MYP Blog
Plain-English guides to how the IB Middle Years Programme works (grading, the assessment criteria, command terms, eAssessment and study tips), plus worked solutions and explainers for IB DP Physics.
The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) explained simply: who it’s for, the eight subject groups, how it’s assessed against criteria, and how it differs from GCSE.
How MYP grading actually works: the four criteria, level descriptors out of 8, grade boundaries, and how criterion levels become a final grade from 1 to 7.
What the four MYP assessment criteria (A, B, C, D) mean in Sciences, Individuals & Societies and Design — and how to move up the level descriptors.
A student’s guide to MYP command terms. What examiners mean by describe, explain, analyse, evaluate, justify and more — with quick tips to answer each correctly.
How MYP eAssessment works in Year 5: the 2-hour on-screen examinations, the ePortfolios for Design and Arts, and what leads to the IB MYP Certificate.
A clear guide to the MYP design cycle: inquiring & analysing, developing ideas, creating the solution and evaluating — and how each maps to criteria A–D.
How life survives at hydrothermal vents without sunlight — chemosynthesis vs photosynthesis, cell theory and classification, explained for MYP Biology with a free interactive lab.
How scientists classify living things — the five kingdoms, genus and species names, and how to use a dichotomous key — explained for MYP Biology with a free interactive classification quest.
From organelles to whole organisms: how cells, tissues, organs and organ systems fit together, with a free interactive MYP Year 4 Biology unit on cells and life.
What makes a quantity measurable, why physics uses SI units, and the difference between scalars and vectors (distance vs displacement) — with a free interactive MYP Physics mission game.
The difference between a prediction and a hypothesis, how to identify independent, dependent and controlled variables, and field vs lab investigations — with a free interactive MYP inquiry game.
Fifteen "How might we" design opportunities for MYP Design accessibility projects, each with a way to prototype, measure and test it at home or online.
How energy moves through food chains and food webs, why removing one species affects many others, and how deforestation changes an ecosystem — with a free interactive Amazon rainforest assessment.
What producers, consumers and decomposers do, why decomposers matter for recycling nutrients, and how the three roles fit together — with a free interactive ecosystem game.
How our model of the atom changed — from indivisible spheres to the plum pudding, the nucleus and electron shells — and the evidence behind each step, with a free interactive atomic-models game.
How atoms bond — ionic, covalent, giant structures and metallic — and how bonding explains melting points and conductivity, with a free interactive chemical bonding game.
How to write a focused research question, identify independent, dependent and controlled variables, and plan a safe, repeatable method — with a free interactive "How to Be a Scientist" game.
A clear guide to significant figures — which digits count, the rules for leading, sandwiched and trailing zeros, and how to round calculation answers — with a free interactive game.
The seven regions of the electromagnetic spectrum in order, what they have in common, how wavelength and frequency link, and their uses and hazards — with a free interactive strand-based challenge.
How separation techniques are used to make everyday products, and how to discuss environmental, social and ethical impacts for Criterion D — with a free interactive toiletries science challenge.
How to structure a Criterion D answer using personal, local, global, critical and sustainable thinking, with crumple zones and electric vehicles as worked examples — plus a free interactive task.
How heat travels by conduction, why metals conduct better than insulators, and what changes the rate of heat transfer — with a free interactive 3D thermal conductivity simulator.
How stars form, live and die — main sequence, red giants, white dwarfs, supernovae, neutron stars and black holes — and why a star's mass decides its fate, with a free interactive 3D explorer.
Why a dropped ball and a ball thrown sideways land together. Projectile motion with the two-axis method, worked numbers and a free game.
A classic projectile motion problem solved step by step: a parcel released from a level-flying aircraft. Time, vertical speed and landing speed.
Projectile motion at an angle: resolve the velocity, find the time, then the height. Will it clear the wall? Includes a free editable simulator.
Why pilots point the nose into the wind. Relative velocity worked through with a 200 km/h aircraft in a 50 km/h crosswind, plus a free landing game.
Rain falls straight down, so why does it hit you from the front? Relative velocity explained with numbers: tan θ = walking speed ÷ rain speed.
Why a telescope must tilt toward the Earth’s motion (20.5 arcseconds) and how Bradley’s idea gives the speed of light. Worked example and umbrella analogy.
What a field is, where gravitational, electric and magnetic fields come from, and how field strength is defined: g = F/m, E = F/q, B = F/qv.
Derive orbital speed, Kepler’s third law and escape velocity from gravity as the centripetal force. ISS example, satellite energies, why astronauts float.
Looking for a Kahoot alternative built for the IB MYP? Compare Kahoot with Strandhoot: live join codes and podiums, plus worksheets, sources, interviews and evidence against every criterion strand.
Strandhoot is a live, game-style classroom activity for the IB MYP. Join with a code, work through checkpoints, sources and interviews, and see progress against every criterion strand.
A practical guide for MYP teachers: host a Strandhoot live class, watch every student’s progress, and grade each criterion strand from 1 to 8, with single and double period plans.
What an MYP coordinator should know about Strandhoot: strand coverage across criteria, session records, student accounts, and how the fictional AI interviews are used.