# data[].attributes.body
K-2 Monday, November 24 @9 am

3-5 Tuesday, November 25  @ 9 am

MYP Tuesday, November 25 @ 1:30

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
 Living the learner profile_ 2025-2026.docx

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Picture Books about Communication and Listening

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These picture books about communication emphasise effective communication techniques to avoid misunderstanding and build trust.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Picture Books about Risk-Taking and Courage

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
These books about risk-taking follow characters approaching unfamiliar situations, seeking new ideas and standing up for their beliefs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
IB Learner Profile: Caring - Caring creates an endless ripple. by Natasha Marciano | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for individual educators, schools and districts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
27 of the Best Picture Books to Support Inquiry-Based Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explore 27 inquiry books to use alongside inquiry-based learning in your classroom. They show curious characters going through the inquiry process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.embed_code
27 of the Best Picture Books to Support Inquiry-Based Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is a risk-taker and how can we help our students take appropriate risks? According to the IB, risk-taking students "approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; [they] work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. [They] are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change."

Risk-taking and trying something new is a daunting prospect for many children. These resources focus on promoting confidence in children and for them to understand they are not alone in their anxieties. On the other hand, we want those children who take dangerous risks to understand the balance of being more mindful before taking negative risks.

All your students will seek risk in different ways and at different levels. A classroom is a safe place for them to experiment with taking safe risks without any judgement.

Check out the post 28 of the Best Books about Confidence and Risk-Taking for a wonderful selection of picture books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Resources to Promote Risk-Taking and Confidence in Children

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is a risk-taker and how can we help our students take appropriate risks? According to the IB, risk-taking students "approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; [they] work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. [They] are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
According to the IB learner profile reflective students "thoughtfully consider the world and [their] own ideas and experience. [They] work to understand [their] strengths and weaknesses in order to support [their] learning and personal development."

Teaching your students to reflect on their learning is an important part of positive life long learning. Reflection empowers your students to consider their actions, behaviour and learning, and analyse personal strengths and weaknesses.

Having time to be reflective helps your students focus and then modify their actions and work in a purposeful way. Give yourself plenty of opportunities for teaching reflection strategies, including individually, in groups and pairs. Also, provide opportunities for written, verbal or visual reflections. Here are a few questions you can ask your students to get them started:

How do you think other people see you? Do you think it is the same as you see yourself?

Do I interact with other people in positive ways?

In what ways could you improve your social interactions?

Think about the ways you work? Are there any improvements you could make?

Teaching reflection strategies is just one part of the self-reflection process. We need to monitor whether a student's reflections lead to action; are they making the necessary changes or refinements. We can help them keep on track and support them in finding ways they can improve on past actions and learning. As their self-awareness develops their ability to self-monitor will grow.

It is not just your student's academic progress they should consider. Self-reflection helps them make changes to improve their interpersonal skills that affect family, friends and the wider community.

In a previous post, 36 of the Best IB Learner Profile Reflective Books I have put together a list of picture books you can use to help students reflect on their learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Resources for Teaching Reflection Strategies in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to the IB learner profile reflective students "thoughtfully consider the world and [their] own ideas and experience. [They] work to understand [their] strengths and weaknesses in order to support [their] learning and personal development." Teaching your students to reflect on their learning is an important part of positive life long learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is the true definition of being open-minded? | Maryam Fuad Bukhash | TEDxZayedUniversity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ash Beckham talks about hardship and courage in her TED talk. She emphasizes that all people have been through some sort of hardship throughout their life. She wants people to have the courage to speak to their own hardship, listen to her TED talk here: TED Talk

-Patrick A Schooley

Eman Mohammed is a female photojournalist, and she is often ignored by many of her male colleagues. In this TED talk, she speaks to the courage it takes to bring stories to light, click here to listen: TED Talk

-Patrick A Schooley

Damon Davis is known for his TED talk about courage, in which he talked about having the courage to protest after a shooting in Missouri. If you are interested in his TED talk, here is a link to it: TED Talk

-Patrick A Schooley

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What I want for you as you move from here is to become free and critical thinkers...by daring to challenge the accepted "truths" that come from our social echo chambers, to help restore the art of informed, intelligent and enlightened debate.

-Lester Holt

For an in-depth overview of each weekly slide presentation, please skip below to your specific grade level.

If you would like to ask questions of, learn from, and share best practices with Partner Schools nationwide, please join our Google+ Community here.

For the P2 Reflection Journals, used by all elementary students at the end of the week, click here.

To see the 1-page Open-Mindedness Character Card and share it with your students' families, click here.

Starting Monday, Partner Schools nationwide are learning about open-mindedness. This character strength is critically important in today's hyperconnected Information Age. We're bombarded with more information than ever, which makes you think we'd be more open-minded to a variety of viewpoints.

However, because clicks and shares lead to advertising dollars, much of that information is filtered in a way to show us what we already agree with - leading to ideological echo chambers. As this article and the below video explain, those echo chambers may be dangerous to the future of our unity as a country.

So what is open-mindedness and why does it matter? Open-mindedness is the willingness to actively search for evidence that goes against one's favored beliefs, plans, or goals. Those demonstrating open-mindedness see the other side and fight the tendency to have a bias for their own views. And, rather than favoring the socially dominant views, they give attention to those that are less dominant.

This character strength helps individuals build knowledge about specific issues or points of view - and provide sound recommendations and advice. Open-minded people do not jump to conclusions. Instead, they seek out and examine all of the available evidence before forming an opinion.

Grade K-2 (Click here to jump to the deck)

This slide presentation follows the day-by-day model in the sequence of understand, engage, and reflect. Over the course of the entire week, students will be prompted to think about and discuss open-ended questions that are embedded into the presentations.

Day 1 will help your students understand open-mindedness by defining it, providing a quote, and through a 4-minute video clip of kids trying sandwiches.

Day 2 will revisit the definition of open-mindedness and expand upon your students' understanding through the book Weslandia read aloud.

Day 3 will allow your students to engage with being an open-minded person through an activity called the "Try It - You Might Like It."

Day 4 continues student engagement through a class discussion on a quote.

Day 5 is time for reflection. You can find the P2 reflection journals here and then print them for your students.

Additional Resources: If you want to go deeper on this character strength, there are additional resources provided at the end of the presentation.

Grade 3-5 (Click here to jump to the deck)

This slide presentation follows the day-by-day model in the sequence of understand, engage, and reflect. Over the course of the entire week, students will be prompted to think about and discuss open-ended questions that are embedded into the presentations.

Day 1 will help your students understand open-mindedness by defining it, providing a quote, and through a video of Kid President.

Day 2 will revisit the definition of open-mindedness and expand upon your students' understanding through a 3-minute video about making discoveries by keeping an open mind.

Day 3 allows students to engage with open-mindedness through the activity "Take Another Look."

Day 4 allows students to engage with open-mindedness through a class discussion on a quote.

Day 5 is time for reflection. You can find the P2 reflection journals here and then print them for your students.

Additional Resources: If you want to go deeper on this character strength, there are additional resources provided at the end of the presentation.

Grade 6-8 (Click here to jump to the deck)

At the middle school level, the slides will look a bit different. Instead of a day-by-bay model, the slides follow the sequence of understand, engage, reflect - with a greater emphasis on the engage portion. The purpose of removing the day-by-day approach is to give you more freedom. Don't let this stress you out. The key to remember is that teachers don't need to get through all of the slides. If you want to spend two days on one slide, go for it. If your students are ready to move on, full speed ahead! It is completely up to the facilitator.

The understand section includes videos on confirmation bias and the film Moana, as well as articles about traits of open-minded people and how our social media feeds became "echo-chambers." All videos and articles have follow-up questions for you to create a dialogue among your students.

The engage section includes turn-and-talk, a class discussion, and an activity called "Step Outside Your Comfort Zone." Feel free to use any, or all, of these activities in your class!

The reflection section is a continuation of the engage section with a class skit on open-mindedness and includes reflecting upon two specific questions.

There are also additional resources that includes video clips from 12 Angry Men and an article explaining that 6 out of 10 people share articles without actually reading them. The 12 Angry Men videos and questions will be particularly useful in social studies classes - as they directly relate to civics and citizenship.

Enjoy the slides - and please be sure to let us know how it's going by posting to our Google+ page and on Twitter!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Open-Mindedness - Week 2 - The Positivity Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What I want for you as you move from here is to become free and critical thinkers...by daring to challenge the accepted "truths" that come from our social echo chambers, to help restore the art of informed, intelligent and enlightened debate.

# data[].attributes.body
PRINCIPLED_ We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Walkthrough an IB school's corridors, classrooms, teacher lounges, and offices.

What is the one thing they all have in common?

LEARNER PROFILE ATTRIBUTES POSTERS!

Yet, in workshops, conferences, and online forums the most rampantly asked questions are around "how can we help our students in their development and understanding of the attributes of the IB learner profile?".

All of us have to agree that, the Learner Profile Attributes encapsulate the citizen of the present and future - one who navigates complex challenges to enter a work environment where 60% of jobs don't exist today.

The Learner Profile Attributes make the <3 of the IB PYP. Here, we list down 8 tried-and-tested ways to make them come alive in your classroom! You can use these strategies to make the learner profile attributes more visible and intentional in your classroom!

1. Book tree
An organic display where your children identify, illustrate, and talk about the Learner Profile
Reading and storytelling are a ubiquitous part of any primary years classroom, so they make for rich opportunities to recognize the Learner Profile attributes. Very often, teachers use storytelling as a means to discuss the LPAs - pausing and asking questions about what attribute the characters displayed! This works very well but in our experience, we have seen that this may also hinder the flow of the story. Here, we suggest a better strategy to use the books for LPAs.Co-construct a display with your children. Establish an agreement with your students to identify the LP focus in each book they read. After they read, they may draw a picture/write/talk about how the learner profile attribute was evident in the book. This work can then be added to a book board in the class along with the learner profile attribute infocus. Lots of meaningful discussions and connections take place when you make the learner profile visible in the classroom. An added benefit - children thinking about a particular Learner Profile can get book ideas throughout the year!

Best for ages 4-10

2. Shoutout Board

We're always talking about MUST HAVE displays in the PYP classroom! Here is one for you that goes beyond the static Learner Profile Attribute Posters. Two ways to design a shoutout board.

Way 1 - Co-create a shoutout board with your children. Have them come up with a design, create the labels, and put it all together. Children write shoutouts for each other and the teacher adds them to the board.

Way 2 - Ready the shoutout board before day 1 of school. You can give it a meaningful / punny title "Look who's been caught being a ...." On the first day, everyone gets a "risk taker" shoutout for making it to class. Then children can give each other shoutouts for demonstrating the attributes. As a teacher, you can also give shoutouts to students and students can give them to you! Model the attributes and make it a part of your classroom's culture.

Best for ages 3-8 year olds

3. Exit Ticket

Developing a shared language around the learner profile attributes is an exercise in discipline and self-awareness. Anne Evans says and we paraphrase - "the real purpose of the learner profile is to encourage reflection on the attributes".

One great way to reflect on a daily basis - make the classic Exit Ticket a daily part of your goodbye routine. On the exit ticket, have children write one attribute they really worked on or really demonstrated!

2 birds with 1 stone - encourage reflective practice and build learner agency.

As a teacher, be sure to model this along with your students! You might say something like, "Today, I think I was a risk-taker when we decided to go out and look for bugs because as you all know, I am scared of creepy crawlies". Make the Exit Ticket a wonderful habit for all the citizens of your classroom. You can assign virtual exit tickets to students using the Toddle Students App and keep this process going during in-person and virtual learning!

Best for 4-12 year olds

4. Handmade Student Posters

The PYP thrives on collaboration and yet our displays and walls often have printed ready-to-use posters. Authentic displays are a process, "a systematic act of collecting, interpreting and reflecting on concrete traces of learning". "What's on your walls?" is a classic question and the answer usually entails prints of the Learner Profile Attributes in a variety of styles - Dr. Suess posters, Animal posters, Teachers Pay Teachers Printables and many more! We love them all. However, there is one we like above all - HANDMADE STUDENT POSTERS.

Here are 2 ways to create hand-made student posters:

Way 1 - Ryan Highbea, an experienced PYP educator shares his experiences of helping very young children construct meaning of the IB Learner Profile Attributes.

Teachers can start by showing children a diverse range of photos for each attribute. For risk-taker, show them images like

Then teachers can tell their young learners, "these are all risk takers. What do you observe them doing". Children contribute several ideas (being a risk taker looks like doing dangerous things, being excited, helping someone, doing something you wouldn't do otherwise).

Students are then given pieces of paper to illustrate themselves as risk-takers. Overtime, students can also take photographs of themselves and each other to stick them next to the posters!

These drawings together make the Learner Profile Attribute Poster.

Way 1 is best suited for 3-7 year olds

Way 2 - Divide students into 10 tables (1 for each learner profile attribute). Give them art tools to create posters that illustrate the Learner Profile Attribute. Make the posters come alive by giving children the ability to take photos and clip them next to the posters every time someone demonstrates the attribute. Get students to create collages or illustrate on Toddle Student's App to create Learner Profile posters for your virtual classroom.

Way 2 is best suited for 6-11 year olds

To us, the Learner Profile attributes are a toolbox with specific superpowers that allow us to navigate diverse challenges. With this lens, our students are constantly working towards strengthening those superpowers. One strategy we use is called "Brag Tags" - a form of student lanyards.

Each student has a brag tag that has a personalized note about the attribute they have demonstrated well. Students enjoy being stopped by people at school and being able to talk to them about the tag they've earned! Students get to vocalize around the attributes, take ownership of the ones they want to develop, and get acknowledged for their personal strengths!

Best for 5-7 year olds

6. Build, Construct, and 3D Represent

We've never met a student who didn't love building, constructing, and making a mess! Get creative with the learner profile attributes. Divide children into teams and assign them 2 attributes each. Give them a range of materials - lego, art tools, blocks, clay, paints, and more. Let children explore what the Learner Profile means to them and create a visual representation.

To conclude, each team should explain their thinking and present their models to their peers.

Best for 3 to 8 year olds

7. Quotation Station

Quotes are so underrated - sprinkled over twitter posts, projects, and essays! But if we look at them closely, quotes provide opportunities for deep reflection and metacognition. Gather your favourite quotes and save them in a nice little ribboned diary. Get ready for Quotation Station by:

Starting your Monday mornings by diving into 1 famous quote. Here are few quotes you can start with "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new - Albert Einstein", "You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi", "Stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone. Never, never be afraid to do what's right - Martin Luther King, Jr", "Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting - Edmund Burke".

Encourage students to make personal connections with the learner profile attributes. Ask questions to provoke their thinking "how can you bring this to life? What action can you take?"

Dedicate a part of your display wall or a corner of the classroom as the "Quotation Station".

On Fridays, regroup and have children reflect on what they did to live the quote!

We promise your students will love this!

Best for 5 to 10 year olds

8. Kindness Ninjas

Learner Profile Attributes are the foundation for developing strong internationally minded citizens. Create opportunities for children to have real experiences with the world by implementing a "Kindness Ninjas" program.

1. Assign a core attribute for each week.

2. Children identify and recognize this attribute all across the school.

3. Like ninjas, they leave notes of appreciation for teachers and students everywhere!

To take this a step further, teachers may identify penpals for students to speak to all across the world.

Play around with these flexible strategies - you can find lots of opportunities to merge them and make magic!
PS: We made a memorable Learner Profile mnemonic to remember the attributes - "The Ridiculous Iguana Befriended Cats, Reindeers, Cobras, Koalas, Octopus, & Parrots".
Liked this resource? Here are a few more you might like to explore:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 Creative Strategies for IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Equip yourself with 8 tried-and-tested creative strategies to make the IB PYP Learner Profile Attributes come alive in your classroom.