A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class. This is the 5th lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism. From this lesson, students should be able to: Explain why bacteria cannot live in the stomach Describe the role of gut bacteria in the body Explain what is meant by the term ‘probiotic’ All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class. This is the second lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism. From this lesson, students should be able to: Name seven key nutrients that play a role in a healthy, balanced diet (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, fibre, vitamins, minerals, water) Recall foods that contain each of these nutrients in large amounts Describe the role of each of these nutrients in the body All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class. This is the 6th lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism. From this lesson, students should be able to: Name the enzymes that break down carbohydrates, proteins and lipids during digestion Name the products of digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

Designed from the A Level Biology topic ‘Neuronal Communication’ (4.3) from the OCR Biology A specification. It could also be used for students studying the AQA specification. The loop cards will need to be cut out. This is a loop card game - shuffle the cards and randomly distribute them to different students in the room. Have one student read out their definition. The student whose key word matches their definition should shout out the word, then read their definition. Time how long it takes to loop back to the original student. Can they beat their time next time?

A lesson on peat bogs based on the AQA GCSE Biology syllabus. The lesson resource contains: A “5 in 5” style starter An interesting lesson hook Direct instruction on peat bogs as carbon sinks An embedded video from a news report on the destruction of peat Reading comprehension task: A link to an online article with beautiful illustrations, and a printed copy of the text from this link that students can follow along with A hand signal quiz to check for understanding Exam style questions with mark schemes A ‘write to your local MP’ task, with guided peer assessment A plenary task ‘Give me 5’

This lesson resource was designed for a lower attaining year 10 class studying AQA GCSE Combined Science. This is a full 1 hour lesson. This PowerPoint contains: A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter A lesson hook Direct instruction on Lamarck’s theory Direct instruction on Darwin’s theory of natural selection A teacher model showing natural selection in flowers A guided activity where students assess written responses to an exam question on natural selection in Arctic hares using a mark scheme An independent exam question on natural selection in giraffes, with guided self assessment Direct instruction on antibiotic resistance A deliberate practice task on antibiotic resistance and how it develops, with guided self assessment A written plenary task (an exam question with a mark scheme)

Suitable for a KS3 or KS4 science lesson on extinction. A board game for 2-4 players. Contains a playing board with rules and instructions. You will need dice for each group, plus counters (I get mine to use pen lids or rubbers). Students will pretend to be a species and try to make it to the finish square without going extinct! Students will need to read the tiles on the board and respond accordingly. Along the way, students should learn about some common causes of extinction, as well as about adaptation and natural selection. A good extension or homework task is to ask students to design their own board game titled ‘extinction’.

This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification. This lesson covers: What is variation? What is the difference between continuous and discontinuous variation? What are examples of continuous and discontinuous variation? Which examples of variation are controlled by genetic or environmental factors? This is a full 1 hour lesson resource which contains: A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter A lesson hook Direct instruction slides (low cognitive load, dual coding) Guided student discussions Teacher models Frequent checkpoints (quizzes, multiple choice hand signals) A Venn diagram with answers Written student responses Modeled answers A student group activity A written plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson on food chains designed for a higher ability year 7 class. This could be taught to any KS3 class, of any ability, with minor tweaks. This lesson contains: A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter An embedded video clip from Zootopia A retrieval practice from primary school - matching key terms e.g. predator/prey to their definitions A directed student discussion on food chains Direct instruction slides on food chains Checkpoints Student independent tasks writing simple food chains Direct instruction on trophic levels A true or false quiz on food chains and trophic levels An independent task with a printable worksheet - drawing a food chain and naming the trophic levels A whiteboard quiz A written plenary task

This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus. This lesson covers the three main factors affecting the rate of diffusion (temperature, surface area and concentration gradient). It includes a practical investigating temperature on the rate of diffusion in potassium permanganate crystals. Equipment list and method included on the slides. A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load) Regular checks for understanding (quizzes) Guided ‘turn and talk’ A class practical Independent practice tasks, with answer slides A written plenary task

These lessons were designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus. This resource includes two PowerPoints, each one hour, guiding students through the Required Practical on osmosis in potatoes. The first PowerPoint guides students through completing the practical. The second PowerPoint is a theory-based lesson, which gets students to think about what happened and why. It also talks them through writing a conclusion, analysing their data etc.

A full one hour lesson for a Year 13 class studying A Level Biology with the OCR A syllabus. This resource comes with a full PowerPoint and three worksheets. This resource contains: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter A retrieval practice (labelling structures in the heart) A lesson hook Direct instruction slides (dual coding, low cognitive load) Check for understanding slides (hand signal, multiple choice questions) Teacher model talking through negative feedback loop Guided class discussions Independent practice slides (exam questions) with answer slides / mark schemes Plenary whiteboard quiz with answers

A full 1-hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 9 class studying the AQA GCSE Biology topic “Ecology”. This lesson focuses on the different types of adaptation (structural, physiological, behavioural), specifically in animals. This lesson resource includes: 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter Lesson hook - spot the camouflaged animal Introduction slides on the different types of adaptation, with examples (reduced cognitive load, dual coding) Written checkpoint - students match the types of adaptation to their definitions (answer slide included) Hand signals multiple choice quiz Embedded YouTube video with written task Reading task on adaptations of polar bears Comprehension task - students identify structural, physiological and behavioural adaptations in polar bears from the text Guided 6-mark exam question Written plenary with answer slide

A full 1-hour lesson resource designed for a mid-ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science curriculum. This resource focuses on the human digestive system, specifically labelling the organs in the digestive system and describing the function of each organ in the digestive system. This resource contains: A ‘5 in 5’ retrieval-style starter A lesson hook A retrieval practice - can students draw the organs in the correct place on the human body outline? Teacher input slides - location of organs in digestive system Check for understanding slides - cold call Deliberate practice slide on labeling digestive system (worksheet include), with answer slide Teacher input slides - function of organs Multiple choice hand signals quizzes Deliberate Practice slide - students match the function to the organ, with answer slides Written plenary

A full 1-hour lesson resource designed for a mid-ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science curriculum. This is a practical lesson on conducting food tests. This resource contains: A ‘5 in 5’ retrieval-style starter A lesson hook - linking to real word applications A health and safety / risk assessment slide A results table Practical instruction slides to print, for carousel practical Model answer slide Checkpoint - short exam questions to go through as a class, with answers Multiple choice hand signal quizzes Deliberate Practice - extended response exam question, with answer slide Written plenary with answer slide

This is a 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Biology topic ‘Homeostasis’. This lesson focuses on thermoregulation, and the mechanisms of controlling body temperature by homeostasis. My lesson resources always contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum. This lesson is focused on ‘movement of substances’ (diffusion). From this lesson, students should be able to describe the process of diffusion, using specific examples. Students should also be able to name two substances that diffuse into cells (oxygen and glucose) and two substances that diffuse out of cells (carbon dioxide and water). This lesson includes a demonstration of skittles in water. All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum. This lesson is focused on specialised plant cells. From this lesson, students should be able to: Identify two specialised plant cells from diagrams (root hair cell and palisade / leaf cell) Describe the function of two specialised plant cells (root hair cell and palisade / leaf cell) Describe the basic adaptations of two specialised plant cells, and link their adaptations to their functions (root hair cell and palisade / leaf cell) All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson is designed for a mixed ability year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum. This lesson is focused on adolescence and puberty. From this lesson, students should be able to: Define the key terms ‘adolescence’ and ‘puberty’ Describe the changes that occur to males and females during puberty, and compare and contrast them Describe the basic role of sex hormones during puberty All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum. This lesson is focused on “flowers and pollination”. From this lesson, students should be able to: Label the reproductive organs in a flower Identify which parts of a flower are male or female Describe the function of each of the reproductive organs in a flower Describe the adaptations of wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated flowers Compare the structures of wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated flowers All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task