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 bundle of lessons on the ‘classification and evolution’ topic, from the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification.
These lessons were specifically designed for a lower ability year 10 class, but would be suitable for any KS4 group with some minor tweaking.
All lessons include:
A 5-in-5 retrieval starter
A lesson hook and/or additional retrieval practice
Very clear direct instruction slides (low cognitive load, dual coding)
Checks for understanding (quizzes, hand signals, cold call questions)
Teacher modeling
Guided discussions
Independent tasks with modeled answers
Exam questions with mark schemes and/or modeled answers
A written plenary
Revision placemat designed to review topic 4.1.1 from AQA Combined Science, Biology paper 1.
This topic is on cell biology and microscopy.
This revision placemat covers:
Labelling animal and plant cells
Matching organelles to their functions
Magnification calculations
Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
Examples of tissues, organs and organ systems in animals and plants
Specialised cells and their adaptations
A full 1-hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Chemistry topic ‘Electrolysis’. This lesson introduces the topic ‘electrolysis’ and focuses on the process of electrolysis.
This PowerPoint resource includes:
A ‘5-in-5’ retrieval-style starter
A recap of ionic bonding, featuring a ‘choose the word’ written task
Guided class discussions
Multiple choice hand signal quizzes to check for understanding, with answers
Teacher models, including animations
Mnemonic devices to help students remember the names of the ions and electrodes
A printed diagram for students to label of an electrolysis cell
A “fill in the blanks” style task for students to complete
Answer slides
A written plenary task, matching up key definitions from the lesson
A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class.
This is the 3rd lesson in “Chapter 1 - Particles and their behaviour” from Activate 1, Chemistry.
This lesson is on ‘density’ from pages 82 and 83.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Chemistry class, even by those where chemistry 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 is meant by the terms ‘density’, ‘mass’ and ‘volume’
Explain why some solids have different densities
Explain why the same substance has different densities in different states
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
This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum.
This lesson is focused on the structure of plant cells.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Label a plant cell (cell membrane, cytoplasm, mitochondria, nucleus, cell wall, chloroplast, permanent vacuole)
Describe the function of each of the above organelles
All of my lessons 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 revision place mat was designed for a lower ability year 11 group studying the topic ‘homeostasis’.
This resources covers the following topics from AQA GCSE Combined Science:
Structure of a neurone
Reflex arc
Ruler drop test method for reaction time
Endocrine system - matching hormones to glands
Blood glucose control (foundation tier only, no glucagon)
Diabetes (type 1 vs. type 2)
A full hour lesson designed for year 7 as part of an ‘introduction to science’ unit, teaching key science skills to new students in KS3.
This full hour lesson resource contains:
A ‘5 in 5’ style retrieval starter recapping key concepts from primary school
A slide on expectations in science lessons
An activity spotting lab safety issues from an image, with answers (can be printed if preferred)
An embedded music video
An introduction into hazard symbols
A hand signal quiz on hazard symbols
An independent task on hazard symbols, with answer slide
A written plenary task
A series of 8 full 1-hour lessons designed as an introduction unit for year 7s in science.
This resource includes the following lessons, which should be delivered in the order below:
Lab safety
Scientific apparatus
Measuring
Using Bunsen burners
Writing a scientific method
Drawing results tables
Drawing line graphs
Planning an investigation
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook
Embedded videos
Guided class discussions
Guided teacher model slides
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks (exam questions), with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task based on an exam question
This 1 hour lesson covers the following topics:
Causes of extinction
Evidence for extinction
The fossil record
The formation of fossils
This is designed with the GCSE AQA Combined Science specification in mind (and includes exam questions from this syllabus), but this should be fairly transferable.
This resource is a fully planned lesson with engaging lesson hooks, an embedded video, exam questions and scaffolded mark schemes, multiple choice quizzes, and a board game for students to play as a group.
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 designed for a mid-ability year 9 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification.
This class were at the end of the “Quantitative Chemistry” topic, on the spec point “chemical measurements”.
However, this should be suitable for any GCSE class studying errors and uncertainty.
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
Recall the terms systematic error, random error, zero error and parallax error and explain what they mean
Identify which type of error is shown from an example
Know what ‘uncertainty’ means
Calculate uncertainty from a range of results about a mean
This lesson is designed to be teachable by a non subject specialist, with all answers and content on the slides. The intention of each slide is made very clear.
This lesson contains a range of concrete examples, including a model where students will need to use stopwatches.
The mathematical section of this lesson is presented in an “I do, we do, you do” manner with scaffolded examples.
Exam questions are included with mark schemes, and plenty of AFL is planned and included.
This lesson includes a printable worksheet, with answers.
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
An end of year science quiz suitable for all secondary school science pupils, designed for years 7-10.
There are six rounds. Each round is in the style of a classic television game show.
The rounds are:
Round One - Who wants to be a millionaire? Students answer multiple choice questions from a range of topics (Biology, Chemistry and Physics). Students can unanimously decide to use one of the lifelines available.
Round Two - Are you smarter than a 10 year old? Students answer multiple choice questions from the primary school science curriculum, from school years 3-6.
Round Three - The price is right! Students make numerical estimates based on scientific questions, e.g. how many times your heart beats a day. The team closest to the correct answers wins. Points are deducted if students go over the correct answer.
Round Four - Wheel of fortune. Scientific key terms are displayed on the board with most of the letters missing. A short clue is given. Students have to figure out what the key terms are.
Round Five - Pointless. Students are asked a scientific question where they need to name something. Points are given for the most obscure answer.
Round Six - Countdown. Students are given eight letters in a jumble, and a brief clue. Students have until the end of the countdown clock to solve the jumbled science key word.
A full lesson resource on viral diseases from the AQA GCSE Biology specification.
This lesson was designed for a mixed ability year 9 class.
This resource contains:
A ‘5 in 5’ retrieval starter
Details on how viruses replicate
Direct instruction and a discussion on tobacco mosaic virus
An exam question on tobacco mosaic virus with guided self assessment
A video on HIV and AIDS
A ‘fact or fiction’ quiz about HIV and AIDS
Direct instruction on measles
A hand signal quiz on measles
An open task to design a fact sheet on either AIDS or measles for a doctors’ office
A plenary task
A colour coded worksheet with ramped questions designed to teach students to independently write word equations for reactions between a metal and oxygen.
Designed for a KS3 lower ability class, but could be suitable the whole way up to year 11.
Contains an example and 12 questions for students to attempt.
Contains answers.
A full hour lesson designed for year 7 as part of an ‘introduction to science’ unit, teaching key science skills to new students in KS3.
This full hour lesson resource contains:
A ‘5 in 5’ style retrieval starter recapping key concepts from primary school, lab safety, scientific apparatus, and measuring
A lesson hook about fireworks
Retrieval practice - recap Bunsen burner safety
Direct instruction on how to light a Bunsen burner
A health and safety slide
An apparatus slide
Clear practical instructions on how to light a Bunsen burner
Clear practical instructions on how to do flame tests
A written plenary task
A revision placemat overviewing a topic on acids and alkalis, designed for a top set year 8 class.
Could be used for a lower ability KS4 class.
The revision placemat is double sided, with trickier content on the back e.g. symbol equations - could be printed single sided if needed.
Topics covered:
Examples of acids and alkalis
pH scale
Use of universal indicator and litmus paper
Neutralisation reactions
Word equations for neutralisation reactions
Matching acids to their sources (from food and drink)
Balanced symbol equations for neutralisation reactions
A full 1-hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 9 class studying the AQA GCSE Biology topic “Ecosystems”.
This lesson covers interdependence in communities, stable communities and competition.
This full 1-hour lesson resource contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
An embedded YouTube video as a lesson hook
Introduction slides on interdependence (reduced cognitive load, dual coding)
Teacher model slides on interdependence in food webs
A ‘thumbs up, thumbs down’ hand signals quiz, with answers
An exam question for students to practice, with answer slides
Introduction slides on competition, with pictures
An embedded YouTube video on competition in plants
A written recall task with answer slides on competition
A guided ‘turn and talk’
A written exam question on competition, with answer slides
Introduction slides on stable communities
Exam question with answer slides on stable communities
Plenary - written exam question
A full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification.
This lesson is from the ‘electrolysis’ topic and guides students through the Required Practical on electrolysis.
This resource contains a guided PowerPoint (inc. a health and safety slide), and a student method sheet with a results table and application questions. The slide contains answers to the application questions.
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