A Creative Hub for Educators

A Creative English Journey 

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme English A: Language and Literature develops students’ skills in analysing how language creates meaning across literary (novels and poems) and non-literary (magazine covers and cartoons) texts. The course strengthens critical thinking, understanding and communication of how texts shape perspectives. 

As a new teacher in the International Baccalaureate, I challenged myself to explore different ways to teach IB1 English so that different students grasp content learnt in class. Through adaptive teaching, my students gravitated to music and art, and coupled that with presentations, so they could also express themselves and their analysis through words. Students gradually justify their points over time but find it challenging to find the words, especially at the beginning of the course. I have found that if students can relate, they are able to communicate better, both verbally and non-verbally. 

The IB curriculum is inquiry-based so I have given my students the foundation and I have filled in gaps, while they expand on what we have learnt in class. Students have to explore global issues, study diverse genres, compare texts and produce analytical, creative and reflective work through writing and an oral for the final assessments, but in my class they have also created physical and digital art and used lyrics from their favourite songs to connect the dots. 

At the beginning of my first year, students had to dissect their favourite lyrics to see how they could possibly connect to the 7 concepts and Areas of Exploration of IB English A: Language and Literature. To introduce the first literary text “Persepolis” (which is a graphic novel) students created their own short graphic novel based on a time they felt misunderstood because identity is one of the themes as the protagonist grapples with inner conflict between her personal desires and national expectations. 

To end off the year, the class further explored authorial choices by creating response art pieces to Banksy’s street art. They had to justify their work using the same process they would to analyse graffiti and the class was able to ask thought-provoking questions to deepen everyone’s understanding. I saw growth in all the students in terms of their critical thinking. It was a long but fruitful year. Looking forward to unpacking the different activities more in depth.