NEW (2016) AQA AS Biology – Structure of the Plasma Membrane

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Cells’ module.

For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience

A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep.

You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach!

This lesson on the plasma membrane begins with a quick discussion about the function of the cell surface membrane and the phospholipid bilayer. It also asks student to apply their knowledge to skin cells and solar radiation.

This discussion continues by asking students about the cell surface membrane and directs them to a worksheet task to identify cell membrane molecules. Students should watch a short video and make notes on this same worksheet as they listen.

To follow up on this introduction there are a few lecture slides to explain phospholipids, proteins, cholesterol, glycolipids and glycoproteins. Extra notes on each can be found below the slides.

Students will then view an animation of the fluid mosaic model as whole and label a diagram accordingly. They can self-asses to the following slide. Another video is attached to help explain why the model is called a “fluid mosaic” model which students should also summarise on their worksheet.

To synthesise their learning the students will work on a group task to build a 3D model using the “build a membrane” worksheet. When they have finished, they can practise once more through a true/false activity!

The next task is to answer the questions on the cell membrane worksheet, they may self-assess to the mark scheme on the following slide.

Not all cell membranes have the same composition, students should think>pair>share to discuss why this might be. Suggested answers are on the following slide.

The plenary task is a fun anagram challenge to reveal key terms from the lesson, as an extra challenge they can define each term as well!

All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)