October 7, 2014

PARENTS & STUDENTS,

I wanted to communicate how our 6
th
grade Humanities class is conducted within the IB program. I have gotten
the impression that many in our school community, including staff within, dont fully understand and subsequently
undervalue the IB concept. Whether your child goes on to Troy High, Athens, or the IA, this education can be really
valuable. While teaching our TSD curriculum, IB principles of multiculturalism and global open-mindedness are
developed. Especially when it comes to 6
th
grade Humanities and global geography, these skills are essential!
IB Background (Nutshell Version)
The International Baccalaureate (IB) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968 as a non-profit educational
foundation. A group of talented, forward-thinking teachers at the International School of Geneva, with assistance from
several other international schools, created the IB Diploma Program. What started life as a single program for
internationally mobile students preparing for university, has today grown into 3,914 schools in 147 countries to develop
and offer four challenging programs to over 1,229,000 students aged 3 to 19 years.
In the IB math program, all of our skills and concepts fall into 4 criteria:
A. Knowing and understanding
Knowledge and understanding are fundamental to studying geography and form the base from which to explore
concepts and develop skills. This objective assesses the extent to which students can select and apply geography to
solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations in a variety of contexts.
This objective requires students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts and skills of
geography and use them daily!

B. Investigating
Investigating is all about students investigating problems and working to solve them. This can take on the form of
finding information through research, or investigating a solution to a problem. Students will be assessed on their
ability to investigate a problem properly.

C. Critical Thinking
In this criterion, students will be assessed on their critical thinking skills. They may be posed with a question, or
challenge, and have to work their way through it. They will use their knowledge base to apply what they know to a
tough situation using critical thinking skills.

D. Communicating
For criterion D, students will communicate and explain what they know. In this criterion I will assess them on their
ability to communicate the knowledge they have learned and explain complicated tasks for me. This criterion
focuses on looking at a students ability to tell someone what they know and share their knowledge.



Mr. MacIntosh
zmacintosh@troy.k12.mi.us
(248) 823-4689
Macintoshclassroom.weebly.com
@BakerHumanities

IB Edition
IB ASSESSMENTS & SCORING
An IB assessment can range from one question, to a project, to a whole chapter test. Assessments can be a skill I
watch them perform, a presentation of their work/project, or a written activity. Every mapping lab photo match, for
example, will receive a Criterion D score. Scoring is on an 8 category scale, not an 8 point scale. Below is an IB
category chart with my percent equivalents. If a child scores a 4 out of 8, it is not 50%!







Thank you for taking the time to read through and gain some insight into the IB program and process. You can learn
more by going to www.ibo.org .


Feel free to contact me with questions, comments or concerns.

Mr. MacIntosh
zmacintosh@troy.k12.mi.us
248-823-4689
@BakerHumanities