Getting ready for DP1

You've made it through grades 9 and 10 pre-IB and have made the decision to continue to the IB Diploma Programme. Grade 11 is the first year of the actual DP and therefore we refer to it as DP1. In DP1, all of your classes will be IB classes. You will have eight classes: math, English, biology, psychology, Theory of Knowledge (TOK) - this is part of the IB core, either global politics or chemistry and two French classes. You will have French in both semester 1 and 2 and will write the IB French exam in May. The exam will cover writing, reading and listening - just like you've been practicing in grades 9 and 10.

I asked some of our experienced IB DP teachers what they thought students could do to best prepare for the start of DP1. Please see their suggestions below:

Global Politics

Try to read and follow these sites over the summer BBC World News, Al Jazeera and CNN. You will be doing news feed reviews that look like the one on the left completed by a previous MPC IB DP student.

Math

As always, the MPC Math Department website has links and suggestions on what you need to know prior to the next grade. If you don't already have it, you should have the absolute command of your multiplication tables up to at least 12x12. You will also need to become familiar with an IB approved graphing calculator, such as the TI-83plus, 84, or 84 plus. You will be able to borrow a TI-84plus CE from the school however, the student will be required to put down a $200 deposit if they wish to take the calculator home to use as this is the replacement cost. Calculators will be available for student use in the classroom. Deposits will be returned by the method of payment upon return of the calculator in good condition with the charger. As an alternative, students may want to look for a used TI-84 or TI-84+ as they can be obtained for under $50 and often $30 and it is yours to keep.

French

Over your summer break, spend 10-15 minutes a day on French, either reading a magazine or a book or by using one of the websites below. This is especially important for students who did not take French Immersion. Typically, for Core French students, if you don’t keep working on French over the summer, you will lose much of the progress that you made in Grade 10.

The IB Standard Level exams that you will take in May 2027 are at the B1 level. So, if you need to do some catching up, look at the A1 and A2 level options on the websites below.

Build up you basic French so that you don’t struggle in Grades 11 and 12.

There are also some grammar links to review the basic concepts covered in Grade 10.

LECTURE (et parfois écoute aussi)

https://anyfrench.com/lecture/

https://lingua.com/fr/francais/lecture/

https://www.fabulang.com/fr/fr/b1

https://francais.lingolia.com/fr/comprehension-ecrite/b1 https://frenchbyfrench.com/lession/intermediate.html

https://lepetitscribe.com/category/competences/co/page/3/

ÉCOUTE

https://frenchbyfrench.com/lession/intermediate.html https://apprendre.tv5monde.com/fr/exercices/b1-intermediaire

https://fr.kidmoocs.com/textes-courts-francais-a1/#niveau-a2 https://www.francepodcasts.com/category/comprehension/

https://www.podcastfrancaisfacile.com/apprendre-le-francais/french-communication-dialogues-fle-daily-life-listen-mp3 https://cmaj.coerll.utexas.edu/