The lesson could be a single period or part 1 of a double linking eye structure to that of a camera. The PowerPoint of 16 slides outlines the structure of the human eye and it's functioning. Optional slides allow further exploration of its various structures for more able groups. Where appropriate, diagrams are interactive or animated to aid explanation or even facilitate greater pupil involvement. Also included are two sheets: the first consists of 2 A5 printable unlabelled eye diagrams for sticking in books and the second a worksheet based on the contents of the PowerPoint.

This PowerPoint of 11 slides covers numerous points to introduce the topic of light to a class. It includes learning objectives, a starter activity and introduces key concepts and scientific terms including luminous and non-luminous objects, transparent, transluscent and opaque, and also light speed. When paired with textbook questions this should prove sufficient for a single period lesson. Some elements include simple (I would prefer to say tastefully understated) animations and/or interactive elements to aid explanation of key concepts.

Aimed at GCSE this task sheet is intended to guide students through their first attempts at using an optical microscope. At the end of the task students will have focused their microscope at different magnifications, made a scientific drawing of the onion cells, measured a cell using an eyepiece graticule and calculated the magnification of their drawing.

The resource consists of a Powerpoint, outlining the structure and functioning of a synape, a notesheet providing part-drawn diagrams to assist students note taking and a cut and stick summary activity/worksheet. The content is aimed at 14 to 16 year olds (GCSE course content).

This double sided worksheet covers the major structures within eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells and, when finished provides an excellent revision resource. It also references to other relevant topics including microscope types and scales.

This double-sided worksheet introduces students to both light microscopes and both forms of electron microscope. It also challenges them to some magnification calculations. Students will learn to differentiate between images from scanning and transmission electron microscopes and also be challenged in converting measurements in centimetres and millimetres into micrometres. The activity serves as an excellent primer for a microscope practical and should follow a demo where a teacher discusses the roles and names of the parts of a microscope. The sheet is accompanied by a full markscheme.

This double sided worksheet examines how Vibrio cholerae gains access to the body and then how it goes on to create the symptoms of the disease. This builds on students’ knowledge and understanding of absorption of glucose across the ileum epithelium and challenges them to use their knowledge in a real world example/setting. A full markscheme is included to allow teacher, peer or self assessment as best suits your afl needs.

This PowerPoint is a step-by-step, annotated accounting of the working of the sodium potassium pump. Simple animations show the interactions of pump, ATP, ADP, sodium ions and potassium ions. Also included is a scaffolded notesheet including part-drawn diagrams that students can quickly complete as they learn about the process. Please note: The preview thumbnails have unfortunately created some graphical glitches/artefacts that don’t appear in the actual slides.

This worksheet includes a colour in key and complete the diagram task alongside a number of short answer questions. A PowerPoint mark scheme is also included.

This sheet looks at how glucose is transported across epithelial cells of the small intestine and into the blood. It requires students to demonstrate their understanding of active transport (the Sodium-Potassium pump) and co-transport in a series of tasks and questions. A full markscheme is included.

The resource consists of a page of tiles and a grid for sticking them on to which links seral stage to environmental conditions. An animated markscheme (PowerPoint) is also included which can be projected to help students with the task and/or used to aid discussion.

The worksheet focuses on student understanding of the experiments carried out by Nirenberg and Khorana to determine which codons/triplets code for which amino acids. The worksheet details their investigations into the genetic code and provides a scaffold for students to draw conclusions from their original data. This is sound practice for questions of this type, which are becoming an increasingly frequent aspect of examinations. It also serves to consolidate on existing knowledge regarding the genetic code and is a useful reflection activity in its own right.

This relay-style revision quiz has proven extremely popular with my students and uses gentle competition to motivate students even further. Instructions for use are in an included sheet and reproduced below. Obviously this activity allows opportunities for frequent assessment for learning and also allows stronger students to help inform weaker ones. Instructions: Print out the first 4 slides of the PowerPoint file single-sided and use a guillotine to cut them out, staple them into booklets as shown below. Different coloured paper helps but is not essential. Print a markscheme for your own use. Split your group into differentiated teams of 3 (try to have a mixture of abilities in each team). Teams have to collect individual sheets from the booklets, complete the question, and then take it to the teacher for marking. If correct, they can collect the next sheet in the booklet and progress. If not they may be given a hint before returning to their team to try again (Note, I find this works best if they are forced to rotate team members through these tasks). A prize may be offered and periodic announcements of which team is up to which question can be made to encourage a sense of urgency.

This double sided sheet can be printed at A4 but works better as an A3 resource. This sheet covers the key areas of neuron structure, reflexes and synaptic transmission (including neuromuscular junction, summation, inhibition and drugs). Please note this sheet is part 2 of 2 and, when coupled with Sheet 1, a more comprehensive coverage of the necessary nervous control aspects results. Individual sections contain marking points/scores so as to allow easy feedback and AFL with the included full mark scheme. This gives you flexibility as to how you use the resource and opens up peer assessment/self assessment opportunities.

This double sided sheet can be printed at A4 but works better as an A3 resource. This sheet covers the key areas of receptor function in creating a generator potential (specifically the Eye and Pacinian corpuscle), Resting Potential and the propagation of an Action Potential. Please note this sheet is part 1 of 2 and, when coupled with Sheet 2, a more comprehensive coverage of the necessary nervous control aspects will result. Individual sections contain marking points/scores so as to allow easy feedback and AFL with the included full mark scheme. This gives you flexibility as to how you use the resource and opens up peer assessment/self assessment opportunities.

The card sort resource can be printed off onto card and cut out either before or during lesson time. It can be used as a simple starter/summary activity and is useful to tease out students' understanding of both photosynthesis and respiration and to highlight the relationship between the two processes - that is that one is locking energy into a glucose molecule, whilst the other releases it for use. The one sided worksheet included serves to record students findings and encourages them to reflect on the task. A mark-scheme is also included.

This double sided worksheet examines the process of negative feedback as it pertains to Thermoregulation of the body. Physiological responses to temperature change are included in the questioning and linked to the process of negative feedback. The last few questions then begin to ask students to consider the implications of positive feedback as a shift further and further away from the ‘normal’.

Designed to take up around a single lesson of time, this debate is aimed at 14 to 16 year olds but could easily be used with older students too. It splits students into 3 groups with conflicting interests (scientist, politician or fisherman) from a fictional country and challenges them to form a plan of action regarding their country's use of dwindling fish stocks. Split students into groups by role (the scientist and politician roles require perhaps the greatest flexibility of thought, so maybe differentiate your groups allowing for this) and give them 5 to 10 minutes with the source material to discuss in their groups how they feel about the issues and what they're going to be aiming for in their debate. Students then assemble into teams of 3 (one of each role) and have 15 minutes to debate about how they will tackle the issues of overfishing outlined on the accompanying worksheet. They should complete the included worksheet and reach a decision as to how they will move Pandora onwards into the future in a position that will best please everybody. Each group then feeds back their decision and some of the reasoning behind it. This exercise helps students appreciate some of the real world conflicts that exist between human needs and those of the natural world. In my experience it also serves to show how some of these issues may not be as clear-cut as students first assume.

The resource consists of a set of 4 source sheets (one for each level of protein structure) and a summary sheet for students to complete collaboratively. Suggested Lesson Plan: Sort class into 4 groups and give each group access to a few copies of one of the source sheets (potentially on different colours of card with numbers on the back as pictured). Give them a post-it note and allow 6 minutes (adjust as necessary based on your own judgement) to summarise the information on their respective source sheet. Do note the primary and quarternary source sheets are conceptually easier so could be used for differentiation. Then take in the source sheets and ask students to self sort into groups of four consisting of a person from each of the four original groups and help each other complete the note sheet. You can use time intervals to keep this moving on apace. Combined with past paper questions to aid afl this was part of an outstanding lesson when observed.