A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This lesson describes how the empirical formula of a compound can be deduced from the masses of the different parts. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 1.44 & 1.45 of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification and also covers those points in the Chemistry section of the Combined Science course.
This lesson uses a step-by-step guide to walk students through the method involved in calculating the empirical formula. Students are given a template to use as they are introduced to the questions and then encouraged to work without it as the lesson progresses. The students are shown how empirical formula questions can be made more difficult and hints are given so that students are able to tackle them and access all of the marks available.
This lesson describes how the limiting reactant controls the mass of the product formed and explains how to deduce the stoichiometry. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet, which is differentiated, have been designed to cover points 1.52 & 1.53 of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification and also covers those points in the Chemistry section of the Combined Science course. Step by step guides are used to go through worked examples so students are able to visualise how to set out their work.
The lesson begins with a fun analogy involving sausages and potatoes so that students can identify that the potatoes limited the sale of food. Alongside this, students will learn the key term excess. Some time is then taken to ensure that students can spot the limiting reactant and the one in excess in actual chemical reactions and method descriptions. Moving forwards, students will be guided through two calculations that involve limiting reactants - those to calculate the theoretical yield and the other to calculate a balanced symbol equation. Other skills involved in these calculations such as calculating the relative formula mass are recalled and a few examples given to ensure they are confident. The question worksheet has been differentiated two ways so that any students who need extra assistance can still access the learning.
This bundle of 8 lessons covers a lot of the content in Topic C3 (Chemical changes) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science & GCSE Chemistry specifications. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Acid, alkaline and neutral solutions
Reactions of acids
Detecting gases
Neutralisation reactions
Acid-alkali titrations
Electrolysis of molten salts and solutions
Writing half equations
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This lesson revisits the topic of random and systematic errors and also challenges students on other scientific skills such as identifying variables. Students tend to find this topic confusing, so the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to support them to identify whether an error is random or systematic and then to understand what to do next.
The lesson guides the students through a series of real life examples and shows them how to spot each type of error. There is a considerable mathematical element to this lesson, including the calculation of means or missing values in a table.
The lesson concludes with a series of exam-style questions where the students have to apply their understanding of identifying errors, variables and calculating means.
A concise lesson presentation (19 slides) which looks at meaning of the key term, polymers, and briefly explores addition and condensation polymers. The lesson begins with a fun exercise to enable students to come up with the word polymers so that they can be introduced to the definition and then relate this to another term, monomers. A quiz competition is used to introduce addition and condensation polymers. Students are shown the displayed formulae and names of a few addition polymers and then challenged to use this to name and draw some others. They will then learn how DNA is an example of a condensation polymer. A set homework is included in the lesson which gets students to research thermosetting and thermosoftening polymers
This engaging and detailed lesson presentation (43 slides) uses a step by step guide to take students through the important scientific skill of drawing graphs to represent data and address all the misconceptions and misunderstandings that often accompany this topic. The lesson begins by explaining to the students how to decide whether data should be represented on a line graph or a bar chart and a competition called "To BAR or not to BAR" is used to allow them to check their understanding while maintaining motivation. Moving forwards, students are shown a 6 step guide to drawing a line graph. Included along the way are graphs that are wrong and explanations as to why so that students can see what to avoid. There are continuous progress checks and a homework is also included as part of the lesson.
This lesson is written for students of all ages who are studying Science.
An engaging lesson presentation (64 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 TOPIC 8 (Chemical analysis) of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (specification point C4.8)
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Pure substances
Chromatography
Identification of common gases
Identification of ions
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Take the CHROMATOGRAPHY hotseat” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This highly detailed and engaging lesson presentation (143 slides) acts as an excellent revision tool for students who are approaching their 1st OCR Gateway A GCSE Chemistry paper which includes the topics found in modules C1 - C3. This lesson uses a range of exam questions with explained answers, quick tasks and quiz competitions (such as UNLOCK the SAFE) to encourage the students to assess their understanding of the specification content and ultimately recognise any areas which will need further attention before the exam.
The topics that are covered in this revision lesson include:
Ionic, covalent and metallic bonding
Atomic structure
Using the Periodic Table
Mole calculations
Balancing symbol equations
Conservation of mass
Pure and impure substances
Chromatography
Calculating energy changes in reactions
Reaction profiles
Endothermic and exothermic reactions
The detail in this presentation means that it is likely to be spread over a number of lessons and small chunks can be used at a time when revision needs to be specific.
A fully resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within TOPIC 9 (Chemistry of the atmosphere) of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (specification point C4.9).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
The proportion of different gases in the atmosphere
The Earth’s early atmosphere
Greenhouse gases
Atmospheric pollutants
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require further attention
A fully resourced lesson, which includes differentiated worksheets, and guides the students through the process of extracting aluminium. There are close links throughout the lesson to the reactivity series and electrolysis so that the students are able to understand how the knowledge of all of these is brought together. Students will meet cryolite and recognise why this is used in the process and will finish off by writing half equations to show the products at the electrodes.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK)
This is a detailed and engaging lesson presentation which focuses on the properties of the elements found in group 1 of the Periodic Table, the alkali metals. Students are challenged throughout the lesson to be able to link their observations of the reactions to the properties. Once they have learnt that the reactivity increases as they move down the group, time is taken to go over this in detail so that students can explain why sodium is more reactive than lithium (and so on) in terms of electron configuration. Progress checks are embedded throughout the lesson so that students have the opportunity to assess their understanding.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but is suitable for younger students who may be carrying out a project on the Periodic Table
A concise lesson presentation (21 slides) which uses a range of methods to allow students to discover how to draw dot and cross diagrams for covalent structures. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recall their knowledge of electronic structure to show the outer shell of two specified atoms. They will then see how it is possible for both of these atoms to get full outer shells by sharing as happens in this type of bonding. A few more examples are used to consolidate this understanding before quick competition is used to check the understanding so far. Moving forwards, a step by step guide shows students how to draw dot and cross diagrams using the same techniques as was utilised with the hulas.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students.
A concise lesson presentation (22 slides) that looks at how catalysts affect the rate of a chemical reaction and focuses on the Science behind this topic. The lesson begins with the introduction of the key term and its definition to ensure that students are confident in the use of a catalyst in the correct context. More key terms like “activation energy” are introduced and links made to related Chemistry topics such as endothermic and exothermic reactions. Students are challenged to show how the activation energy will differ in the presence of a catalyst. The rest of the lesson involves a practical and the collection of results so that students can compare their data against the theory which was introduced earlier in the lesson.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.
A lesson presentation (44 slides), accompanied by a question worksheet, which together looks at the reactants and products of a neutralisation reaction and challenges students to represent these reactions with equations. The lesson begins with a bit of fun as students are asked to read through a scene from the US comedy show and spot that a neutralisation reaction is hidden under the jokes. Students will use their KS3 knowledge to recall that these reactions involve acids and alkalis and moving forwards they will be introduced to a new term, base. The rest of the lesson focuses on writing word and balanced symbol equations for different neutralisation reactions. A step by step guide is used to demonstrate how to work out the name of the salt as well as writing accurate chemical formulae. Finally, students are challenged to apply their new-found knowledge and complete equations for 4 neutralisation reactions and they can assess against the displayed mark schemes. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that this self-assessment is constant and any misconceptions are quickly addressed.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with younger students who are looking to extend their knowledge
A fast-paced lesson that looks at the key details of the different substances which are found along the pH scale. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and to build on the foundation knowledge that they picked up at KS3. Along with the obvious Scientific knowledge associated with the lesson, both numeracy and literacy skills are challenged during the lesson. Time is taken to ensure that the meaning of pH is understood and new terms such as base are introduced, so that these are recognised when written in assessment questions. Students will recall the scale numbers associated with acidic, neutral and alkaline solutions and their knowledge will be extended through the introduction of hydrogen and hydroxide ions. A method for taking a pH reading using a pH probe is included which can be used should the teacher chose that it is required. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding.
This is an engaging and practical-based lesson which uses the background idea of a man needing to make crystals for a date to engage students into understanding how the separation methods of filtration and crystallisation work. Like all of the lessons in the separation topic, a lot of the key terms sound similar and are often wrongly used by students. For this reason, time is given in the lesson to ensure that students can use them correctly, especially when describing filtration. In line with the background of the lesson, students are challenged to come up with the apparatus and substances needed to make the crystals. A method is provided so should the teacher choose, students will be able to carry out the practical and produce the copper sulphate crystals. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals, which question the students on this lesson topic and that of related ones and the final task of the lesson involves an exam question where students have to describe the method and equipment needed to make crystals.
This lesson has primarily been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 years in the UK) but is appropriate for younger students who are studying the separation topic
This bundle of 6 lessons covers all of the content in the sub-topic P6.1 (Radioactive emissions) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Physics specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Atoms and isotopes
The properties of alpha, beta and gamma radiation
Nuclear decay equations
Half-life
Background radiation
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 8 lessons covers the majority of the content in the sub-topic C6.1 (Improving processes and products) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics and specification points covered within these lessons include:
Extracting metals by using carbon
Explain why and how electrolysis is used to extract metals from their ores
Alternative biological methods of metal extraction
The separation of crude oil by fractional distillation
The fractions as alkanes
The production of useful products by cracking
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This is a concise, fast-paced lesson that introduces students to addition polymers and guides them through drawing displayed formulae to represent both the monomers and polymers involved in these reactions. Students will learn the conditions needed for these reactions and that the polymers produced by addition reactions are the only products. The main part of the lesson involves a step by step guide to show students how to draw displayed formulae. Hints are given throughout the process so that students can remember the key ideas and are able to represent these substances accurately. A number of progress checks have been written into the lesson so that students can assess their understanding any misconceptions can be addressed.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students
This bundle of 4 lessons covers all of the content in the sub-topic C2.1 (Chemical bonds) of the AQA Trilogy GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics and specification points covered within these lessons include:
Chemical bonds
Ionic bonding
Ionic compounds
Covalent bonding
Metallic bonding
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.