3 Great Websites for IB Literature Teachers

We’ve all been there: your principal asks if you’re interested in teaching an IB class and all of a sudden it’s on your schedule. Class starts in weeks—or worse, days—and training doesn’t start for months. Or perhaps training is happening now, on top of all of the other beginning of the year tasks. No matter what the situation, you’re going to have questions and you’re going to need answers sooner rather than later. We’ve rounded up the best websites, blogs, and resources for IB Literature and IB Language & Literature teachers here.

1. The IB English Guys

   Andrew Cohen and David Giles, longtime IB Literature teachers and examiners, have teamed up and created IB English Guys, a website and YouTube channel packed with resources for teachers. With more than 30 years of combined experience with IB Literature and IB Language and Literature, their resources, tricks and tips will help get teachers and students squared away with all of the components of the IB Language A program.

   The IB English Guys website is organized into four main categories:

   • Assessments (Paper 1, Paper 2, Individual Oral, Higher Level Essay, Extended Essay, and skills practice)

   • Resources for students (online courses plus a playlist of YouTube videos)

   • Resources for teachers (purchasable resources that include both instructional units and resources for IB assessments, plus 8 packed-with-information playlists), and

   • Online workshops.

   Check out their website: IBEnglishGuys.com and their YouTube channel.

2. Facebook

   An IB Visual Art teacher first suggested I look into teacher-centric Facebook groups; the ones she joined had become a great resource for her, and she thought I might find similar value. She was right. IB English teacher groups are packed with high-quality teachers who are always available to answer questions, bounce ideas off of, and celebrate successes. IB Answers and the My IB forums (more on those resources later) are also an option when you need help, but for a fast answer, Facebook groups are the way to go. Here are our favorites:

   • IB DP English A Language and Literature Teacher Forum - this private group (request to join and answer some questions about where and what you teach) has nearly four-thousand members and is very active. This group also has a Google Drive where members can drop in resources for other teachers to use, completely free.

   • IB DP English A Literature Teachers - this is a smaller, less active group, but still made up of qualified teachers with great ideas. It’s rare to see a question go unanswered.

   • High School English Teachers - This group isn’t geared towards IB, but it’s still great. More than eleven-thousand teachers are part of this private group, and it is very active.

     If none of these options appeal to you, do a search on Facebook. There are hundreds of Facebook groups for English teachers—enough for everyone to find one that fits just right.

3. My IB and IB Answers

   The IBO offers two routes to finding answers: My IB and IB Answers. We generally recommend using My IB first—it’s a lot to navigate, but learning sooner rather than later will eliminate headaches down the road. Plus, answers from IB Answers often send you that way as they show you where to find the answer yourself next time.

   • My IB - To navigate, go to IBO.org, and choose My IB in the upper left corner. From there, you’ll need to log in (for login help, check with your school’s DP coordinator). From the tiles that appear on the next page, choose Program Resource Center, and then the course that you teach. Many options will appear from there, including your subject’s guide, teacher support material, the prescribed reading list, FAQs, and videos. Don’t sleep on the videos—they’re generally pretty good.

   • IB Answers - there’s a tile in My IB for IB Answers where you can search and read through other teachers’ questions, but we think the simplest way is to go to the contact page on IBO.org. There’s an email address for general questions and phone numbers listed by region. One note: some schools prefer that questions to IB Answers (the phone calls and emails at least) run through their DP coordinators, so it’s a good idea to check in with yours beforehand.

This list of resources is definitely non-exhaustive, but we hope that these three sites will point you in the right direction.

Happy teaching!