An engaging lesson presentation (58 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit B1 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification. The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Eukaryotes and prokaryotes Animal and plant cells Microscopy Chromosomes Diffusion Osmosis Active transport Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like "A QUESTION of CELLS" and "Take the Hotseat" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This revision resource has been designed with the simple aim of motivating the students whilst they assess their understanding of the content found in module 4.2.2 (Classification and evolution) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. This module is often brushed over by students which leads to misconceptions and therefore time has been taken to explain the important concepts so that key points are recalled and retained. The resource includes a detailed and engaging Powerpoint (85 slides) and associated worksheets, some of which are differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work. The range of activities have been designed to cover as much of the content as possible but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention: The biological classification of a species Classification hierarchy The three-domain and five-kingdom classification The features of the five kingdoms Phylogenetic trees Anatomical, physiological and behavioural adaptations Calculating the standard deviation Continuous and discontinuous variation In addition to these topics, some topics from other modules such as cell division and prokaryotic cells are tested in order to challenge the students on their ability to make links between the modules. The range of activities include exam questions and understanding checks as well as quiz competitions to maintain student engagement.

This lesson describes how to use the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to consider the relationship between two sets of data. The PowerPoint and accompanying exam-style question are part of the final lesson in a series of 3 which have been designed to cover point 4.2.2 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The previous two lessons described the different types of variation and explained how to calculate the standard deviation and how to use the Student’s t-test to compare two means. As with the previous lesson, a step by step guide is used to walk the students through the use of the formula to generate the rank coefficient and to determine whether there is a positive correlation, no correlation or a negative correlation. The students are also reminded of the null hypothesis and will be shown how to accept or reject this hypothesis and to determine significance. The students will work through an example with the class and then are given the opportunity to apply their newly-acquired knowledge to an exam-style question. The mark scheme is displayed on the PowerPoint so they can assess their understanding

A resourced lesson which looks at a range of methods that are used to increase biodiversity. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (31 slides) and an associated worksheet The lesson begins by getting students to recall the term biodiversity and time is taken to ensure that the meaning of this word is fully understood. The lesson takes the form of a bus ride around London, looking at some of the attractions which act to increase or maintain biodiversity. Students will “virtually” visit both London Zoo and Kew Gardens and will learn how methods such as the captive breeding programme and the Millenium Seed Bank are used to influence biodiversity. Along with the bus ride, students will compete in a number of quiz competitions which act to maintain engagement whilst introducing key terms or facts. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.

A fully-resourced lesson, which has been designed for GCSE students, and includes an engaging and informative lesson presentation (37 slides) and differentiated worksheets. This lesson explores the type of cell division known as meiosis and focuses on the use of key terminology so that students can apply their knowledge to any organism that carries out this division, and not just humans. For this reason, time is taken at the start of the lesson to go over the meaning of the terms, diploid and haploid. Students are also taught how to think about the quantity of DNA inside a cell in terms of n, so that they can see and understand how this quantity changes through the cell cycle. They are encouraged to fill in a table at each stage of the cycle to show the quantity of DNA. In this way, students will understand how a diploid parent cell goes through interphase and as a result of DNA replication, the quantity of DNA is 4n as the first meiosis division is about to start. Although this could be viewed as high end knowledge, the format of this lesson should allow all abilities to understand and therefore have more chance of being successful with meiosis questions. Students are encouraged to think for themselves to work out how many daughter cells will result at the end of two divisions and to consider the quantity of DNA found inside those cells. At this stage of the lesson, students have to summarise all they have learnt into two key points (as shown on the cover image). The remainder of the lesson gives them the opportunity to apply their knowledge with a range of questions and it is not until right at the end that they are allowed to finally relate this cell division to humans. Although this lesson has been primarily designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK), it is highly suitable for A-level lessons, especially if a teacher wants to recap on this cell division before extending knowledge.

A fully-resourced lesson which has been designed for GCSE students and includes an engaging lesson presentation and associated worksheets. This lesson looks at the three limiting factors of photosynthesis, focusing on the graphs that they produce and ensures that students can explain why temperature is a factor. This lesson begins by introducing the students to the definition of a limiting factor. They are challenged to recognise that it would be photosynthesis which is limited by carbon dioxide concentration and light intensity. The third factor, temperature, is not introduced until later in the lesson so that students are given thinking time to consider what it might be. Having been presented with two sets of data, students are asked to draw sketch graphs to represent the trend. The limiting factors on the light intensity graph are taught to the students so they can use this when working out the limiting factors on the carbon dioxide graph. The remainder of the lesson focuses on temperature and more specifically why a change in this factor would cause a change in the rate of photosynthesis because of enzymes. The student’s knowledge of that topic is tested alongside. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding.

This lesson uses the example of the genetic engineering of bacteria to produce insulin to walk students through the steps involved in this process. It has been written for GCSE students and therefore includes the detail required at this level, such as the involvement of restriction enzymes and the sticky ends that their cut produces. The lesson begins by challenging students to recognise that insulin is being described by a series of clues. Some further details of this hormone are recalled to test their previous knowledge of the endocrine system and also to lead into the genetic engineering of bacteria to make this protein. Moving forwards, time is taken to go through the details of plasmids and how they act as vectors as well as the enzymes, restriction and ligase. The main task of the lesson uses a series of descriptions to go through the steps involved in the process. Words or phrases are missing from each description so students have to use the terms they’ve encountered in this lesson as well as their prior knowledge to complete the step. Discussion-provoking questions are added to encourage the students to consider why certain parts of the process occur. The lesson concludes by the consideration of other organisms which have been genetically engineered as well as some of the risks of the process, which students are asked to complete for homework. As detailed above, this lesson has been designed for GCSE students but could be used with students taking A-level Biology, who are struggling to understand the detail found at this level and need to revisit the foundations.

The AQA specification states that a minimum of 10% of the marks across the 3 assessment papers will require the use of mathematical skills. This revision lesson has been designed to include a wide range of activities that challenge the students on these exact skills because success in the maths in biology questions can prove the difference between one grade and the next! Step-by-step guides are used to walk students through the application of a number of the formulae and then exam-style questions with clear mark schemes (which are included in the PowerPoint) will allow them to assess their progress. Other activities include differentiated tasks, group discussions and quick quiz competitions such as “FROM NUMBERS 2 LETTERS” and “YOU DO THE MATH”. The lesson has been written to cover as much of the mathematical requirements section of the specification as possible but the following have been given particular attention: Hardy-Weinberg equation Chi-squared test Calculating size Converting between quantitative units Standard deviation Estimating populations of sessile and motile species Percentages and percentage change Cardiac output Geometry Due to the detail and extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of A-level teaching time to work through the activities and it can be used throughout the duration of the course

This revision resource has been written to include a range of activities that motivate the students whilst they assess their understanding of the content found in module 2.1.5 (Biological membranes) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The resource includes a detailed and engaging Powerpoint (71 slides) and associated worksheets The range of activities have been designed to cover as much of the content as possible but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention: The movement of molecules by active transport which requires ATP as an immediate source of energy The movement of molecules by passive processes The use of membrane-spanning proteins in facilitated diffusion and active transport Factors that increase the rate of simple diffusion The movement of water across membranes by osmosis The effects that solutions of different water potentials can have on animal and plant cells The fluid mosaic model of membrane structure The roles of the components of the plasma cell membrane In addition to these topics, some topics from other modules such as organelles, synapses and autoimmune diseases are tested in order to challenge the students on their ability to make links between the modules. The range of activities include exam questions and understanding checks as well as quiz competitions to maintain student engagement.

This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content found within Module 5.1.3 (Neuronal communication) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include: The structure and function of sensory, motor and relay neurones The generation and transmission of nerve impulses in mammals The structure and roles of synapses in neurotransmission Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds such as “Communicate the word” and “Only CONNECT” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual A-level terminal exams

This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick differentiated tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content found within Topic 5 (On the wild side) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification. The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include: Be able to describe how to carry out a study on the ecology of a habitat Understand the stages of succession Understand the overall reaction of photosynthesis Understand the structure of chloroplasts in relation to their role in photosynthesis Understand the relationship between NPP, GPP and respiration Understand the effect of temperature on enzyme activity and its impact on plants and animals and microorganisms Know how the temperature coefficient Q10 quantifies the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction Understand how knowledge of the carbon cycle can be applied to methods to reduce atmopsheric levels of carbon dioxide A number of the tasks have been differentiated to allow all abilities of student to access the work and there is a big emphasis on the mathematical skills that can be tested in this topic. Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds such as “Can you DEPEND on your knowledge” and “From NUMBERS 2 LETTERS” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual A-level terminal exams

An engaging lesson presentation (34), accompanied by a summary worksheet, which together explore the factors which change the rate of transpiration and focuses on the explanation behind each factor. The lesson begins by introducing the term, transpiration, and linking this to the structure of a leaf to ensure that students know that water is lost as water vapour out of the stomata. Students are provided with an analogy of plants being like clothes on a washing line to challenge them to come up with some of the factors involved. Time is taken to look specifically at humidity as this is a factor which is commonly misunderstood. Moving forwards, students are challenged to draw sketch graphs to predict whether increasing each of these factors will increase the rate of transpiration or decrease it. A series of questions to lead to answers is used to show the students how to explain the effect of increasing the light intensity. The remainder of the lesson looks at a potometer and how it can be used to calculate the rate. The mathematical skills of the students are challenged during a range of tasks and then linked back to the Science so they can recognise which features of plants will help to reduce water loss. Progress checks are written into this lesson at regular intervals to allow students to assess their understanding and a number of quick competitions act to maintain engagement. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is suitable for A-level students who are studying the plants topic

This lesson introduces the key inorganic ions that are involved in biological processes and includes cations and anions. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.1.2 § of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also makes links to topics in upcoming modules such as respiration, photosynthesis and neuronal communication. The roles of the following ions are covered in this lesson: phosphate nitrate chloride hydroxide hydrogencarbonate hydrogen ammonium sodium potassium calcium Extra time is taken during the lesson to describe how these ions are involved in the transport of carbon dioxide, the conduction of nervous impulses and blood clotting as well as other processes and a number of quiz competitions have been included to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way

This fully-resourced lesson describes the ultrastructure of a prokaryotic cell including the cell wall, capsule,plasmid, flagellum, pili, ribosomes, mesosomes and circular DNA. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the specification point 3.4 that is detailed in the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification but also makes continual references to eukaryotic cells as covered in 3.1 - 3.3 so that comparisons can be made. A clear understanding of terminology is important for A-level Biology so this lesson begins with a challenge, where the students have to come up with a 3-letter prefix that they believe will translate as before or in front of . This leads into the discovery of the meaning of prokaryote as before nucleus which acts to remind students that these types of cell lack this cell structure. Links to the previous lessons on the eukaryotic cells are made throughout the lesson and at this particular point, the students are asked to work out why the DNA would be described as naked and to state where it will be found in the cell. Moving forwards, the students will discover that these cells also lack membrane bound organelles and a quick quiz competition challenges them to identify the specific structure that is absent from just a single word. In addition to the naked DNA, students will learn that there are also ribosomes in the cytoplasm and will discover that these are smaller than those found in the cytoplasm of an eukaryotic cell (but the same size as those in chloroplasts and mitochondria). The remainder of the lesson focuses on the composition of the cell wall, the additional features of prokaryotic cells such as plasmids and there is also the introduction of binary fission as the mechanism by which these organisms reproduce so that students can recognise that prokaryotic cells do not contain centrioles

A detailed lesson presentation (37 slides) and associated worksheets that guide students through the DNA sequencing method called pyrosequencing. The lesson focusses on the numerous enzymes and substrates which are involved in the cascade of events which eventually leads to the production of light when the conversion from luciferin to oxyluciferin occurs. A step by step guide is used to show the students how these events occur and the different outcomes are explored. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of this topic and the links to similar topics. This lesson has been designed for A-level students and above

This lesson describes how to calculate the standard deviation to measure the spread of a set of data and to compare means using the t-test. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the part of point 4.2.2 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification that includes these two statistical tests. A step by step guide walks the students through each stage of the calculation of the standard deviation and gets them to complete a worked example with the class before applying their knowledge to another set of data. This data looks at the birth weights of humans on one day in the UK and this is used again later in the lesson to compare against the birth weights of babies in South Asia when using the student’s t-test. The null hypothesis is introduced and students will learn to accept or reject this based upon a comparison of their value against one taken from the table based on the degrees of freedom.

This is a detailed and engaging lesson that looks at how molecules move between areas of differing concentrations by diffusion and then explores how this occurs across cell membranes and focuses on the alveoli. The lesson begins by using a step by step format to write the definition for diffusion so that key terms such as concentration gradient are understood. Students will be introduced to this as a passive process so that they can understand how active transport differs when this is met in another lesson. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding against a displayed answer. Moving forwards, the lesson focuses on diffusion across cell membranes and uses the example of the exchange surface of the alveoli and blood capillaries to explore the different features which act to increase the rate of diffusion. The final part of the lesson briefly looks at how the villi in the small intestine increase the rate of diffusion. This lesson has been written for GCSE aged students. If you’re looking for a lesson on this topic but for older students, then my alternative upload “Simple diffusion” will be more suitable

This lesson describes the uses and implications of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. The lesson PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 2.17 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but there are regular checks of their knowledge of the content of topic 2, where topics including monohybrid inheritance and cystic fibrosis are tested. The lesson begins by challenging them to use this prior knowledge of topic 2 to identify the letters in the abbreviations PGD and CVS. The involvement of IVF to obtain the embryos (or oocytes) is then discussed and a series of exam-style questions are used to get them to understand how this method screens embryos prior to implantation, so that those identified as having genetic diseases or being carriers are not inserted into the female’s uterus. Mark schemes for all of the questions included in this lesson are embedded into the PowerPoint so students can constantly assess their progress. Moving forwards, Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is used as an example of a chromosomal abnormality that can be tested for using CVS or amniocentesis. Time is taken to describe the key details of both of these procedures so students have a clear understanding of the implications and the invasiveness to the female being tested. The link between amniocentesis and an increased risk of miscarriage is considered and the results of a 2006 study are used to challenge them on their data skills.

This fully-resourced lesson explores the inheritance of sex-linked diseases in humans and then challenges the students to apply their knowledge to examples in other animals. The detailed PowerPoint and associated differentiated resources have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[i]) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of genetic diagrams which include sex-linkage. Key genetic terminology is used throughout and the lesson begins with a check on their ability to identify the definition of homologous chromosomes. Students will recall that the sex chromosomes are not fully homologous and that the smaller Y chromosome lacks some of the genes that are found on the X. This leads into one of the numerous discussion points, where students are encouraged to consider whether females or males are more likely to suffer from sex-linked diseases. In terms of humans, the lesson focuses on haemophilia and red-green colour blindness and a step-by-step guide is used to demonstrate how these specific genetic diagrams should be constructed and how the phenotypes should then be interpreted. The final tasks of the lesson challenge the students to carry out a dihybrid cross that involves a sex-linked disease and an autosomal disease before applying their knowledge to a question about chickens and how the rate of feather production in chicks can be used to determine gender. All of the tasks are differentiated so that students of differing abilities can access the work and all exam questions have fully-explained, visual markschemes to allow them to assess their progress and address any misconceptions.

An engaging lesson presentation (39 slides) which explores how cells differentiate in order to specialise to become more effective at carrying out a particular function. This lesson focuses on five cells - red blood cells, sperm cells, fat cells, ciliated cells and palisade cells. The lesson begins by challenging the mathematical skills of the students as they have to convert the number 37 trillion into standard form. Students will learn that although all of the cells found in a human would be eukaryotic animal cells, they wouldn’t all be the same. They are introduced to the key term differentiation through a quiz competition and time is taken to ensure that students understand how this process leads to specialisation. The remainder of the lesson concentrates on looking at the function and features of the five cells. Quiz competitions are used throughout to maintain engagement whilst ample time is given to student discussion where they are challenged to consider why a cell would have specialised in such a way. Key terminology is consistently used so that students are not caught off guard in an exam question when this specialist language is used. Regular progress checks are written into the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students who are looking to extend their knowledge on the topic of cells.