, but there are naturally some things that cannot be obtained inside the classroom in order to further deepen understanding as students engage in deep inquiry.
Therefore, even here at the elementary school, we actively incorporate field trips, and each class takes advantage of various transportation options, such as school buses and trains, every month for field trips.
Students who have acquired research skills through the International Baccalaureate (IB) take responsibility for each unit project and demonstrate their research skills, so the teacher does not necessarily always have to take part in the planning process for these field trips. Sometimes the teacher takes the lead in planning, sometimes the students take the lead, but in either case, we emphasize the connection to the daily learning in order to maximize the effectiveness of the student's learning.
Examples of Field Trips at CGK
- Mitsuzawa Park Picnic - Grade 3/4 (School Bus)
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July 2023 - Like most field trips, this field trip allowed the students to practice aspects of the Learner Profile, specifically in being communicators, risk-takers, and principled. Additionally, the students have been working hard on self-management ATLs such as interpersonal skills and emotional skills. The Grade 3/4 students worked together during the set up for our School Festival and practiced these skills in the context of group work. This field trip gave them the chance to apply these skills to a different environment and context, namely negotiating what kind of play they were going to do, where and when they were going to eat, and who was going to lead. It turned out to be a successful and fun last field trip of term 1!
- Hamagin Space Science Center - Grade 2 (School Bus)
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July 2023 - Grade 2 had a great time at the Hamagin Space Center. It was extremely hot so they were happy to be indoors for their final field trip of Term One. Students learned about astronomy and explored the Yokohama sky. After that, they played games and did activities related to gravity, time, friction, relativity, patterns, and sound.
Students were able to practice their ATL and Learner Profile skills by cooperating, making good choices, and transferring knowledge and concepts.
- Hamagin Space Science Center - Grade 1 (School Bus)
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July 2023 - This was a great field trip. It’s close to CGK and indoors (which was great because of the Summer heat).
We went to Hamagin as part of the passion project subject. Some of the students wanted to do computer programming and Mr. Martin knew that Hamagin did special programming classes.
The programming class was fantastic. Students had to program a small vehicle to make its way through a puzzle. It was a really good activity that all the students were engaged in. It linked in a really engaging way to ICT ATLs.
- Kanagawa Plaza for Global Citizenship (Earth Plaza) - Grade 2 (School Bus)
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June 2023 - Grade 2 visited the Kanagawa Plaza for Global Citizenship (Earth Plaza). This was quite an informative trip as students were able to learn a lot about different countries. They saw traditional games, clothes, fruit and food, instruments, and modes of transportation. Students were able to experience the way of life for people around the world. This trip fit perfectly with their UOI for How We Express Ourselves that focuses on how cultural beliefs and ideas are shared around the world. Students were also able to practice some ATLs by working in pairs to complete a mind map about the themes and ideas that they were encountering.
- Yokohama Customs Museum - Grade 1 (School Bus)
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June 2023 - This trip was designed specifically to link to the UOI for How We Organize Ourselves. This unit in grade 1 is about trade. The students had previously learned about customs and how they prevent certain items being brought into a country. This quick visit to a local museum allowed the grade 1 students to see some interesting displays about illegal items. They also had a look at some of the tools that customs uses to find illegal items that might be hidden in containers and suitcases.
Before going to the museum Grade 1 had a quick snack and play at Yokohama park, working on gross-motor and social skills, as well as being Balanced and Principled.
- Ōmori Furusato-no-Hamabe Park - Grade 3/4 (Train)
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June 2023 - This field trip was an opportunity to practice and focus on ATLs (self-management skill), the Learner Profile (Principled), and PSPE learning outcomes. Students were given a collective goal in order to show that they demonstrated self-management skills and social-emotional awareness enough to partake in a fun physical field trip that required a certain amount of trust.
The class was given a set number of marbles. When students broke the rules that they agreed to in their class contract, they lost a marble. The class as a whole needed to have at least one marble left in order to go on the field trip. Fortunately, they did, and they were able to go!
They went to a beach park and ended up practicing additional attributes of the Learner Profile, including being risk-takers and communicators. Students had to create their own games and fun as there was not a lot of climbing equipment or built-in activities. The students ended up enjoying the field trip so much that they asked to return to the same park again in the future!
- teamLab Planets TOKYO - Grade 2 (School Bus)
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June 2023 - This field trip connected to How We Express Ourselves and our Arts learning outcomes. The students had a remarkable day and were fully immersed in art. They enjoyed the Water and Garden sections. They experienced the TeamLab Planets interpretation of a number of different natural elements, from black holes all the way to a garden that allowed you to “become one with flowers.” One student said, “If everything people make can be art, then we are art.” What a profound statement from a 7-year-old.
The Grade 2 students had an enlightening day exploring art with all their senses. In addition, they had ample opportunity to put the social skills they had been practicing in class and apply them to a new context. The students are becoming more skilled at regulating their emotions and managing conflict.
- Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse - Grade 1 (Walk)
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June 2023 - This trip was designed specifically to link to the UOI for How We Organize Ourselves and the central idea of “People trade for a variety of reasons”.
One of the questions that came up in class is “Should people or countries be forced to trade? The class had a discussion about that with most of the group falling on a both “Yes and No” answers. The students said it depended on whether the trade was with kind people or countries, and whether they could trust who they were trading with.
After that, the class learned about Commander Perry and the Black Ships coming to Japan. They thought about whether Japan should have been forced to trade with America, and whether it was right that America forced them to do so under the threat of war.
After this, the class took a walk down to the Yokohama red brick warehouse, a place that was built not long after the agreement to trade between Japan and America was reached.
- Miraikan - The National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation - Grade 1 (School Bus)
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June 2023 - This field trip links to a future UOI for Sharing the Planet and our responsibilities to protect limited resources. The students had a lot of fun interacting with the different science displays and learning about the world we live in. They had a great time playing with robots, writing messages to the future, seeing real-life rockets, and learning how the internet worked. Exposing students to some of the concepts that they will inquire into in the future is a great way to activate interest and prepare the students for in-depth learning.
- Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum - Henri Matisse: The Path to Color - Grade 3/4 (Train)
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May 2023 - This field trip connected to our visual arts standards, such as students enjoying experiencing artwork, describing what they notice about an artwork, and describing similarities and differences between artworks. Students used this experience to start exploring Matisse’s work in depth, comparing techniques, color palettes, and composition. Students then created their own Matisse art which became central to their School Festival activity and part of fundraising for a charity benefiting those affected by the war in Ukraine.
- Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History - Grade 2 (Walk)
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May 2023 - For Grade 2’s unit in the theme How We Express Ourselves, the students were exploring the central idea of “Cultural beliefs and values are shared and expressed throughout the world.” This field trip helped the students to see the central idea in action. They were able to learn about different cultures around the world.
They also practiced some ATLs by setting learning goals prior to the visit and reflecting on what they learned.
- Children’s Nature Park (Oike Park) - Grade 1 (School Bus)
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May 2023 - The Grade 1 classroom was still exploring the Who We Are theme with the central idea of “Our body is a collection of different systems that depend on each other.” This field trip again allowed the children to make connections between their actions and how their body feels. When Grade 1 went on this field trip, they had more time to learn about and understand connections between their actions and their bodies, such as learning about neurons and reaction times.
- Field Athletics Yokohama Tsukushino Course - Grade 1 (School Bus)
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April 2023 - The Grade 1 classroom was exploring the Who We Are theme with the central idea of “Our body is a collection of different systems that depend on each other.” This field trip allowed the children to make connections between exercise and health, movement and heartbeat, and thoughts and action.
Physical field trips are also a chance to practice attributes of the Learner Profile, especially being a risk-taker, balanced, communicator, and principled.
Contact
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Inquiry for Elementary School
Feel free to contact us, not only regarding applications for open schools or other questions, but also about observations, interviews, community interaction proposals, partnerships, consultancy requests, internships, etc.