IB Analysis Formative: Visual Text and Rationale

Project: The Module 2 formative for Exploring IB-Thought through Text. After watching Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation and rereading Chapter 3 of The Great Gatsby, students create a Canva visual using at least two non-literary devices to represent a theme tied to an IB concept of their choice. They then apply TAPAC to their own visual, explain how each device conveys their message, and write a thesis statement.

My role: I designed the assessment, aligned it to three course objectives, and built the non-literary device word bank, the rationale organizer, and a thesis statement template.

Outcome: The rationale organizer breaks the analysis into separate steps, so the instructor can see exactly where a student’s reasoning breaks down and give targeted feedback before the summative. The argument each student builds here becomes the center of their Module 3 concept map.

Summative Assessment

Same Message, Different Messenger: Concept Map and Rationale

Project: The culminating assessment for Exploring IB-Thought through Text, covering all five course objectives. Students complete a concept map a classmate started for them, expanding it to four texts (two literary and two non-literary) that make the same concept-informed argument. They then complete TAPAC for two of those texts, write a synthesis thesis statement, and record a 3 to 5 minute walkthrough of their map.

My role: I designed the four-part assessment, the concept map requirements, the thesis statement template, and the recording guidance, including Google Meet tutorials.

Outcome: The classmate-started map gives every student a scaffolded starting point, and the recorded walkthrough gives students a second way to show their reasoning beyond the written map.

Supplemental Assessment

Module 1 Application: Text-Type Linking Task

Project: A Module 1 application where students compare the party scene in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 film of The Great Gatsby with the same scene in Fitzgerald’s Chapter 3. For each version, they identify the text type, two devices or choices unique to that form, supporting evidence, and the IB concept that fits best. They then argue whether the film and the novel make the same argument about the party.

My role: I designed the task and its side-by-side comparison organizer, and linked it to the course’s Text and Device Toolkit and IB Concept Lens Analysis Cheat Sheet.

Outcome: Students practice text-type, device, and concept-lens analysis early in the course, the same skills the Module 2 formative and Module 3 summative build on.