Pre- IB courses

Pre-IB at MH

In addition to the proper IB courses there is a one year preparatory year at MH. It serves as a bridge between the IB itself and the primary school. The main subjects taught during the preparatory year are: English, History, Math, Sociology, Natural sciences, Physical education and Life skills. All students select one extra language (Icelandic, Icelandic for foreigners or other). 

Supervisory teacher 2011-2012: Wincie Jóhannsdóttir

Below are course descriptions (might change):

English (ENG1B3, ENG2B3)

Aims:  To develop your all-roundEnglish reading (silently and aloud) and writingskills. To introduce you to a few of the reading and writing techniques used in the academic study of literature, as for any Language A1 in the IB. To familiarise you with some of the mythologies and religions that directly or indirectly are a source of many ideas and references that are found in European literature 

To develop your all-roundEnglish reading (silently and aloud) and writingskills. To introduce you to a few of the reading and writing techniques used in the academic study of literature, as for any Language A1 in the IB. To familiarise you with some of the mythologies and religions that directly or indirectly are a source of many ideas and references that are found in European literature 

ENG1B3 - books:

Winters' Bone by Daniel Woodrell, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Hand-outs, especially poetry (and possibly one more book late in the term)

History (HIS1B3, HIS2B3)

HIS1B3 is a course on Icelandic history, from the age of settlement, and World History, from early modern times, up to the revolutions of 1848 and the Industrial Revolution in the 19^th century. In many ways it is comparable to Sag 103.

 is a course on Icelandic history, from the age of settlement, and World History, from early modern times, up to the revolutions of 1848 and the Industrial Revolution in the 19 century. In many ways it is comparable to Sag 103.

• HIS2B3 is a course on Icelandic and world history, from the 19^th century to the present day. In many ways it is comparable to Sag 203.
• Due to time constraints many themes of that history will unfortunately not be addressed – the course is Eurocentric.
• The students should gain acquaintance of some major themes of Icelandic and World History, through both primary and secondary resources and interpretation/evaluation of these sources.

Mathematics (MAT1B3, MAT2B3)

Course description missing. Text book: Pre-IB Mathematics, preparation for IB mathematics SL & HL. OSC Publishing.

Natural sciences (NAT1B3 is physics and chemistry, NAT2B3 is biology and geology)

NAT2B3:  The GEO part is about the Earth and it´s system.  The primary issues are: The interior of the Earth; the processes that takes place there, how they appear on the surface of the Earth and control the evolution of the Earth. The Atmosphere; understanding the weather, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and other climatic change.  The Ocean, how ocean currents are formed and their affect to other systems of the Earth.The Water; how the hydrological cycle works and it´s affect to other system of the Earth. BIO part: Chosen chapters from the book Unity and Diversity of Life are covered. The objectives are to introduce the student to basics in biology, more specifically the cell, metabolism and heredity and genetics. With the completion of the course the student will be familiar with all aspects of the cell and how metabolism in eukaryotic cells is carried out. The student will also know the heredity of Mendelian genetics and solve simple genetics problems.

Social sciences (SOC1B36 is psychology autumn 2010, SOC2B36 is economics spring 2011)

In SOC1B3 students learn how they can use tools and information found on the world wide web as an alternative to the traditional notebook and textbook. Students learn how to use a website as a notebook and as a way of presenting material and they discover the powers of mass collaboration by doing assignments using online tools that allow many to work on the same file at the same time. We will take a look into the philosophical foundations of psychology and we will study one psychological disorder. Students develop a psychological experiment in groups to get an answer to a question of their interest and present the report of their experiment on the class website as well as a presentation which they give to the class. Students choose a fictional book which relates to a topic in psychology and make a presentation for the class. A fiction related to psychology is also chosen by the teacher which everybody reads.

Physical education (PHE1B12, PHE2B12)

PHE aims to prepare the pupils to be better able to pursue physical training for enjoyment and health. Movement is prioity. Taught once a week.

Life skills (LIL1B12, LIL2B12)

LIL2B12 is for Pre-IB students only.  It aims to prepare students for the IB diploma programme, to introduce students to the demands of CAS and to get students acquainted with the process of goal settings and self-evaluation. Taught once a week.

is for Pre-IB students only.  It aims to prepare students for the IB diploma programme, to introduce students to the demands of CAS and to get students acquainted with the process of goal settings and self-evaluation. Taught once a week.

And the various languages.

Candidates that are going to opt for Icelandic as their A1 (mother tongue) need to study two courses at the college level before they enter the IB, i.e. ÍSL103 and ÍSL203. As for the other languages, candidates should also start these in the pre-IB year.