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 is a highly detailed and engaging lesson that covers the detail of the 2nd part of specification point 6.2.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the establishment of resting potential, the changes in membrane potential that lead to depolarisation and the importance of the refractory period. This topic is commonly assessed in the terminal exams so a lot of time has been taken to design this resource to include a wide range of activities that motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in the depth of detail that will allow them to have a real understanding. Interspersed within the activities are understanding checks and prior knowledge checks to enable the students to not only assess their progress against the current topic but also to challenge themselves on the links to earlier topics such as methods of movements across cell membranes and saltatory conduction. There are also a number of quiz competitions which are used to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and discussion points to encourage the students to consider why a particular process or mechanism occurs.
Over the course of the lesson, the students will learn and discover how the movement of ions across the membrane causes the membrane potential to change. They will see how the resting potential is maintained through the use of the sodium/potassium pump and potassium ion leakage. There is a real focus on depolarisation to allow students to understand how generator potentials can combine and if the resulting depolarisation then exceeds the threshold potential, a full depolarisation will occur. At this point in the lesson students will discover how the all or nothing response explains that action potentials have the same magnitude and that instead a stronger stimulus is linked to an increase in the frequency of the transmission. The rest of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge to explain how repolarisation and hyperpolarisation result and to suggest advantages of the refractory period for nerve cells.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the AQA A-level Biology course and ties in nicely with other uploaded lessons on mammalian sensory receptors and the structures and functions of the neurones.
This is a fully-resourced lesson which includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation and differentiated worksheets that together guide students through the key details of endothermic and exothermic reactions. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but could be used with students entering this topic at A-level who are looking for a recap on the key details.
This lesson focuses on a few critical areas of these reactions and those which are often poorly understood. For example, considerable time is taken to ensure that students understand how energy is taken in to break bonds in a reaction and given out when bonds are formed. From this basis, they learn to compare the amount of energy taken in with the amount given out and ultimately determine whether it is an endothermic or exothermic reaction. The format of the lesson is that students are guided through the combustion of methane as an exothermic reaction and shown how to draw reaction profiles and calculate energy changes using the bond energies to prove it is that type of reaction. Having worked with the teacher and each other on this reaction, students are then challenged to bring their skills together to describe, explain and represent an endothermic reaction. If students feel that they will need some assistance on this task, the worksheet has been differentiated so they can still access the learning. There are a number of quick competitions written into the lesson to maintain engagement and also progress checks are found at regular intervals so students can constantly assess their understanding. The lesson finishes with a final game called The E factor which tests the students knowledge from across the whole lesson.
This fully-resourced lesson is highly detailed and in combination with the uploaded lesson on the causes of diabetes type I and II, it covers all of specification point 6.4.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the homeostatic control of blood glucose concentration using negative feedback mechanisms that release insulin or glucagon. A wide range of activities will maintain motivation and engagement whilst the content is covered in detail to enable the students to explain how the receptors in the pancreas detect the concentration change and how the hormones attaching to receptor sites on the liver triggers a series of events in this effector organ. This is a topic which has a huge amount of difficult terminology so time is taken to look at all of the key words, especially those which begin with the letter G so students are able to use them accurately in the correct context. The action of adrenaline is also considered and linked to the breakdown of glycogen to glucose during glycogenolysis.
This lesson has been written for students studying on the AQA A-level Biology course and ties in with the already mentioned lesson on diabetes but also with the other uploaded lessons on topic 6 such as nerve impulses and kidney function
This fully-resourced lesson describes how the structure of the xylem tissue allows water to be transported in the stem and leaves. Written for AQA A-level Biology, the engaging and detailed PowerPoint and the accompanying worksheets cover the 1st part of specification point 3.4.2 (mass transport in plants) and includes a detailed description of the cohesion-tension theory.
The first part of the lesson focuses on the relationship between the structure and function of the xylem tissue. A number of quiz competitions have been included in the lesson to maintain engagement and to introduce key terms. The 1st round does just that and results in the introduction of lignin which leads into the explanation of how the impregnation of this substance in the cell walls result in the death and subsequent decay of the cell structures. Students are encouraged to discuss how the formation of this hollow tube enables the transport of water to be effective. Moving forwards, other structures such as the bordered pits are introduced and an understanding of their function is tested later in the lesson. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the transport of water in the stem and leaves by root pressure and the transpiration pull, which includes cohesion, tension and adhesion. The lesson has been designed to make links to information covered earlier in the lesson as well to topics from earlier in the specification such as cell structures and biological molecules
Due to the extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 A-level teaching hours to cover the detail included in this lesson.
This lesson describes how the primary structure determines the secondary structure, 3D structure and properties of a protein. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 2.6 (ii) & (iii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but also makes specific reference to genes and protein synthesis and therefore introduces students to processes covered later in topic 2.
The start of the lesson focuses on the formation of a peptide bond during a condensation reaction so that students can understand how a dipeptide is formed and therefore how a polypeptide forms when multiple reactions occur.
The main part of the lesson describes the different levels of protein structure. A step by step guide is used to demonstrate how the sequences of bases in a gene acts as a template to form a sequence of codons on a mRNA strand and how this is translated into a particular sequence of amino acids known as the primary structure. The students are then challenged to apply their understanding of this process by using three more gene sequences to work out three primary structures and recognise how different genes lead to different sequences. Moving forwards, students will learn how the order of amino acids in the primary structure determines the shape of the protein molecule, through its secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure and time is taken to consider the details of each of these. There is a particular focus on the different bonds that hold the 3D shape firmly in place and a quick quiz round then introduces the importance of this shape as exemplified by enzymes, antibodies and hormones. The lesson concludes with one final task where the students have to identify three errors in a passage about the hydrolysis of a dipeptide or polypeptide.
This fully-resourced lesson explores how projects to sequence the genomes of both simple and complex organisms can be used. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the content of point 8.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification.
The start of the lesson describes each step of Sanger’s chain termination method and demonstrates how this method has paved the way for other projects. The use of the modified nucleotides are explained and links are made to the topic 4 and 2 where protein synthesis and DNA replication were first introduced. Students will learn how the radioactively-labelled nucleotide at the end of each fragment allows the next base to be determined. Key processes like gel electrophoresis are introduced and details provided to support the students when this is encountered in greater detail in 8.4.3. Moving forwards, the applications of sequencing in simple organisms like viruses and bacteria are explored and the students are challenged on their prior knowledge of bacterial pathogenesis and current understanding of sequencing through a series of exam-style questions. The final part of the lesson looks at the difficulties of translating genome knowledge into proteome knowledge and considers the development of automated methods.
Due to the detail and extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover all of the points which have been written into the various tasks
This fully-resourced lesson describes the light independent reaction of photosynthesis and explains how reduced NADP is used to form a simple sugar. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 5.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and lengthy planning has ensured that links are continually made to the previous lesson on the light-dependent reaction so that students can understand how the products of that stage are essential for the Calvin cycle
The lesson begins with an existing knowledge check where the students are challenged to recall the names of structures, substances and reactions from the light-dependent stage in order to reveal the abbreviations of the main 3 substances in the light-independent stage. This immediately introduces RuBP, GP and TP and students are then shown how these substances fit into the cycle. The main section of the lesson focuses on the three phases of the Calvin cycle and time is taken to explore the key details of each phase and includes:
The role of RuBisCO in carbon fixation
The role of the products of the light-dependent stage, ATP and reduced NADP, in the reduction of GP to TP
The use of the majority of the TP in the regeneration of RuBP
A step-by-step guide, with selected questions for the class to consider together, is used to show how 6 turns of the cycle are needed to form the TP that will then be used to synthesise 1 molecule of glucose. A series of exam-style questions are included at appropriate points of the lesson and this will introduce limiting factors as well as testing their ability to answer questions about this stage when presented with an unfamiliar scientific investigation. The mark schemes are included in the PowerPoint so students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions are immediately addressed.
This lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the previous lessons on the structure of a chloroplast and the light-dependent stage as well as upcoming lesson on limiting factors
This fully-resourced lesson covers the content of the first part of specification point 6.2.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification that states that students should be able to describe the detailed structure of a cholinergic synapse and a neuromuscular junction and be able to compare the transmission across both of these structures. The majority of the lesson uses the cholinergic synapse as the example but other neurotransmitters and drugs are considered so students are prepared to describe the differing effects on the synapse.
The lesson begins by using a version of the WALL (as shown in the cover image) which asks the students to group 12 words into three groups of 4. Not only will this challenge their prior knowledge from topics earlier in this module but it will also lead to the discovery of four of the structures that are found in a synapse. Moving forwards, students are introduced to aectylcholine as the neurotransmitter involved at cholinergic synapses and they will start to add labels to the structures found in the pre-synaptic bulb. Time is taken to focus on certain structures such as the voltage gated channels as these types of channel were met previously when looking at the depolarisation of a neurone. There is plenty of challenge and discovery as students are pushed to explain why organelles like mitochondria would be found in large numbers in the bulb. With this process being a cascade of events, a bullet point format is used to ensure that the key content is taken in by the students and again key points like exocytosis and the action of acetylcholinesterase are discussed further. The next part of the lesson challenges the application aspect of the specification as students are introduced to unfamiliar situations in terms of synapses with new drugs like MDMA and are asked to work out and explain how these affect the nervous transmission. The final part of the lesson focuses on the NMJ and challenges the students to use the knowledge gained from earlier in the lesson to develop their understanding of these junctions. Time is taken to look at the structure of the sarcolemma to enable students to understand how the binding of the acetylcholine leads to the wave of depolarisation passing to the transverse tubules.
Understanding checks and prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can not only assess their progress against the current topic but also see whether they can make links to earlier topics.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the AQA A-level Biology course but could be used with very able GCSE students who are keen to develop their understanding of synapses over and above the small detail that is provided at that level. This lesson also ties in nicely with the other uploaded lessons from topic 6
This detailed and fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of the polysaccharides: glycogen, starch and cellulose. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 1.1 (iv) as it is detailed in the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and clear links are also made to the previous lessons in this topic where the monosaccharides and disaccharides were introduced.
By the end of this lesson, students should understand how key structural features like the 1 - 4 and 1 - 6 glycosidic bonds and the hydrogen bonds dictate whether the polysaccharide chain is branched or unbranched and also whether it spirals or not.
A range of activities are used to motivate and engage the students as they discover that glycogen is stored in liver and muscle cells, which it is able to do because of its compact structure. They are encouraged to discuss why the branched structure of this polysaccharide means that it can act as an immediate source of energy and they will recognise that hydrolysis reactions at the multiple ends of this chain will release glucose. Following on from the description of the structure of glycogen, students are challenged to design an exam question in the form of a comparison table so that it can be completed as the lesson progresses once they learn more about starch and cellulose. This includes a split in the starch section of the table so that the differing structures and properties of amylose and amylopectin can be considered. In the final part of the lesson, time is taken to focus on the formation of cellulose microfibrils and macrofibrils to explain how plant cells have the additional strength needed to support the whole plant.
Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated teaching time to complete
This detailed lesson describes the role of the strand of mRNA, the tRNA molecules, the amino acids and the ribosome during the second stage of protein synthesis - translation. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 6.2 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification and ties in with the first part of this specification point which covered transcription.
Translation is a topic which is often poorly understood and so this lesson has been written to enable the students to understand how to answer the different types of questions by knowing and including the key details of the structures involved. The lesson begins by challenging the students to consider why it is so important that the amino acids are assembled in the correct order during the formation of the chain. Moving forwards, a quick quiz round called “LOST IN TRANSLATION” is used to check on their prior knowledge of the mRNA strand, the tRNA molecules, the genetic code and the ribosomes. The next task involves a very detailed description of translation that has been divided into 14 statements which the students have to put into the correct order. By giving them a passage that consists of this considerable detail, they can pick out the important parts to use in the next task where they have to answer shorter questions worth between 3 and 4 marks. These types of questions are common in the assessments and by building up through the lesson, their confidence to answer this type should increase. The final two tasks of the lesson involve another quiz called “The protein synthesis game”, where the teams compete to transcribe and translate in the quickest time before using all the information from the lessons on protein synthesis to answer some questions which involve the genetic code and the mRNA codon table.
This bundle of 4 revision lessons has been designed to motivate and engage the students whilst they are being challenged on their knowledge of the content of the following topics in unit 1 (Cells, organ systems and ecosystems) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification:
Topic 1.1: Cells and movement across cell membranes
Topic 1.2: Respiration and the respiratory system in humans
Topic 1.3: Digestion and the digestive system in humans
Topic 1.4: Circulatory system in humans
Each of the lessons contains a wide range of activities including exam questions and quiz competitions that will prepare the student’s for an end of topic test or terminal examination
A fully-resourced lesson, which explores how changes to the sequence of bases on DNA may or may not alter protein structure. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and it builds on the knowledge gained during topic 4 when gene mutations were first introduced.
A quiz runs throughout the lesson where students compete to recognise key terms from their definitions and the lesson begins with an edition of this round as they are challenged to recognise the definition for primary structure. Other terms that arise during the lesson relate to the different gene mutations, the genetic code and mutagenic agents. The focus of the lesson is to support students in their explanations of how a particular mutation can result in a change in the primary structure as well as being able to explain why a substitution mutation may not. In this way, their understanding of the degenerate and non-overlapping nature of the genetic code will be tested and any misconceptions can be addressed. The main section of the lesson covers substitution, deletion and addition mutations before translocation, inversion and duplication mutations are introduced. Links are made to the latter parts of topic 8 so students can understand how the change in the sequence of bases may disrupt gene expression. The final part of the lesson looks at a range of mutagenic agents that can increase the rate of mutation.
This is a detailed lesson resource that covers the content of point 5.1.3 (a) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their understanding of the roles of mammalian sensory receptors. There is a particular focus on the Pacinian corpuscle to demonstrate how these receptors act as transducers by converting one form of energy into electrical energy which is then conducted as an electrical impulse along the sensory neurone.
The lesson begins by looking at the different types of stimuli that can be detected. This leads into a written task where students have to form sentences to detail how thermoreceptors, rods and cones, hair cells in the inner ear and vibration receptors in the cochlea convert different forms of energy into electrical energy. Students will be introduced to the term transducer and will be challenged to work out what these cells carry out by using their sentences. As stated above, students will meet a Pacinian corpuscle and learn that this receptors detects pressure changes in the skin using the concentric rings of connective tissue in its structure. The rest of the lesson focuses on how ions are involved in the maintenance of resting potential and then depolarisation. Time is taken to look into the key details of these two processes so students are confident with this topic when met again during a lesson on the generation of action potentials. All of the tasks are differentiated to allow students of different abilities to access the work. As well as understanding checks to allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic, there are also a number of prior knowledge checks on topics like inorganic ions and methods of movement.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the OCR A-level Biology course
This detailed lesson describes the role of the mRNA, tRNA, amino acids and the ribosome during the second stage of protein synthesis - translation. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 4.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and ties in with the previous lessons in this topic on RNA and transcription.
Translation is a topic which is often poorly understood and so this lesson has been written to enable the students to understand how to answer the different types of questions by knowing and including the key details of the structures involved. The lesson begins by challenging the students to consider why it is so important that the amino acids are assembled in the correct order during the formation of the chain. Moving forwards, a quick quiz round called “LOST IN TRANSLATION” is used to check on their prior knowledge of the mRNA strand, the tRNA molecules, the genetic code and the ribosomes. The next task involves a very detailed description of translation that has been divided into 14 statements which the students have to put into the correct order. By giving them a passage that consists of this considerable detail, they can pick out the important parts to use in the next task where they have to answer shorter questions worth between 3 and 4 marks. These types of questions are common in the assessments and by building up through the lesson, their confidence to answer this type should increase. The final two tasks of the lesson involve another quiz, where the teams compete to transcribe and translate in the quickest time before using all that they have learnt to answer some questions which involve the genetic code and the mRNA codon table.
A fully-resourced lesson that looks at the different sampling methods that can be used to estimate the populations of animals and plants in a habitat and to analyse how their distribution is affected, The lesson includes a detailed and engaging lesson presentation (56 slides) and differentiated worksheets so that students of different abilities are challenged and can access the work.
The lesson begins by looking at the use of a quadrat to estimate the population of plants in a habitat. There is a focus on the mathematical calculations associated with the method and students are given hints and worked examples so that any common misconceptions are addressed. Moving forwards, students are introduced to the capture-mark-recapture technique to sample animals. The rest of the lesson looks at alternative pieces of apparatus, such as the sweep net, and discusses situations when these would be used.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but is appropriate for both younger students who are learning about ecology and also for A-level students who need a recap on this topic.
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 3 (Exchange and transport) of the OCR A-level Biology specification.
The topics tested within this lesson include:
Exchange surfaces
Mammalian gaseous exchange system
Tissues in the gaseous exchange system
Transport in animals
Blood vessels
Exchange at the capillaries
ECG
Transport of oxygen
Transport in plants
Transport tissues
Movement of water through plants
Transpiration
Translocation
Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention
An engaging lesson presentation (43 slides) that uses exam questions, quick tasks and competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the topics within module 6.1.3 of the OCR A-Level Biology A specification. All of the exam questions have displayed mark schemes and explanations so that students can recognise any errors or misconceptions. Competition rounds included in this lesson are "From numbers 2 letters" and "Is this SEQUENCED correctly".
This is a fully-resourced lesson that explores the meaning of irradiation and contamination and challenges the students to make links to the different types of radiation in order to state which type of radiation is most dangerous outside of the body and inside the body. This lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (28 slides) and a differentiated worksheet which gives assistance to those students who find the task of writing the letter difficult.
The lesson has been written to include real life examples to try to make the subject matter more relevant to the students. Therefore, whilst meeting the term contamination, they will briefly read about the incident with Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 to understand how the radiation entered the body. Moving forwards, students will learn that there are examples of consensual contamination such as the injection of an isotope to act as a tracer. At this point of the lesson, links are made to the topic of decay and half-lives and students are challenged to pick an appropriate isotope based on the half-life and then to write a letter to the patient explaining why they made their choice. The remainder of the lesson challenges students to decide which type or types of radiation are most dangerous when an individual is irradiated or contaminated and to explain their answers. This type of progress check can be found throughout the lesson along with a number of quick competitions which act to maintain engagement as well as introduce new terms.
This lesson has been written for GCSE aged students
An engaging lesson presentation (84 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 P5 (Forces) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point P6.5).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Gravity
Speed
Velocity
Acceleration
Newton’s laws
Forces and braking
Momentum
Conservation of momentum
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Can you go the DISTANCE” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
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 6.1.2 (Patterns of inheritance) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification.
The topics tested within this lesson include:
Genetic variation
Monogenic inheritance
Dihybrid inheritance
Multiple alleles
Sex linkage
Codominance
Epistasis
Using the chi-squared test
Discontinuous and continuous variation
The Hardy Weinberg principle
Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention