Open the IB Maths AA SL/HL slidedeck repository Open the Calculus folder, then use this article to turn the deck sequence into a two-week teaching plan.

A two-week IB Maths AA calculus unit can disappear into planning surprisingly quickly. A teacher may know the mathematics well, but still needs to decide what to teach first, which examples to model, where students will practise, when an inquiry task belongs, how to keep SL and HL needs visible and what evidence should appear in the unit test.

This walkthrough shows a faster way to make those decisions. It uses the ready-to-teach IB Maths AA calculus slidedecks as the starting point, then adds one purposeful inquiry moment and a custom assessment pack. The result is not a fixed official IB sequence. It is a practical two-week template that can be adjusted for your timetable, prior learning and the part of calculus your class is ready to study.

The goal is not to plan every minute in 15 minutes. The goal is to make the high-value decisions quickly, then use connected resources to avoid recreating slides, tasks and test formatting from a blank document.

What is already in the calculus folder?

The IB Maths AA SL/HL slidedeck repository is organised into the five course areas. Inside the Calculus folder, the Standard Level sequence includes:

SL 5.1 Limits
SL 5.2 Increasing/Decreasing Functions
SL 5.3 The Power Rule
SL 5.4 Tangents and Normals
SL 5.5 Anti-differentiation
SL 5.6 More Derivative Rules
SL 5.7 The Second Derivative
SL 5.8 Local Maxima/Minima
SL 5.9 Kinematics
SL 5.10 Indefinite Integrals
SL 5.11 Definite Integrals and Areas

There are also AHL extension decks, beginning with AHL 5.12 Limits and First Principles, then l’Hôpital’s rule and Maclaurin limits, implicit differentiation and optimisation, further derivatives and integrals, integration techniques, volumes of revolution and first-order differential equations. This means the teacher starts with a named, ordered set of lessons rather than a collection of disconnected files.

The 15-minute planning routine

Minutes 1–3: Choose the calculus story

Open the Calculus folder and decide what one idea should connect the fortnight. For a first differentiation sequence, the story might be: a graph describes change; the derivative measures that change; derivatives help us make decisions about shape, motion and optimisation. For an integration sequence, it might be: accumulation and area can be represented, estimated and calculated.

Write one outcome in teacher language before selecting slides. For example: “Students will use derivatives to interpret increasing and decreasing behaviour, locate stationary points and justify a maximum or minimum in context.” This protects the plan from becoming a list of techniques with no destination.

Minutes 4–7: Pull the decks into a two-week sequence

For a class meeting five times per week, a first-differentiation fortnight could use the following structure. Shorten or combine lessons if your timetable has fewer periods.

Lesson	Deck starting point	Teaching decision
1	SL 5.1 Limits	Diagnose prior learning; connect approaching values to graphical behaviour.
2	SL 5.3 The Power Rule	Model the rule with worked examples, then give students a short fluency check.
3	SL 5.4 Tangents and Normals	Move from a derivative value to gradient and equation language.
4	SL 5.6 More Derivative Rules	Use mixed practice to separate rule recall from method selection.
5	SL 5.2 Increasing/Decreasing Functions	Interpret the sign of the derivative and run a short exit check.
6	SL 5.7 The Second Derivative	Connect concavity, shape and a second derivative test.
7	SL 5.8 Local Maxima/Minima	Use a contextual optimisation task as the inquiry lesson.
8	SL 5.9 Kinematics	Transfer differentiation ideas to displacement, velocity and acceleration.
9	Selected practice and review slides	Use misconceptions from exit checks to build mixed retrieval practice.
10	Custom unit test	Assess the taught objectives, then record which skills need reteaching.

The point is not that every class must use this order. A teacher who has already taught limits can start at the Power Rule. A class that needs more algebra retrieval may slow down before optimisation. The benefit of the folder is that the sequence is visible enough to make that change deliberately.

Minutes 8–10: Assign one inquiry task with a clear mathematical question

Inquiry works best when it is attached to a precise mathematical decision, not added as an unrelated project. In this sequence, use the local maxima/minima lesson to ask students to investigate a constrained optimisation situation: for example, which dimensions maximise an area, minimise a material cost or produce the greatest volume under a stated condition.

Give students a small set of non-negotiables: define variables, form a function, state the domain, differentiate, test or justify the critical point, and explain the result in context. Then allow choice in representation. Some students may use a table and graph first; others may work symbolically. The teacher can use the same task at different levels by changing the algebraic demand or the amount of scaffolding.

An inquiry-based activity earns its place when it reveals whether students can choose a method and communicate a conclusion. It also creates useful evidence before the test: if students cannot define a sensible domain or explain why a stationary point is a maximum, that is a planning signal for Lesson 9.

Minutes 11–13: Build the custom test from what you actually taught

Open your calculus test pack and select questions only after the lesson sequence is settled. Start with the unit outcome, then choose a small number of items for each strand: direct differentiation, tangent or normal interpretation, sign and stationary-point analysis, a contextual optimisation problem and a transfer question such as kinematics. Add an extension item only if it has been explicitly taught.

Use the editable assessment files to remove questions that do not match the fortnight, reorder items, set the total marks and add enough answer space. Export the finished version as a PDF for printing or distribution. Keep the matching markscheme with the same file name so the assessment is ready before the first lesson of the unit begins.

This approach is faster than writing a test from a blank page, but it still preserves teacher judgement. A custom unit test should reflect the examples, language, technology and reasoning students have actually encountered, rather than simply everything that can appear in a calculus chapter.

Minutes 14–15: Make the first adjustment before teaching starts

Finish by identifying one likely pressure point. In a first differentiation unit, it may be algebraic simplification before applying a rule. In optimisation, it may be modelling the function before differentiating it. In kinematics, it may be keeping displacement, velocity and acceleration distinct. Add a five-minute retrieval or worked-example slot before that pressure point arrives.

That final adjustment is why a connected unit plan is more useful than a pre-made calendar. The slides reduce production work; the teacher still uses professional judgement to decide where students need time.

How to keep SL and HL in the same planning conversation

The Calculus folder makes the SL core and AHL extension visible by name. Plan the shared sequence first, then add an AHL deck only where it strengthens the next mathematical decision. For example, an HL class can extend a limits sequence with first principles or l’Hôpital’s rule, while a later unit can use implicit differentiation, integration techniques, volumes of revolution or differential equations.

Avoid treating HL as simply “more questions.” Decide what additional reasoning, representation or technique students should be able to use, then pull the relevant AHL deck into the plan. This keeps both courses coherent while respecting the different depth expected at each level.

What the system saves, and what it does not

Ready-to-teach slides, inquiry activities and editable test packs can remove a large amount of repetitive preparation: slide design, file hunting, formatting, answer-space layout and retyping. They do not replace the work that matters most: knowing your class, noticing misconceptions, selecting appropriate challenge and responding to the evidence students produce.

Use the system to make a faster first draft. Then spend the time you recover on the decisions no folder can make for you.

Open the IB Maths AA SL/HL slidedeck repository → Browse IB Maths AA Resources → Explore the IB Maths AA Complete Curriculum Kit →

How to Plan a 2-Week IB Maths AA Calculus Unit in Under 15 Minutes