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International Baccalaureate Courses

College & Career Planning

COLLEGE PREPARATORY (CP) courses are designed to prepare students for the rigors of college courses. Students in college preparatory classes are open-minded and seek to develop the skills necessary to analyze and synthesize information. Students will be provided with scaffolded opportunities to solidify their time management, note-taking, and study skills. Courses are designed to build a solid foundation in a particular content area. Opportunities for enrichment will be available.

ADVANCED (A) courses are recommended for students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement through a combination of ability and motivation. The Advanced level assumes that students are independent learners who can work with limited teacher support. Students are advanced and enthusiastic readers who can make inferences, draw connections, and comprehend texts with sophisticated themes and vocabulary at a fairly fast pace. These courses contain considerable enrichment and acceleration. Instruction will assume that students are able to grasp concepts on initial presentation. There will be little practice or repetition within the classroom. Students are expected to be able to organize their time, to plan long-term assignments, and to seek help when necessary, all on their own initiative. Advanced course enrollment requires teacher recommendation.

INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

It is essential for any pre-university education to equip students with the depth of discipline-specific knowledge and skills that they will need for their chosen academic and career paths. However, this must be balanced with the breadth needed to develop well-rounded students who can draw connections between different disciplines. As such, the philosophy of the IB Diploma Programme is that students should engage with a range of subjects while being able to explore specific areas of personal interest in greater depth.

• IB STANDARD LEVEL (SL) courses are rigorous core content based classes that focus on the “what” beyond concepts and theories.

• IB HIGHER LEVEL (HL) courses tend to delve deeper into the concepts that SL subjects cover focusing not only on the “what” but also the “how” and “why”. The core content is the same as the SL course in the same discipline, however, additional topics are covered.

This course focuses on the introduction to reading different genres of text, thinking analytically, and writing with clarity. Students will read both fiction and non-fiction texts to practice identifying key ideas, recognizing and appreciating the author’s craft, exploring connections with other texts, clarifying vocabulary, and discerning the author’s point of view or purpose. Texts include Lois Lowry’s The Giver, Elizabeth Winthrop’s Counting on Grace, Jason Reynolds Ghost, and an Origins of Fairy Tales unit culminating in a theatrical performance, and literature circles where students choose a book from a class list. Students will hone their skills by crafting text-dependent written analyses.

In addition, students may write informational, narrative and argumentative pieces, practicing the steps of the writing process. Students will dive into poetry, exploring poets such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Naomi Shihab Nye, Shel Silverstein, and Emily Dickinson. Students will review the conventions of grammar and usage. Particular emphasis is placed on transitions, parts of speech, verb tense, and avoiding fragments and run-on sentences.

This course builds upon literary elements and the skills presented in the 6th grade curriculum. Students will explore various genres in units such as S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet culminating in a final theatrical performance, Storytelling (using such platforms as NPR’s The Moth Radio Hour), Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover, and literature circles where students choose a book from a class list. Students will examine works by poets such as Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, Langston Hughes, and Maya Angelou. They will refine their analytical reading and writing skills through practice. Further exploration of the writing process will be a major focus, including organization and thesis development. Students will advance their writing skills through creative pieces, personal reflections, analytical responses, and research. Students will review the conventions of grammar and usage. Particular emphasis is placed on phrases, passive and active sentences, and subject/verb agreement. Vocabulary study will augment these other goals.

How did humanity communicate before the written word? How did ancient societies explain the unexplainable? In Origins of Literature, eighth graders will trace the rise of literature from cave painting to modern text. Students will discover the connections between creation stories and epic heroes from around the world, including Greek and Nourse mythology, Sumerian and Old English hero texts and more. Students will begin to understand how even today’s stories are based on those told thousands of years ago. Discussion topics include fate and free will, the influences of ancient literature on modern culture, and the role of the individual within society. Students will learn to use the written word to create the voice necessary to engage in academic and civic conversations. The writing process is emphasized to prepare students for the transition to upper school.

• Levels: College Prep, Advanced

• Credit: 1

This course helps students develop their critical reading and analytic writing skills, build their vocabulary, enhance their understanding of grammar, and broaden their research skills. Students analyze literature genres including short story, novel, poetry, graphic novel, nonfiction, and drama. They also study public speaking and project-based learning. A focus is placed on marginalized writers.

Students are expected to regularly contribute to discussions and participate in class activities. The course also refines students’ writing skills, including research-based and creative writing assignments, throughout the year.

Readings: Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

• Levels: College Prep, Advanced

• Credit: 1

This course surveys American literature from the European arrival in the 17th century into the 21^st century. As students move through four reading units, a sense of the American voice develops. Readings incorporate drama, journal entries, poetry, essays, novels, excerpts and short stories.

Skill work will focus on developing analysis through increasing precision in writing and use of literary terminology. Review of finessing arguments through the deliberate use of punctuation and phrasing will mean frequent writing practice will be part of this course.

Authors: Emily Dickinson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Miller, Henry David Thoreau, Edith Wharton, Leslie Marmon Silko and Tim O’Brien.

• Levels: Advanced, IB Standard Level, IB Higher Level

• Length: two years (SL/HL), one-year (advanced)

• Credit: 1 per year

In Language & Literature, students look at the world of literature, but they also study a wide range of non-literary texts from a variety of media. By examining how English is used across different written forms, students investigate language and how it affects our everyday life, identity, and culture. Learning how to identify and appreciate authors’ and artists’ choices is a key part of the two year course. Oral and written examinations are used to assess students’ language skills, their ability to critically analyze and comment upon familiar and unfamiliar texts, and their expression of personal and independent responses to literature and other art forms.

Level Distinctions:

Advanced (A) – one-year

Literature: Required to study four literature texts

Internal Assessments Only: Textual Analysis, Essays and Individual Oral

Standard Level (SL)

Literature: Required to study four literature texts

External Assessments:

• • • Paper 1: Textual Analysis

    • Paper 2: Comparative Essay

Internal Assessment: Individual Oral

Higher Level (HL)

Literature: Required to study six literature texts

External Assessments:

• • • Paper 1 – Textual Analysis

    • Paper 2 – Comparative Essay

    • HL Essay

Internal Assessment: Individual Oral

• Length: semester

• Credit: .5

In this semester course, students will explore the voices of authors, artists and other notable figures as they share their lives and opinions through writing nonfiction, memoir and biography. Texts may include The Power of Habit, Facing the Lion, In the Sea There Are Crocodiles, Black is the Body, Mary’s Monster, and A Restless Spirit: The Story of Robert Frost. Students will express their own voices and stories through a variety of creative and anecdotal projects.

• Length: semester

• Credit: .5

The 19th and 20th centuries saw rapid industrialization, widespread imperialism, and significant global political shifts as European powers expanded their colonial empires across Africa and Asia, leading to major changes in society and international relations. In this second semester course, students will look for patterns in history and thematic concerns, especially around wars and governmental shifts. Short stories, poems and a few novels along with some basic history outlines of various countries will offer a fast-paced survey of the world in reading and the arts.