1. International Baccalaureate Diploma Program What It Is and Why Do It

2. The IB Curriculum Language 2A, B, ab initio Language A1 Experimental Sciences Individuals and Societies Mathematics Arts and Electives Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, CAS Hours

3. The IB Curriculum The IB program is taught in 7 different areas. There are two levels for each area: – Higher Level, Standard Level To get the IB Diploma you must fill all 7 areas, 3 higher level classes, at least 3 standard level classes, and one ToK class. You also have to complete an Extended Essay and CAS Hours over the 2 year program. Most of the classes are 2 year classes. The higher level always are 2 years and the standard vary.

4. Group 1: Language A1 Group 1 covers three languages: – English, French, Spanish This class is for the language that you are most fluent in out of these three. This area is a higher level class.

5. Group 2: Language A2, B, and ab initio This group is the foreign language section of IB. There are many languages to choose from including: German, French, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese. This group can be either standard level or higher level.

6. Group 3: Individuals and Societies This group is the social studies area of IB. You can take classes such as History of the Americas, 20 th Century History, Psychology, and a few more. This is either a standard level class or a higher level class.

7. Group 4: Experimental Sciences This group deals with sciences that are experimental. The classes that fit under this group are Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. This group is usually a higher level, but can be a standard as well.

8. Group 5: Mathematics There are three classes under this group of IB. They are: – Mathematics Higher, Mathematics Standard, and Mathematic Studies. This group can be higher level or standard level.

9. Group 6: Arts and Electives This group can be anything from Visual Arts to one of the many other electives that they offer such as Theatre and Music. These classes are Higher level.

10. Theory of Knowledge (ToK) ToK is a class that studies various topics that are covered by 6 areas of knowledge: – Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, History, Arts, and Ethics. This class is a full year program spread across the end semester of the 1 st year of IB and the beginning semester of the 2 nd year. This class is not higher or standard level but is required for the diploma program.

11. Extended Essay This is one of the hardest sections of IB (to me anyway). This is an essay on any topic you pick under any field listed. The fields range from physics to history to computer sciences. The problem is…

12. Extended Essay …it is 4000 words long. That’s anywhere from 10-20 pages without sources and appendixes (which are not included in the word count). The ToK teacher is in charge of the Extended Essay and will help you finish it. You don’t need to worry though. It’s not due tomorrow or anything. You have until the middle of your second year. That does not mean that you should procrastinate! Spread it out so you don’t have to stress so much to get it done all at once. The score for this is out of 7, just like the other tests.

13. CAS Hours These are hours of either Creativity, Action, or Service. There are 150 hours total in all 3 areas that must be completed in March of the 2 nd year of the Diploma Program. Each area requires 50 hours that must be pre-approved by the CAS Hour supervisor (who will be your IB Advisory teacher). The hours that fill these cannot go towards things that you get paid for or earn school credit.

14. CAS Hours Creativity: This can be filled by any project that allows you to express creativity. Examples of this are Art Club, Computer Design projects, dance, music lessons, writing, and more.

15. CAS Hours Action: This is anything that promotes activity. This can be any sport such as running, football, par core, snowboarding or other things that get you active.

16. CAS Hours Service: This can be filled by any worthwhile act of service that fills an hour or more. A lot of it can come from volunteer work at schools, hospitals, welfare or donation centers, or others. Other things can come from neighborhood projects that involve several hours such as Eagle Scout Projects.

17. The Tests The hardest part to any class: tests. Unfortunately, IB requires them as well. The good thing about these are that your final score does not entirely depend on your test score like AP tests. The test scores are out of 7. If you are taking the diploma program, you must get an average of 4 or a total score of 28 in all 7 areas talked about before.

18. Why Do It? Colleges all over the world recognize the IB program. Some colleges only accept certain scores but many accept the diploma program as completing your Generals with 30 credit hours which are required for any college you go to. This can amount to up to 2 years worth of classes in a few colleges. One other reason…It’s really fun to be with a lot of these kids and you do things that other students could never do in a normal class!

19. The End Written By: Andrew Mugleston Pictures Taken By: Andrew Mugleston Pictures Of: 2006-2008 IB students (a.k.a the guinea pigs), 2007-2009 IB students, and both group’s teachers First IB group in Clearfield High School: Class of 2008