A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of the xylem and phloem in transport. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.7 (i) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
The lessons begins by challenging the students to identify the substances that a plant needs for the cellular reactions, where they are absorbed and where these reactions occur in a plant. The aim of this task is to get the students to recognise that water and mineral ions are absorbed in the roots and needed in the leaves whilst the products of photosynthesis are in the leaves and need to be used all over the plant. Students will be reminded that the xylem and phloem are part of the vascular system responsible for transporting these substances and then the rest of the lesson focuses on linking structure to function. A range of tasks which include discussion points, exam-style questions and quick quiz rounds are used to describe how lignification results in the xylem as a hollow tube of xylem cells to allow water to move as a complete column. They will also learn that the narrow diameter of this vessel allows capillary action to move water molecules up the sides of the vessel. The same process is used to enable students to understand how the structures of the companion cells allows assimilates to be loaded before being moved to the sieve tube elements through the plasmodesmata.
This fully-resourced lesson describes how the cohesion-tension model explains the transport of water from the roots to the shoots. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.7 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification
This lesson has been written to follow on from the end of the previous lesson, which finished with the description of the transport of the water and mineral ions from the endodermis to the xylem. Students are immediately challenged to use this knowledge to understand root pressure and the movement by mass flow down the pressure gradient. Moving forwards, time is taken to study the details of transpiration pull and then the main focus is the interaction between cohesion and tension. The role of adhesive forces in capillary action is also explained. Understanding is constantly checked through a range of tasks and prior knowledge checks are also written into the lesson to challenge the students to make links to previously covered topics such as the structure of the transport tissues.
This engaging lesson describes the myogenic stimulation of the heart and focuses on the roles of the SAN, AVN and bundle of His. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the point 4.4 (iv) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification but also describes the role of the Purkyne fibres.
The lesson begins with the introduction of the SAN as the natural pacemaker and then time is given to study each step of the conduction of the impulse as it spreads away from the myogenic tissue in a wave of excitation. The lesson has been written to make clear links to the cardiac cycle and the structure of the heart and students are challenged on their knowledge of this system from earlier in the topic. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to consider why a delay would occur at the AVN and then they will learn that the impulse is conducted along the Bundle of His to the apex so that the contraction of the ventricles can happen from the bottom upwards. The structure of the cardiac muscle cells is discussed and the final task of the lesson challenges the students to describe the conducting tissue, with an emphasis on the use of key terminology.
This detailed lesson describes the role of haemoglobin in the transport of respiratory gases and compares the dissociation curves for foetal and adult haemoglobin. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover points 4.5 (i), (ii) and (iv) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
The structure of haemoglobin was covered during topic 1, so the start of the lesson acts as a prior knowledge check where the students are challenged to recall that it is a globular protein which consists of 4 polypeptide chains. A series of exam-style questions are then used to challenge them to make the link between the solubility of a globular protein and its role in the transport of oxygen from the alveoli to the respiring cells. Moving forwards, the students will learn that each of the 4 polypeptide chains contains a haem group with an iron ion attached and that it is this group which has a high affinity for oxygen. Time is taken to discuss how this protein must be able to load (and unload) oxygen as well as transport the molecules to the respiring tissues. Students will plot the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve and the S-shaped curve is used to encourage discussions about the ease with which haemoglobin loads each molecule. At this point, foetal haemoglobin and its differing affinity of oxygen is introduced and students are challenged to predict whether this affinity will be higher or lower than adult haemoglobin and to represent this on their dissociation curve.
The remainder of the lesson looks at the different ways that carbon dioxide is transported around the body that involve haemoglobin. Time is taken to look at the dissociation of carbonic acid into hydrogen ions so that students can understand how this will affect the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen in an upcoming lesson on the Bohr effect.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of the platelets and plasma proteins in the sequence of events that lead to blood clotting. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover the content detailed in point 4.4 (viii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and includes descriptions of the roles of thromboplastin, thrombin and fibrin but time has also been taken to look at haemophilia as a sex-linked disease so that students are prepared for topic 8 (genetic variation).
The lesson begins with the introduction of clotting factors as integral parts of the blood clotting process and explains that factor III, thromboplastin, needs to be recalled as well as the events that immediately precede and follows its release. Students will learn how damage to the lining and the exposure of collagen triggers the release of this factor and how a cascade of events then results. Quick quiz rounds and tasks are used to introduce the names of the other substances involved which are prothrombin, thrombin, fibrinogen and fibrin. In a link to the upcoming topic of proteins, students will understand how the insolubility of fibrin enables this mesh of fibres to trap platelets and red blood cells and to form the permanent clot.
The final part of the lesson introduces haemophilia as a sex-linked disease and students are challenged to apply their knowledge to an unfamiliar situation as they have to write genotypes and determine phenotypes before explaining why men are more likely to suffer from this disease than women.
A detailed and engaging lesson presentation (52 slides) and accompanying worksheet that looks at competition between organisms and the different types of relationships that exist as a result of this interaction. The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of the biological term, "competition", and then introduces this when it occurs between the same species and different species. Students are challenged to consider the different resources that animals compete for before an activity based competition is used to get them to recognise how this competition can cause changes to the population size.
Moving forwards, students will meet the three main types of ecological relationship and look at them in greater detail, with predation being a main focus.
There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson (with displayed answers) so that students can assess their understanding.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but can be used with more-able KS3 students who are looking at ecosystems and the relationships that exist within them
An engaging and detailed lesson presentation (48 slides) and associated game that goes through the topic of ecosystems, making sure that the numerous key words are recognised and understood and ensures that students know the difference between biotic and abiotic factors. A game of keyword bingo runs throughout the lesson to act as a motivation and to make sure that the students keep track of all of the important terminology. Time is taken after some of the important words to go into depth so that the Biology is fully understood. Students will learn the difference between biotic and abiotic factors and then will carry out a number of tasks to explain how the abiotic factors can affect the community. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding.
This lesson was designed for GCSE students but can also be used with KS3 and also as a recap with A level students
A fun and engaging lesson presentation (90 slides) and associated worksheets that uses exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to allow students to assess their understanding of the topic of transport in plants, which is module 3.1.3 on the OCR A-Level Biology A specification. Competition rounds include “Keyword BINGO”, “Crack the Code” and “Make the Link” and students will enjoy being able to identify areas that require further attention. All exam questions have mark schemes.
This lesson is designed for A-level students
A fun and highly engaging lesson presentation (37 slides) and associated worksheets that combines exam questions and progress checks along with competition rounds to enable students to assess their understanding of the specification content within units B1 - 3 of the OCR Gateway A 9 - 1 GCSE Science.
All of the exam questions and progress checks have displayed answers as well as sections where content is recapped so that students can understand how an answer was obtained.
The revision rounds in the competition include “Blockbusters”, “Doctor, Doctor” and “Crack the CODE”.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.
An engaging lesson presentation (45 slides) that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit P6 (Waves) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point P6.6).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Longitudinal and transverse waves
Properties of waves
Types of EM waves
Properties and applications of EM waves
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Tell EM the word” and “Take the HOTSEAT” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
A highly engaging lesson presentation (60 slides) and accompanying worksheets that uses exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and competitions to allow students to assess their understanding of the topic of Genes and Health (Topic 2). Students will have fun whilst recognising those areas of the specification which need further attention. Competitions include "Blockbusters" Hotseat" and "james BOND" so that literacy and numeracy skills are tested along with the content knowledge.
This bundle of 6 engaging and motivating lesson presentations and associated worksheets uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to test the students on their knowledge of the key topics of the Chemistry modules of OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The knowledge of the following modules can be assessed using these lessons:
C1: Particles
C2: Elements, compounds and mixtures
C3: Chemical reactions
C4: Predicting and identifying reactions and products
C5: Monitoring and controlling chemical reactions
C6: Global challenges
A fully resourced lesson presentation (60 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit C2 (Elements, compounds and mixtures) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification.
Relative formula mass
Empirical formula
Pure and impure substances
Filtration and crystallisation
Distillation
Chromatography
Electronic structure
Forming ions
Simple molecules
Giant covalent structures
Carbon
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Take the HOTSEAT” and “SEPARATE the fact from the fiction” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
An engaging lesson presentation (48 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit C1 (Particles) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Introducing particles
Chemical and physical changes
Atomic structure
Isotopes
Developing the atomic model
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “SPOT the SCIENTIST” and “Order, Order” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
An informative lesson presentation (30 slides) that ensures that students know the meaning of the independent, dependent and control variables in an investigation and are able to identify them. Students are challenged to use their definitions to spot the independent and dependent variable from an investigation title. Moving forwards, they are shown how they can use tables and graphs to identify them. The rest of the lesson focuses on the control variables and how these have to be controlled to produce valid results
This lesson is suitable for students of all ages studying Science as it is such a key skill
This engaging and detailed lesson presentation (43 slides) uses a step by step guide to take students through the important scientific skill of drawing graphs to represent data and address all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that often accompany this topic. The lesson begins by explaining to the students how to decide whether data should be represented on a line graph or a bar chart and a competition called "To BAR or not to BAR" is used to allow them to check their understanding while maintaining motivation. Moving forwards, students are shown a 6 step guide to drawing a line graph. Included along the way are graphs that are wrong and explanations as to why so that students can see what to avoid. There are continuous progress checks and a homework is also included as part of the lesson.
This lesson is written for students of all ages who are studying Science.
An engaging lesson presentation (48 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit P4 (Atomic structure) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point P6.4).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
The structure of an atom
Isotopes
Radioactive decay and nuclear radiation
Nuclear equations
Half-lives
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “It’s as easy as ABG” and “ALPHA or BETA” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
A detailed lesson presentation (37 slides) that looks at the different motions that are represented on a velocity-time graph and guides students through using these graphs to calculate the distance travelled by an object. The lesson begins by challenging the students to construct a velocity-time graph by using a displayed guide and using their knowledge of drawing a distance-time graph. Moving forwards, the students will match terms of motion to the lines on the graph and time is taken to make links to the physics equations that allow acceleration and deceleration to be calculated. Students will also learn that they can use a velocity-time graph to calculate the distance travelled. A worked example is used to show them how to tackle these questions. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of this topic.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students
This clear and detailed lesson describes the process of oxidative phosphorylation, including the roles of the electron carriers, oxygen and the mitochondrial cristae and explains the role of chemiosmosis. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover points 5.2.2 (g) and (h) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and includes details of the electron transport chain, proton gradients and ATP synthase.
The lesson begins with a discussion about the starting point of the reaction. In the previous stages, the starting molecule was the final product of the last stage but in this stage, it is the reduced coenzymes which release their hydrogen atoms. Moving forwards, the process of oxidative phosphorylation is covered in 7 detailed steps and at each point, key facts are discussed and explored in further detail to enable a deep understanding to be developed. Students will see how the proton gradient across the inner membrane is created and that the flow of protons down the channel associated with ATP synthase results in a conformational change and the addition of phosphate groups to ADP by oxidative phosphorylation. Understanding checks are included throughout the lesson to enable the students to assess their progress and prior knowledge checks allow them to recognise the clear links to other topics and modules.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on glycolysis, the Link reaction and Krebs cycle and anaerobic respiration
