I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
A revision mat for a KS3 class studying electricity and magnetism.
This revision placemat is designed for a top set year 8 class.
This revision placemat covers:
Circuit symbols
The role of each component in a circuit
The rules for current in series and parallel circuits
Potential difference
Drawing voltmeters in parallel
Resistance
Static electricity in terms of electrons / distribution of charge
Magnetism - attraction and repulsion
Magnetic fields
Electromagnetism (what is it, how can the strength be changed, what are the uses)
A full 1 hour lesson based on the Biology Required Practical 6 from AQA GCSE Combined Science (reaction times). Also suitable for students studying AQA GCSE Biology.
This resource was designed for a lower ability year 11 class, but could easily be adapted for other year groups or abilities.
This resource includes:
A fully guided PowerPoint, with chunked practical instructions
A student worksheet with practical instructions, results tables, and application questions
A conversion table for reaction times
The PowerPoint includes:
A ‘5-in-5’ retrieval-style starter
A lesson hook - an online reaction time game
Chunked practical instructions (slow practical) with use of colour coding and dual coding / imagery for ease of understanding
Models (e.g. a model results table showing how to find an anomaly)
Application questions
Model answers
A written plenary (an exam question, with a scaffold, a mark scheme, and a model answer)
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource on static electricity. This was originally designed for a top set year 8 class.
This lesson involves practical demonstrations and activities.
The following equipment will be needed:
A comb and a tap (for demo)
Balloons (for demo)
Empty can (for demo)
Plastic rods, cloth and small pieces of paper (for class practical)
The PowerPoint contains:
A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter based on the electricity topic, with answers
Retrieval practice on the structure of an atom and subatomic particles
A practical demo bending water using a comb
Direct instruction on static electricity (using comb and water as an example)
A hand signals ‘thumbs up’ true or false quiz
A practical demo making hair stand up using a balloon
A practical demo making an empty can roll using a balloon
A guided conservation on why this happens
A deliberate practice written task on static electricity, with guided self assessment
A class practical on picking up paper using static electricity
A deliberate practice written task on this practical, with guided self assessment
A plenary task
This resource was designed for a top set year 8 class studying an electricity topic.
This resource requires the following practical equipment:
One large rope for demo
Power packs
Crocodile clips
Wires
Bulbs
Ammeters
Resistors
This PowerPoint resource contains:
A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter on current, potential difference and insulators
A retrieval practice task on giving definitions for key terms (current, potential difference, ammeter, voltmeter, electrons)
Direct instruction on resistance with dual coding
A hand signals quiz to check for understanding
A simple ‘fill in the blanks’ task with delayed key word bank
A rope model demo for current and resistance
A discussion task about the model - what did each person represent?
A practical activity on the effect of resistors on current in a circuit (results table provided as print out)
A plenary task (writing a conclusion for the investigation)
A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class.
This is the 2nd lesson in “Chapter 3 - Light” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson is on ‘reflection’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
This lesson includes a worksheet where students draw the reflected ray when given the angle of incidence.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Describe what you see when you look in the mirror
Explain why an image in a mirror is described as ‘virtual’
Recall the law of reflection
Draw the reflected ray when given the incident ray and angle of incidence on a diagram
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 unit of work contains four 1-hour lesson resources designed for a mixed ability year 7 class.
This unit follows "Chapter 4 - Space” from Activate 1, Physics.
However, it would be suitable for any KS3 curriculum studying physics.
This unit of work is designed to be engaging and interactive, with plenty of practical demonstrations and teacher models. There are a couple of class practicals too which come with risk assessments and full, chunked instructions.
The lessons are designed so that they can be delivered by any member of staff, regardless of whether chemistry is their specialism. They are also suitable for students working outside the classroom, e.g. in isolation.
The lessons should be delivered in this order:
The night sky
The Solar System
The Earth
The Moon
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 5th lesson in “Chapter 1 - Electricity and Magnetism” from Activate 2, Physics.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson contains a class practical investigating how increasing the number of bulbs in a circuit affects the current flowing through the circuit.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Define the term ‘resistance’
Recall that resistance is measured in ohms and give its symbol
Explain what causes resistance in a wire
Calculate resistance using the formula: Resistance (Ω) = potential difference (V) ÷ current (A)
Investigate how increasing the number of bulbs in a circuit affects the current flowing through the circuit.
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 7 class.
This is the second lesson in “Chapter 2 - Sound” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson is on ‘sound’, focusing on how sound waves travel and the speed of sound.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Describe how sound is produced
Describe how a sound wave travels
Recall that speed travels the fastest in solids and slowest in gases
Use the particle model to explain why the speed of sound is different in different materials
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 7 class.
This is the fourth lesson in “Chapter 2 - Sound” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson is on ‘detecting sound’, and mainly focuses on the structure of the ear and how the ear works.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Label a diagram of the ear (pinna, auditory canal, eardrum, ossicles, oval window, cochlea, auditory nerve)
Describe the function of the main organs in the ear (pinna, auditory canal, eardrum, ossicles, oval window, cochlea, auditory nerve)
Describe how we hear
Describe how a microphone works and its similarities to the ear
Recall the audible range of humans (20 Hz - 20,000 Hz)
Recall the definitions of ‘infrasound’ and ‘ultrasound’
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 7 class.
This is the fourth lesson in “Chapter 1 - Forces” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson is on drag forces (air resistance and water resistance). It is taught separately to ‘friction’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Give a definition for the term ‘drag force’
Explain what causes air resistance
Describe the effect that air resistance has on moving objects
Explain what causes water resistance
Describe the effect that water resistance has on moving objects
Describe how to reduce the effect of drag and give examples of this
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 unit of work contains five 1-hour lesson resources designed for a mixed ability year 7 class.
This unit follows "Chapter 2 - Sound” from Activate 1, Physics.
However, it would be suitable for any KS3 curriculum studying forces.
This unit of work is designed to be engaging and interactive, with plenty of practical demonstrations and teacher models. There are a couple of class practicals too which come with risk assessments and full, chunked instructions.
The lessons are designed so that they can be delivered by any member of staff, regardless of whether physics is their specialism. They are also suitable for students working outside the classroom, e.g. in isolation.
The lessons should be delivered in this order:
Features of waves
Sound
Loudness and pitch
Detecting sound
Echoes and ultrasound
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 and final lesson in “Chapter 3 - Motion and Pressure” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on ‘turning forces’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Recall the definition for a ‘moment’ and use the term ‘moment’ correctly in a sentence
Recall the formula for calculating moments
Recall the law of moments
Explain why levers, e.g. spanners and crowbars, mean a smaller force can have a greater effect
Use the formula to calculate moments
Apply the law of moments and formula for calculating moments to predict whether a seesaw will be balanced or not
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 1st lesson in “Chapter 3 - Motion and Pressure” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on ‘speed’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Give a scientific definition for the term ‘speed’
Identify units of speed
Recall typical speeds for a range of methods of travel in m/s
Use the formula distance / time to calculate speed
Describe the difference between average speed and instantaneous speed
Describe relative motion
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 2nd lesson in “Chapter 3 - Motion and Pressure” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on ‘motion graphs’, specifically distance-time graphs.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Interpret distance-time graphs
Describe a journey using a distance-time graph
Use distance-time graphs to calculate speed
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 2 - Energy” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on ‘radiation - energy transfers’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Define the term ‘radiation’
Recognise that energy can be transferred through a vacuum by radiation
Determine whether energy is being transferred by conduction, convection or radiation from given examples
Compare methods of energy transfer by conduction, convection and radiation
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 7 class.
This is the 2nd lesson in “Chapter 4 - Space” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson is on ‘the solar system’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Identify and compare the inner planets / terrestrial planets, and outer planets / gas giants
To recall that our planets orbit the Sun in an elliptical shape
Compare the sizes and surface temperatures of the planets in our Solar System
Briefly describe how the Solar System was formed
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 5th lesson in “Chapter 2 - Energy” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on conduction and convection (energy transfer - particles).
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Describe how energy is transferred through solids by conduction
Explain why metals are better thermal conductors than non-metals
Describe how energy is transferred through fluids by convection
Explain what causes a sea breeze
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 2nd lesson in “Chapter 2 - Energy” from Activate 2, Physics. This lesson is on ‘energy resources’.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Explain what a non-renewable energy resource is
Describe some uses of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas)
Describe how fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are formed
Evaluate the use of thermal power plants and nuclear power plants
Explain what a renewable energy resource is
Give some examples of renewable energy resources
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 2nd lesson in “Chapter 1 - Electricity and Magnetism” from Activate 2, Physics.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson includes the rope model for electricity.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Define the term ‘current’
Describe how current is measured in a circuit
Identify and draw basic circuit symbols (battery, cell, lamp, switch, ammeter, buzzer, motor, wire
Draw circuit diagrams
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 4th lesson in “Chapter 1 - Electricity and Magnetism” from Activate 2, Physics.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism.
This lesson contains
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Define the term ‘potential difference’
Describe how to measure potential difference in a circuit
Recall that voltmeters must be connected to a circuit ‘in parallel’
Draw circuit diagrams and build circuits where a voltmeter is connected in parallel across a component
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