Originally Posted by: BrokenJerano i didnt see those thanks. this really helps alot.[/quote]
Welcome. I think the biggest problem with many books I've seen on pentatonic exercises is they don't focus on the scale degrees: the circled numbers in my diagrams. And those are the essential component! They are why the scale is shaped as it is, why the scale sounds as it does, and how a guitarist eventually can understand how to use pentatonic box shapes to understand more music theory (how to target chord tones inside scales, etc.)
[QUOTE=BrokenJera]
and just to be clear, if i was trying to improv a lead in A minor pentatonic, and wanted to raises the pitch higher than the first position notes, i would move to the second 'shape' then the third, but i would still be in A minor?

Yes! Good observation. As long as you are true to the shapes that interconnect you are in the same key. The idea is that the pentatonic minor scale has a specific formula:
1 - min3 - 4 - 5 - min7

If you consistently apply that formula to the guitar fretboard, then those interconnecting shapes are what you get. So you memorize those shapes, then (and don't forget this part!) you start to memorize the location of the circled numbers (the scale degrees) in each shape.

In the long run, this is true of any scale (or chord). Each has it's own unique formula, that translates to a unique shape on the fretboard. Which results in being able to see the scale degrees as numbers forming an interconnected pattern (or "framework" or "grid").