A whole lesson on the topic of active transport which includes a concise lesson presentation (20 slides) and a set of questions that are used to check on the students’ understanding. This lesson is designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but could be used with A-level students who are covering the topic of movement across cell membranes. The main focus of the lesson is to get students to understand that this is an active process which moves substances against the concentration gradient and therefore needs energy for this process. The final part of the lesson looks at the different types of questions that can accompany this topic and a step-by-step guide is used to answer a difficult longer answer question as a class.

An engaging lesson presentation which looks at the organs of the human endocrine system, the hormones they release and briefly considers some of their functions. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but could be used with younger students at KS3 who are studying the different organ systems in the human body. The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of endo and crine so that students recognise that this is also known as the hormonal system and the hormones are always released directly into the blood. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to maintain engagement and provide opportunities to check understanding in an alternative way to simple questions. This first of these games is called “Any sign of the ENDOCRINE”, where students are challenged to pick the endocrine gland out of a selection of three and then come to board to point to where it would be found on a body outline. The students have to label the diagram on the worksheet included in this lesson and then allocate hormones to 5 of the 6 glands. Time is taken to focus on the pituitary gland and three of the hormones that it releases in FSH, LH and TSH because these relate to the menstrual cycle and the thyroid gland. The final part of the lesson involves students being shown an acronym, HBGT, that they can use in longer answers to ensure that they mention the hormone, blood, the gland that releases the hormone and the target tissue.

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 5.2.1 (Photosynthesis) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include: The interrelationship between photosynthesis and respiration The structure of a chloroplast The importance of photosynthetic pigments in photosynthesis The light dependent stage of photosynthesis The fixation of carbon dioxide and the light independent stage of photosynthesis Factors affecting photosynthesis Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds such as “Can you DEPEND on your knowledge” and “Photosynthesising the SAFE way” 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 an engaging and fully-resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content within topic 2 (Cells and control) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology 9-1 specification. The specification points that are covered in this revision lesson include: Describe mitosis as part of the cell cycle, including the stages interphase, prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase and cytokinesis Describe the importance of mitosis in growth, repair and asexual reproduction Describe the division of a cell by mitosis as the production of two daughter cells, each with identical sets of chromosomes in the nucleus to the parent cell, and that this results in the formation of two genetically identical diploid body cells Explain the importance of cell differentiation in the development of specialised cells Discuss the potential benefits and risks associated with the use of stem cells in medicine Describe the structures and functions of the brain including the cerebellum, cerebral hemispheres and medulla oblongata Explain how the difficulties of accessing brain tissue inside the skull can be overcome by using CT scanning and PET scanning to investigate brain function Explain the structure and function of sensory receptors, sensory neurones, relay neurones in the CNS, motor neurones and synapses in the transmission of electrical impulses, including the axon, dendron, myelin sheath and the role of neurotransmitters Explain the structure and function of the eye as a sensory receptor including the role of the cornea, lens and iris Describe defects of the eye including cataracts, longsightedness and short-sightedness Explain how long-sightedness and short-sightedness can be corrected The students will thoroughly enjoy the range of activities, which include quiz competitions such as "Can I have a P please BOB” where they have to recognise the different phases of mitosis from pictures or descriptions. The activities will crucially enable the students to determine which areas of topic 2 will need their further attention. This lesson can be used as revision resource at the end of the topic or in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams.

This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that includes a detailed and engaging powerpoint (81 slides) 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 8 (Grey Matter) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification. The specification points that are tested within the lesson include: Know the structure and function of sensory, relay and motor neurones including the role of Schwann cells and myelination. Understand how the nervous systems of organisms can cause effectors to respond to a stimulus. Understand how the pupil dilates and contracts. Understand how a nerve impulse (action potential) is conducted along an axon including changes in membrane permeability to sodium and potassium ions and the role of the myelination in saltatory conduction. Know the structure and function of synapses in nerve impulse transmission, including the role of neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine. Understand how IAA bring about responses in plants to environmental cues Know the location and functions of the cerebral hemispheres, hypothalamus, cerebellum and medulla oblongata in the human brain. Understand how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scans are used in medical diagnosis and the investigation of brain structure and function. Understand how imbalances in certain, naturally occurring brain chemicals can contribute to ill health, including dopamine in Parkinson’s disease and serotonin in depression, and to the development of new drugs. Understand the effects of drugs on synaptic transmissions, including the use of L-Dopa in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and the action of MDMA in Ecstasy. Students will be engaged by the numerous quiz rounds such as “From NUMBERS 2 LETTERS” and “COMMUNICATE the WORD” 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 concise lesson acts as an introduction to topic 5.3, Energy and Ecosystems, and describes how plant biomass is formed, measured and estimated. The engaging PowerPoint is the 1st in a series of 3 lessons which have been designed to cover the detailed content of topic 5.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. A quiz round called REVERSE Biology Bingo runs throughout the lesson and challenges students to recognise the following key terms from descriptions called out by the bingo caller: community ecosystem abiotic factor photosynthesis respiratory substrate biomass calorimetry The ultimate aim of this quiz format is to support the students to understand that any sugars produced by photosynthesis that are not used as respiratory substrates are used to form biological molecules that form the biomass of a plant and that this can be estimated using calorimetry. Due to the clear link to photosynthesis, a series of prior knowledge checks are used to challenge the students on their knowledge of this cellular reaction but as this is the first lesson in the topic, the final section of the lesson looks forwards and introduces the chemical energy store in the plant biomass as NPP and students will also meet GPP and R so they are partially prepared for the next lesson.

This lesson describes how genetic diversity within, or between species, can be investigated by comparison of characteristics or biological molecules. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets are primarily designed to cover the content of point 4.7 of the AQA A-level Biology specification but as this is the last lesson in the topic, it has also been planned to contain a range of questions, tasks and quiz rounds that will challenge the students on their knowledge and understanding of topic 4. Over the course of the lesson, the students will discover that comparisons of measurable or observable characteristics, DNA and mRNA sequences and the primary structure of common proteins can all be used to investigate diversity. Links are continually made to prior learning, such as the existence of convergent evolution as evidence of the need to compare biological molecules as opposed to the simple comparison of phenotypes. The issues associated with a limited genetic diversity are discussed and the interesting biological example of the congenital dysfunctions consistently found in the Sumatran tigers in captivity in Australia and New Zealand is used to demonstrate the problems of a small gene pool. Moving forwards, the study of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene by Carl Woese is introduced and students will learn that this led to the adoption of the three-domain system in 1990. The final part of the lesson describes how the primary structure of proteins like cytochrome c that is involved in respiration and is therefore found in most living organisms can be compared and challenges the students to demonstrate their understanding of protein synthesis when considering the differences between humans and rhesus monkeys.

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 6.3.1 (Ecosystems) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Ecosystems Transfer of biomass Recycling within ecosystems Succession Studying ecosystems Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

This is a fully-resourced lesson which looks at how IVF is used a treatment for infertility and considers the arguments for and against this process. The lesson includes an engaging, informative and discussion provoking lesson presentation and a pair of differentiated worksheets which challenge the mathematical skills of the students when looking at the % chance of multiple births from IVF. The lesson begins by getting the students to recognise the phrase “test tube baby” and then to link this to IVF. Extra pieces of interesting information are given throughout the lesson, such as the introduction of Louise Brown at this point. A step by step guide is used to go through the key steps in the process. Questions are continually posed to the students which get them to think and attempt to verbalise their answers such as when they are questioned whether men are needed for this process. There is a focus on key terminology throughout, such as haploid and zygote and genetic screening. Students will learn that multiple births are much more common in IVF births than from natural conception and then they will be asked to manipulate data in a mathematical task with some figures from a maternity ward. As these questions are quite difficult, this worksheet has been differentiated so that all students can access the learning. Although this has been written for GCSE students, it is suitable for use with older students.

This is a fully-resourced lesson that looks at the functional and structural differences between the transport tissues in a plant, the xylem and phloem. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (41 slides), which includes numerous student-led tasks, progress checks and quick competitions and two question worksheets, one of which is a differentiated version to enable those students who are finding this topic difficult to still be able to access the learning. The lesson begins with the introduction of the two tissues as well as a brief introduction to the substances which they each carry. The next part of the lesson focuses on the xylem cells and the resulting xylem vessel, and key terms such as lignin are brought into the lesson so that students can understand how these cells are waterproofed, which causes them to decay and form hollow tubes. Having met a lot of information, students are challenged to act like an examiner to form a table based question to compare the xylem against the phloem where they have to come up with features which could be compared against. This table will form the backbone of the lesson and students will use it later in the lesson when they have to write summary passages about each of the tissues. Moving forwards, a quick competition is used to enable the students to meet the names of the cells that form the phloem tissue, the sieve tube elements and the companion cells. Students will see how they are involved in the functioning of the phloem and questions are posed which relate to other topics such as the involvement of mitochondria wherever active transport occurs. Progress checks like this are found at regular intervals throughout the lesson so that students can constantly assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students. If you are looking to teach about these tissues but to a higher standard, you could use my uploaded alternative called Xylem and Phloem (A-level)

This revision lesson contains an engaging powerpoint (45 slides) and associated worksheets that are incorporated into the lesson to challenge and consolidate the learning. The lesson has been designed to contain a wide range of activities so that students remain motivated and engaged whilst they assess their understanding of the content found in Biology topic 3 (Infection and response) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (Trilogy 9-1) The exam questions, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions found within the lesson challenge the following specification topics: Communicable (infectious) diseases Viral diseases Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Protist diseases The Human defence system Vaccinations Antibiotics Students will be able to use the lesson to identify the areas of the specification that require further attention and this lesson can be used at the end of the topic, in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual GCSE exams.

This is a fully-resourced REVISION lesson that consists of an engaging PowerPoint (87 slides) and associated worksheets that challenge the students on their knowledge of the content of Topic 1 (Lifestyle, Health and Risk) of the Edexcel A-Level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) specification. A wide range of activities have been written into the lesson to maintain motivation and these tasks include exam questions (with answers), understanding checks, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions. The lesson has been designed to include as much which of the content from topic 1, but the following specification points have been given particular attention: The differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, including glycogen and starch (amylose and amylopectin). Be able to relate the structures of monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides to their roles in providing and storing energy Know how monosaccharides join to form disaccharides (sucrose, lactose and maltose) and polysaccharides (glycogen and amylose) through condensation reactions forming glycosidic bonds, and how these can be split through hydrolysis reactions. Know how a triglyceride is synthesised by the formation of ester bonds during condensation reactions between glycerol and three fatty acids. Understand the course of events that leads to atherosclerosis Know how factors such as genetics, diet, age, gender, high blood pressure, smoking and inactivity increase the risk of cardiovascular disease Know the benefits and risks of treatments for CVD Understand the blood-clotting process and its role in CVD Understand how the structures of arteries and veins) relate to their functions. Understand the importance of water as a solvent in transport, including its dipole nature. This lesson can be used at numerous points over the duration of the course, as an end of topic revision aid, in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual A-level exams.

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 4 (Biodiversity, evolution and disease) of the OCR A-level Biology specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Communicable diseases, biodiversity, classification and evolution Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

This lesson guides students through the use of the chi-squared test to determine the significance of the difference between observed and expected results. It is fully-resourced with a detailed PowerPoint and differentiated worksheets that have been designed to cover point 6.1.2 © of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the test to compare the observed and expected results of a genetic cross The lesson has been written to include a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to carry out the test in small sections. At each step, time is taken to explain any parts which could cause confusion and helpful hints are provided to increase the likelihood of success in exam questions on this topic. Students will understand how to use the phenotypic ratio to calculate the expected numbers and then how to find the critical value in order to compare it against the chi-squared value. A worked example is used to show the working which will be required to access the marks and then the main task challenges the students to apply their knowledge to a series of questions of increasing difficulty.

This is a fast-paced lesson which goes through the main steps of selective breeding and looks at the potential risks of this process. The lesson begins by looking at the characteristics of a number of organisms that would be selected. Time is taken to ensure that students understand that selective breeding is not a new thing and has been going on for a very long time and therefore some of the problems associated with this are now being experienced. The actual process is reduced down into 5 steps which can be recalled and applied to questions. The remainder of the lesson looks at the potential issues with selective breeding. The reduction in the nose size of pugs is explored as an example of the health problems which bred animals may face. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

This fully-resourced lesson explores how the presence of particular alleles at one locus can mask the expression of alleles at a second locus in epistasis. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and associated resources have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[ii]) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the use of phenotypic ratios to identify epistasis. This is a topic which students tend to find difficult, and therefore the lesson was written to split the topic into small chunks where examples of dominant, recessive and complimentary epistasis are considered, discussed at length and then explained. Understanding checks, in various forms, are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their progress and any misconceptions are immediately addressed. There are regular links to related topics such as dihybrid inheritance so that students can meet the challenge of interpreting genotypes as well as recognising the different types of epistasis.