IB Year 1 courses

[r a i n b o w stardust]

I know there are quite a few Turner Fenton students here, so please do offer your opinions. Anyone. I'm considering changing my courses around abit. I want the easiest subject combination that I can have. The only subjects I'm doubting I'll do great in are Biology and History. I could switch one of them to SL and take HL French instead (HL French gives you a spare). Not that I'm great in french either. But from your experience, which two are easier? I like them all almost equally.

HL:

English

Biology

History

SL:

V. Arts

French

Math

+ a regular chemistry course in summer school

....Earlier I was considering Geography SL rather than History HL, b/c the grade boundaries are low and I hear it's easy. But then I'd have to take French. =/

Decisions are so hard to make sometimes.

[KLSmash]

I haven't had any exams yet (SL Physics in 4 days, and SL Chemistry in 11), but from my review--SL Chemistry has been extremely easy. The teacher at our school goes really in-depth and teaches a whole load of HL stuff required by Ontario, and once you start prepping for exams--you don't need to know half the stuff. For HL History, there is a lot of work involved. One of my friends took it and he's up late everynight doing homework only from HL History. What were your marks in Grade 10? If you were getting an 85-90+ in Math, then you should be fine in SL Math without any worries. And out of curiosity, why do you want to the easiest possible courses? Why not just drop IB then?

[r a i n b o w stardust]

I haven't had any exams yet (SL Physics in 4 days, and SL Chemistry in 11), but from my review--SL Chemistry has been extremely easy. The teacher at our school goes really in-depth and teaches a whole load of HL stuff required by Ontario, and once you start prepping for exams--you don't need to know half the stuff. For HL History, there is a lot of work involved. One of my friends took it and he's up late everynight doing homework only from HL History. What were your marks in Grade 10? If you were getting an 85-90+ in Math, then you should be fine in SL Math without any worries. And out of curiosity, why do you want to the easiest possible courses? Why not just drop IB then?

Chem, easy? I've never heard that before. History seems interesting- much more than Geo. or ITGS. I don't know if it'll be worth the work load though. How're you finding ITGS?

My marks were in the low 80s...but they're much better this semester

I am confident that I can do the IB, it's just that I want to secure the highest number of points I can.

[KLSmash]

I have ITGS next year, but there are two teachers at our school that teach it. One goes really in-depth, and makes you do a fair amount of work, but they end up learning a lot. The other teacher NEVER teaches, and everything they learn is from peer presentations. But I'm not worried about ITGS because the past exams have looked extremely easy.

Well, throughout the year Chemistry is pretty brutal if you want to keep on track with everything that is being taught. I tried, but then realized it wasn't the best idea when I also had HL Math and HL English that semester.

As for HL History marks, the teacher for it really works you hard and the majority of the class do extremely well when May comes.

For HL Biology, I know from a few teachers that very few people tend to do really well. There are very little 7s, and most people tend to get average marks in it.

[IBSQUARED]

ITGS is not a lot of work for a decent mark, and you can get a seven on the exam by only knowing the social and ethical issues (there are 11).

However, this is only what we've been told by our teachers (its the first year Turner Fenton is teaching ITGS), and the syllabus is very broad in comparison to other subjects.

[Mahuta ♥]

ITGS for me is mostly common sense, just putting all the problems and benefits of a technology given is enough to get a 7.

However you may have to know about certain technologies, common ones. It is quite interesting if its taught the right away. This is the 3rd year we have ITGS in our school.

[bohemian03]

hmm your course load doesn't look too bad but History HL is a lot of work. A lot of reading is involved. Also my friends in English A1 HL are dying... because they have to write commentaries and essays almost every week and their teacher is really strict. ITGS would be a wonderful easy course. Maybe switch French to B HL and drop down English or drop History all together and take Psychology SL or something. Psychology HL will work too actually.

[KLSmash]

hmm your course load doesn't look too bad but History HL is a lot of work. A lot of reading is involved. Also my friends in English A1 HL are dying... because they have to write commentaries and essays almost every week and their teacher is really strict. ITGS would be a wonderful easy course. Maybe switch French to B HL and drop down English or drop History all together and take Psychology SL or something. Psychology HL will work too actually.

Our school doesn't have Psychology nor can we not take HL English A1.

[r a i n b o w stardust]

I'm still uncertain on if I'm going to keep these courses. I talked to my french teacher today and she said HL French is going to be demanding --but so is history right? A friend who has already spoken to one of the HL French teachers said that she told her that a level 4 is considered doing really well. If that's true then I'm definately not taking HL. And I very likely won't need it in the future.

I'm willing to put in the extra effort for Biology, it's one of my favorite subjects.

In case I do take french though, I'd drop history and go for geography SL. It seems more interesting to me than ITGS, but I'll have to look into what's studied in the courses

That spare period I'd get next year is so inviting. But which course is more worth it?

[herong2x]

Well im almost done with my first year of IB now, and i am

HL - English A1, History, Theater Arts

SL - Math, Chemistry and Mandarin

So far my HL subjects are good. though i need to improve more, if i just read read and

read and analyze of course in history, there will be no problem. in english, we will

have to learn to analyze the text thematically and textually in order to write commentaries. therefore, if you are confident in writing essays, i guess hisotry and english HL is not bad. im not sure about bio though did take it

i think that you taking SL in visual arts was a good choice cuz they do photography,

painting, and lots of things there. actually, arts requires tremedous amount of work

so its really sad tiring too

and if French is an ab initio, i dont think its going to be much a problem since we start from the basics in ab initio

i also think that you taking math SL is a great choice cuz i am stil struggling here

i just got our mid term grades P1 - 6 P2 - 5. i wasnt that bad in math before coming in ib but i just guess ib is really hard

good luck!

[moneyfaery]

I am confident that I can do the IB, it's just that I want to secure the highest number of points I can.

Hello fellow Mississauga-er.

Don't take art. It's probably one of the most time consuming and difficult courses to score top marks in.

Personally, I'd suggest

HL: Eng A1, Bio, Chem/History

SL: French B, Math, Chem/History

French isn't so bad. HL is tough but SL is manageable, and with a little bit of effort, you're looking at 6s to 7s. Chem SL is ridiculously easy, HL isn't so bad either. History, on the other hand... I hope you like writing and memorizing. That course seems monstrously difficult. If anyone taking history would like to contest, I'd invite you to compare the numbers of hours spent studying history vs. chem.

ITGS is also an option but I'm not familiar with the course so I'd rather not comment. Does your school offer Econ SL? Another (easy) option to consider if it does.

[r a i n b o w stardust]

So far my HL subjects are good. though i need to improve more, if i just read read andread and analyze of course in history, there will be no problem. in english, we willhave to learn to analyze the text thematically and textually in order to write commentaries. therefore, if you are confident in writing essays, i guess hisotry and english HL is not bad. im not sure about bio though did take it i think that you taking SL in visual arts was a good choice cuz they do photography, painting, and lots of things there. actually, arts requires tremedous amount of workso its really sad tiring too and if French is an ab initio, i dont think its going to be much a problem since we start from the basics in ab initioi also think that you taking math SL is a great choice cuz i am stil struggling here i just got our mid term grades P1 - 6 P2 - 5. i wasnt that bad in math before coming in ib but i just guess ib is really hardgood luck!

Essays are alright. I might need to practice a bit, but it won't be a problem for me.I'm not too worried about Math, Art, and Bio. but thanks for the tips. I've heard Art is alot of work and hard to get 7s in, but I love it and it's probably going to be my favorite course next year.It's just the History and French that I'm worried about. And no, French is not ab initio. I think it's A2? I'll speak with the HL French teacher myself soon and make the decision. It would be such a relief to not take History at all. All that extra work taken off my shoulders ^-^Thanks!

I am confident that I can do the IB, it's just that I want to secure the highest number of points I can.

Hello fellow Mississauga-er. Don't take art. It's probably one of the most time consuming and difficult courses to score top marks in. Personally, I'd suggest HL: Eng A1, Bio, Chem/History SL: French B, Math, Chem/History French isn't so bad. HL is tough but SL is manageable, and with a little bit of effort, you're looking at 6s to 7s. Chem SL is ridiculously easy, HL isn't so bad either. History, on the other hand... I hope you like writing and memorizing. That course seems monstrously difficult. If anyone taking history would like to contest, I'd invite you to compare the numbers of hours spent studying history vs. chem. ITGS is also an option but I'm not familiar with the course so I'd rather not comment. Does your school offer Econ SL? Another (easy) option to consider if it does.

Don't take art?! Agh, my only other option would be taking Physics SL then. How is that course? Or ITGS but it seems so awfully boring.Why would I take chem in IB if I'm already doing summer school for it (it's a reg. academic course). I hate chem too, but thought it might come in handy.Oh no, not what I wanted to hear. Thanks for letting me know anyways. Here at my school, chem is really difficult. Do you think I should take French at HL? Why History if it's so much work?Not sure if it does. I'll check it up.

[CommeDesEnfants]

I have a very similar course load as you, except with Chem SL instead of Visual Arts SL (ironic that at my school, 1 out of 25 candidates opted to take an actual G6 instead of taking an extra science... haha.) Understand that at my school, IB is fit into a semestered system, so some courses we have 3 times a week, some courses every day, and they change with each semester. This, of course, affects my work-load, so I'll try to give a judgment based on what I've been through.

English - My teacher's a newbie at English HL, but he doesn't really give a whole lot of homework. We sometimes do essays and watch movies and discuss things in an IOC-style environment, but most of the time, unless there's an IA involved (cough IOP...) the courseload isn't too horrible. I agree though; doing well in this course is difficult!

History - Lots of work involved; writing those darn essays well is pretty difficult too. I just studied whatever the essay's going to be on like a couple days before and tend to do minimal work otherwise, haha.

French B - Don't just look at SL and go, "Oh, it's easy! I've been doing French since Grade 4 [i see you live in Canada...]!" With some effort, it's easy to boost yourself up to a 5, but going to a 6 or a 7 from there will require committment. The worst part of this course is definitely the IA orals; have lotttts of fun with those.

Biology HL - Ohhh, biology. Our course is basically computerized and our tests are half multiple choice and half written, but don't just see it as the insuperior science. The physics people all think that if they "drop" to bio they'll all get 7s, but that's definitely not the case. Getting a good mark in bio involves a LOT of committment; not just the day before, but memorizing and understanding concepts well and for a span of 2 years... it's pretty tough. SL is definitely a lot easier, if you can take it.

Math - Not too bad; if you've done Math 11 as according to the Canadian/provincial system, you'll be fine.

[r a i n b o w stardust]

I've thought this through some more...and I decided to not take art at all. It's alot of work and perhaps Geography will be easier (or Econ. if anyone gives me reason not to take it). Forget ITGS and any science as my 6th subject.

Now I have to decide whether to take French or Hist as HL. French I'll need to be almost fluent in and it'll be harder to get 5+ in it (or so my friend says) but History is sooo much work and I'm not very good at it.

I could do 4 HLs, Hist and French and later drop whichever I find harder. I probably should do this, but would the school let me drop to SL later? Or I could completely avoid History and take Economics SL in its place.

The main thing is that I want to highest number of points I can get.

EDIT: I went to my counsellor today to change my subjects and opted not to take History. I know I will regret this later while doing Art SL, but I have the feeling that it would have been more stressful for me. Thanks for all the help everyone ^-^

Edited May 20, 2009 by r a i n b o w stardust

[herong2x]

So far my HL subjects are good. though i need to improve more, if i just read read andread and analyze of course in history, there will be no problem. in english, we willhave to learn to analyze the text thematically and textually in order to write commentaries. therefore, if you are confident in writing essays, i guess hisotry and english HL is not bad. im not sure about bio though did take it i think that you taking SL in visual arts was a good choice cuz they do photography, painting, and lots of things there. actually, arts requires tremedous amount of workso its really sad tiring too and if French is an ab initio, i dont think its going to be much a problem since we start from the basics in ab initioi also think that you taking math SL is a great choice cuz i am stil struggling here i just got our mid term grades P1 - 6 P2 - 5. i wasnt that bad in math before coming in ib but i just guess ib is really hardgood luck!

Essays are alright. I might need to practice a bit, but it won't be a problem for me.I'm not too worried about Math, Art, and Bio. but thanks for the tips. I've heard Art is alot of work and hard to get 7s in, but I love it and it's probably going to be my favorite course next year.It's just the History and French that I'm worried about. And no, French is not ab initio. I think it's A2? I'll speak with the HL French teacher myself soon and make the decision. It would be such a relief to not take History at all. All that extra work taken off my shoulders ^-^Thanks!

I am confident that I can do the IB, it's just that I want to secure the highest number of points I can.

Hello fellow Mississauga-er. Don't take art. It's probably one of the most time consuming and difficult courses to score top marks in. Personally, I'd suggest HL: Eng A1, Bio, Chem/History SL: French B, Math, Chem/History French isn't so bad. HL is tough but SL is manageable, and with a little bit of effort, you're looking at 6s to 7s. Chem SL is ridiculously easy, HL isn't so bad either. History, on the other hand... I hope you like writing and memorizing. That course seems monstrously difficult. If anyone taking history would like to contest, I'd invite you to compare the numbers of hours spent studying history vs. chem. ITGS is also an option but I'm not familiar with the course so I'd rather not comment. Does your school offer Econ SL? Another (easy) option to consider if it does.

Don't take art?! Agh, my only other option would be taking Physics SL then. How is that course? Or ITGS but it seems so awfully boring.Why would I take chem in IB if I'm already doing summer school for it (it's a reg. academic course). I hate chem too, but thought it might come in handy.Oh no, not what I wanted to hear. Thanks for letting me know anyways. Here at my school, chem is really difficult. Do you think I should take French at HL? Why History if it's so much work?Not sure if it does. I'll check it up.

art is one of my favorite subjects (theater) so i am never going to discourage you taking it. though it maybe hard in terms of workload, its interesting and we have fun along the way and its awsome. though i am taking theater, i know that the people in visual art are also enjoying themselves(some are referring art as a stress reliever) where they can express themselves so i guess theater or visual both are one of the greatest subjects

i dont know what the average grade for visual arts is but i know for theater its a 4 and though i am worried, we just have to try hard

well if you are not confident in history, it may be your choice but id have to say it is interesting though you have to read, read, and read research, research and research together with analyzing its hard and stressful

though i am not a physics student myself, they say its hard. but if you are good in analyzing and visualizing, i guess why not?

if chem is difficult in your school, it is for me too. my friend always scores 7 but he is just a genius that i have accepted that fact long time ago. its hard memorzing and analyzing. but i guess that applies to all IB subejcts

history requires certain amount of work plus research. if you are okay with essays and reading, why not take it? i dont know much about french so i cant help you with that im sorry

good luck!

[r a i n b o w stardust]

art is one of my favorite subjects (theater) so i am never going to discourage you taking it. though it maybe hard in terms of workload, its interesting and we have fun along the way and its awsome. though i am taking theater, i know that the people in visual art are also enjoying themselves(some are referring art as a stress reliever) where they can express themselves so i guess theater or visual both are one of the greatest subjects

i dont know what the average grade for visual arts is but i know for theater its a 4 and though i am worried, we just have to try hard

well if you are not confident in history, it may be your choice but id have to say it is interesting though you have to read, read, and read research, research and research together with analyzing its hard and stressful

though i am not a physics student myself, they say its hard. but if you are good in analyzing and visualizing, i guess why not?

if chem is difficult in your school, it is for me too. my friend always scores 7 but he is just a genius that i have accepted that fact long time ago. its hard memorzing and analyzing. but i guess that applies to all IB subejcts

history requires certain amount of work plus research. if you are okay with essays and reading, why not take it? i dont know much about french so i cant help you with that im sorry

good luck!

I've heard art being referred to as a stress reliever as well but we'll see how it goes next year. I'll only switch over to another course if it really drags my grade down. 4 is shockingly low for an average isn't it?

I don't think I'll pursue anything history related in university and in that case, there's no way I'll take it. Especially because of all that work involved. I'll enjoy Geography more. I'm certain I will.

My course selection is almost sorted out now. All I have to do is wait for a response from my guidance counsellor about the course changes. Too bad we were only given more or less than a week right after first semester to choose our courses.