Paper 1 was just released… now what?!

If you remember the Paper 1 case study from the old Business Management syllabus, it was always highly anticipated. The case study generated a lot of speculation and took a lot of class time to pick through and analyze with students. While everyone has their own opinions, I think the new format is much better as it requires less class time to review and will equal the playing field for students around the world. So what do we as teachers do now that it’s released? Here are the 5 things I have planned for my class:

1. Review the structure of Paper 1. If you don’t have it already, check out my Intro to Paper 1 PowerPoint by clicking here.

2. Give out the case study to my students. You can find it in MyIB. To access it, log into MyIB and go to the Program Resource Center. Scroll down to Diploma Program and click View all DP resources. Scroll down to Individual and Societies and click Business Management 2024. On the far right, you will see a column called Assessment. Then click session specific material. Ask students to read the case study and the extra words given.

3. Do a 5-4-3-2-1 activity outside of class to familiarize themselves with the case study. Each number represents a task they need to do. For example, define FIVE of the words from the excerpt. Write down FOUR facts about solar power and trends in the industry. Find THREE facts about bamboo cutlery and its commercial uses. Research TWO different impacts of COVID-19 on the music festival industry. Watch ONE video about how interest rates work and write a summary about it. This will prepare students for our in class sessions, but also get a variety of ideas and opinions from classmates as well.

4. Discuss the case study in class and the facts and information found in the previous step.

5. Do a practice paper on this case study. Check back to this site on March 4th to find a full practice paper to do with your students.

The IB says to spend about five hours on the case study, and I think the activities above will take about that amount of time. It is also important to stress to students that they already have the skills to be successful in this paper from practice with Paper 2 and Paper 3, so they shouldn’t worry about this one and its format.

Do you have anything else you plan on doing with your students to prepare them for Paper 1? Let me know if the comments below.