Taught to a higher ability year 10 class over several lessons. Lesson 1 - The structure of the Heart Lesson 2 - Blood vessels Lesson 3 - Components of the blood (station activity, students collect info from around the room on the 4 components, and then apply their knowledge to answer exam-style questions).

Designed for high ability year 8s - in small groups, pupils use the provided information to plan a mini 'lesson' on their allocated deficiency. One pupils stays at their station to teach others - the rest move around the room, learning about the other deficiencies. They then return to their group, and teach their presenter about what they have learnt. Move on to look at BMIs, with some celeb data. Pupils are prompted to consider how this may not be a reliable measure of health. e.g. rugby player categorised as obese.

30 minute discussion based activity with my form group looking at the current clown craze, and discussing the possible implications of this. Generated much discussion. Led to looking at 'what makes a good news story'. Whilst this alongside Kim K being robber, and Brangelina breaking up, 7 species of bees have become endangered. Excellent talking point.

Short intro with PowerPoint presentation. Students given SOLO sheet to work through, with support from new AQA textbook. Enables pupils to develop their understanding at their appropriate level of learning, meaning some will progress through the sheet further than others.

Discussion used with my form group - links to wider conversation regarding footballers returning to the game after a crime (cases of death by dangerous driving, and outcry regarding footballers being signed after their prison sentence). Worked well with the boys in my class.

A topic I looked at with my form over two tutorial sessions. The first session, discussing what a dilemma is and allowing them to look through the scenario cards in pairs and discussing the issues, before sharing ideas as a class. The second session allowed individuals to respond more personally, recording their ideas on the worksheet. Extension to get them to link this to everyday life - what are the big moral dilemmas facing society? Session used to tie in with bullying and 'snitch' issues within this year group. To get them to think more closely about their actions and their implications and to develop decision-making skills.

Used with my Year 12 class to introduce DNA and RNA, and to cover DNA replication.

Used with high ability year 10 class. Eye diagram unlabelled (blown up to A3) given to each group, with a set of label cards. First use prior knowledge to label the diagram - assessing prior knowledge. Then move around the room collecting information on the structures of the eye, filling in the worksheet. Return to group, and use this information to have another go at labelling the diagram. Excellent means of showing progress. Move on to each label their own diagram, and discuss rods/cones - linking back to previous lesson on the Nervous system.

Used with high ability year 10 class. Work through SOLO levels of understanding. Accompanied by AQA textbook, but any would do/could be shown in lesson with students later demonstrating their understanding.

Activity I used with my high ability year 10 class - trying to encourage them to think about skill development, rather than simple knowledge acquisition. Used an intro to highlight why metacognition and self-assessment are important parts of learning. Students then used a sheet to write down their learning high points and improvement points for these topics. Then looked back through the end of unit test and formative comments in their books - made improvements/corrections to their work and noted these down in steps taken. Sheet glued in for me then to respond to, giving them targets for the next topic, as well as effort and test grading.

PowerPoint used with my year 12s, who were preparing to go into local primary schools to teach science lessons. Based on principles from my training year, so could be used as an intro to trainee teachers. Covers - questioning, learning styles, AfL

Lesson designed for high ability class - but could be adapted to suit any needs. - Began lesson with recap to previous learning relating to the nervous system. - Assess prior knowledge using laminated structure labels and A3 eye diagram. - Students move around the room using the table, and assorted sheets to collect information. - Use this information to reorder their labelled diagram, now they have a enhanced understanding. - Discussion regarding perception of colour - Plenary ('To the left'): books closed, each group gets a new diagram. In silence, one person in the group labels a structure, and passes it to the left, and so on. pupils may amend each others' answers, but this is a silent activity to check understanding.

A lesson used with a high ability year 10 class. Excellent worksheet on labelling a reflex arc also used (sourced on TES).

Used with a high ability year 10 group, could be amended for use with different sets.

Used with very mixed ability year 9 group over several lessons, in a school where pupils have access to iPads for research, etc.

Introduction to plant organ systems, with a mixed ability year 9 class.

- high ability year 10 class. - began with Chinese whispers to mimic the Nervous System (seventy seven benevolent elephants). Class were then able to guess the topic we were learning about, through the game. - discussed 'brainbow' (google this, mapping of neural pathways) - labelled diagrams of neurones and discussed their structure.

Used with a high ability year 10 class, in a lesson about the structure and function of the brain. To get them used to interpreting and analysing information, and to link NS structure to nature of the condition.

Year 12 lesson.