An engaging lesson presentation that looks at how the amplitude and frequency of a sound wave can change. The lesson uses a range of sounds from recordings and challenges the students to draw the sound waves that would have been produced. In order to understand this topic, it is essential that the key terminology is understood and can be used in the correct context. Therefore, the start of the lesson focuses on wavelength and frequency and then longitudinal and challenges the students to recognise that these could all be related to sound waves. Moving forwards, students will hear a recording and then read a music “critique” that uses the key terminology so that can link the sounds to the change in shape of the waves. The final part of the lesson involves them drawing how the different sound waves would change from the control one. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.

A fast-paced lesson where the main focus is the description of motion with reference to the forces involved. The lesson begins by introducing the term, terminal velocity, and then through consideration of examples in the English language, students will understand that this is the top velocity. The example of a skydiver is used and whilst the story of the dive is told, students are challenged to draw a sketch graph to show the different stages of this journey. An exemplary answer is used to visualise how the motion should be described. Related topics like free body diagrams and resultant forces are brought into the answer in an attempt to demonstrate how they are all interlinked. The next task asks the students to try to describe the remaining parts of the graph and they can assess against displayed mark schemes. The final part of the lesson looks at the two terminal velocities that they were during the skydive and explains that the increased surface area after the parachute was opened led to the second velocity being lower. The last task challenges the students to use this knowledge to answer a difficult exam question. It has been differentiated so those students who need extra assistance can still access the learning. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

This lesson has been designed to help students to explain the relationship between current and resistance in thermistors and LDRs. This can be a topic which students do not engage with or understand well, so this lesson has tried to add engagement with useful tips to deepen their knowledge. A number of quick competitions are used to introduce key terms such as semiconductor and then the key points explained. Students are given an exemplary answer for the thermistor so they can see how their work should be set out when trying to explain the graph produced by a LDR. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be addressed. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.

This lesson has been designed to explore the range of energy sources which are used on Earth and specifically looks at why an increase in the use of renewable sources is critical for the future. The student’s scientific understanding is challenged at each step of the lesson but there is also a mathematical element running throughout. The lesson begins by challenging the students to predict which energy sources contributed the greatest % when presented with a pie chart. Students cover this topic in other subjects like Geography, so the lesson aims to build on this and consolidate the essential understanding. A range of renewable sources are discussed and key terms such as carbon-neutral taken on further. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but parts could be used with younger students who are looking at

An engaging lesson which uses a range of tasks to ensure that students understand the meaning of the term, background radiation, and are able to name a number of sources of this type of radiation. The start of the lesson focuses on the definition of background radiation and the idea that is all around us is revisited again a number of times during the lesson. Through a range of activities and discussion points, students will meet the different sources as well as the % that they each contribute. It seemed appropriate to challenge some mathematical and scientific skills at this point so students will represent the data in a pie chart form. Related topics are discussed such as Chernobyl. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so the students can constantly assess their understanding. This lesson is designed for GCSE students.

A fully-resourced lesson that explores how resistance, current and potential difference differ between series and parallel circuits. This knowledge needs to be sound in order for students to be able to carry out circuit calculations. The lesson includes a practical and task-based lesson presentation (24 slides) and an accompanying worksheet. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise the key difference between the two circuits, in that in a parallel circuits, the electrons can follow more than one route. Moving forwards, each physical factor is investigated in each type of circuits and students carry out tasks or calculations to back up any theory given. Helpful analogies and hints are provided to guide the students through this topic which is sometimes poorly understood. Students will be challenged to use the V = IR equation on a number of occasions so that they are comfortable to find out any of these three factors. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students are constantly assessing their understanding and any misconceptions can be addressed. This has been written for GCSE students, but could be potentially used with higher ability KS3 students.

A concise, fast-paced lesson that looks at the orbits of both natural and artifical satellites. The lesson has been written to build on the student’s knowledge of space from KS3 and add key details such as the gravitational pull between the different celestial objects. Students will learn how the speed of the orbiting object and the gravitational pull ensure that the object remains in orbit and consider what would happen should the speed change. Students are briefly introduced to a number of orbits of artificial satellites as well as the uses. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students

A fast paced lesson which focuses on the equation for work done and using this in calculations. The lesson includes a student-led lesson presentation and a question worksheet which together explore the different problems that students can encounter when attempting these questions and therefore acts to eliminate any errors. There is a big mathematical element to the lesson which includes the need to rearrange formula, understand standard form and to convert between units as this is a common task in the latest exams. Students will learn that some questions involve the use of two equations as they are needed to move from a mass to a force (weight) before applying the work done equation. The last part of the lesson looks at how work done is involved in the calculation for power. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.

A fast-paced lesson that looks at weight and how this differs on different planets depending upon the gravitational field strength. At the start of the lesson, the students are shown the equation to calculate gravity force and weight and are challenged to spot a difference (if there is one)! Time is then taken to explain how weight is the term used when a mass comes into the gravitational field of the Earth (or other planets). A quick understanding check, with the gravitational field strength Olympics, is used to see whether students can calculate this field and their mathematical skills are tested with a number of conversions needed to do so. Moving forwards, students are shown a number of masses and weights on the Earth and the Moon so they can see how mass does not change but weight will be different. The final task challenges them to apply their new-found knowledge to calculate their mass on the Earth, the Moon and Jupiter. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but it is suitable for KS3 students who are exploring the Universe topic.

An informative lesson which guides students through the commonly misunderstood topic of drawing free body diagrams and using them to calculate resultant forces. The lesson begins by ensuring that students understand that force is a vector quantity and therefore arrows in diagrams can be used to show the magnitude and direction. Drawing free body diagrams is poorly understood and therefore time is taken to go through the three key steps in drawing these diagrams. Each of these steps is demonstrated in a number of examples, so students are able to visualise how to construct the diagrams before they are given the opportunity to apply their new-found knowledge. The rest of the lesson focuses on calculating resultant forces when the forces act in the same plane and also when they are at angles to each other. Again, worked examples are shown before students are challenged to apply. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be addressed. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students

This lesson has been written for GCSE students and aims to ensure that they can explain in detail why light changes direction due to refraction. The key to the explanation is the use of the correct terms in context so the start of the lesson challenges the students to come up with the key words of light, bend, normal, density and speed when given a range of clues. The next part of the lesson works with the students to bring these key terms together to form a definition of refraction. Moving forwards, the relationship between density of a medium and the speed of light through that medium is discussed so that there is a clear understanding of why light bends one way or the other. The next task uses the definition to apply to a practical situation to draw a diagram of light moving from air to glass. The final part of the lesson involves a range of practicals so this topic can be explored further.

A fully-resourced lesson which includes a concise lesson presentation (16 slides) and accompanying worksheet that guides students through the use of the gravitational potential energy equation to calculate energy, mass and height. The lesson begins by challenging students to work out the factors involved in calculating gravitational potential energy having been given a scenario with some balls on shelves. The students will discover that mass and height affect the energy size and that a third factor, gravity constant, is involved. The rest of the lesson focuses on using the equation to calculate energy, mass and height. In terms of the latter, students have to carry out an engaging task to work out the height that three flags have to be hoisted to during a medal ceremony. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

A fully-resourced lesson which focuses on using the kinetic energy equation to calculate energy, mass and speed. The lesson includes a lesson presentation (23 slides) which guides students through the range of calculations and accompanying worksheets which are differentiated. The lesson begins with the students being drip fed the equation so they are clear on the different factors involved. They are challenged to predict whether increasing the mass or increasing the speed will have a greater effect on the kinetic energy before testing their mathematical skills to get results to support their prediction. Moving forwards, students are shown how to rearrange the equation to make the mass the subject of the formula so they can use their skills when asked to calculate the speed. The final task of the lesson brings all of the learning together to tackle a set of questions of increasing difficulty. These questions have been differentiated so that students who need extra assistance can still access the learning. This lesson has been written for GCSE students

An engaging lesson presentation (28 slides) and accompanying worksheet, which together look at how to calculate efficiency and explores how efficiency can be increased by reducing the ways that energy is transferred to less useful stores. The lesson begins by looking at the key term, dissipated, and ensuring that students understand that energy being dissipated to a thermal energy store is one of the main reasons why efficiency will be low. Moving forwards, students are introduced to the equation to calculate efficiency and shown how to leave the answer as a decimal or percentage. Mathematical skills are challenged when calculating the efficiency as a number of units have to be converted. The rest of the lesson looks at a range of methods that can be used to reduce losses. Students will work with the teacher to understand how lubrication works and then a homework task gets them to explore how insulation in homes reduces heat losses. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at the calculation of a turning force and uses this to apply the principle of moments. The lesson includes an engaging and informative lesson presentation (24 slides) and a series of worksheets, some of which contain questions which have been differentiated. The lesson begins by getting the students to read through the scene from Friends which involves the famous “PIVOT”. This word has been removed from the scene and so students have to work out what it is and how it could relate to a Physics lesson. The rest of the lesson focuses on the range of calculation questions that students can face, which get progressively more difficult. At each stage of the lesson, students are guided through examples and given hints on points to be conscious of so that any silly mistakes can be eradicated. The principle of moments question worksheet has been differentiated two ways so that those students who need extra assistance are still able to access the learning. A homework question is also included in the lesson. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but should higher ability KS3 students want to really test themselves, it could be used with them.

A fully-resourced lesson which explores the photosynthesis reaction, focusing on where it takes place and the reactants and products of this chemical reaction. This lesson includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation (45 slides), a summary task and a crossword which is used throughout the lesson. Students will already have a fair knowledge of this topic from KS3 so this lesson has been written to take that knowledge and push it forward. Key details are added throughout the lesson such as how the reactants enter the plant by osmosis and diffusion and also how water travels from the roots to the leaves in the xylem vessel. An engaging competition runs during the lesson called “LIGHT up the crossword” and this enables the key terms of the topic to be stored in one place. There are two main written tasks during the lesson which challenge the students to summarise the reaction using all that they have learnt and also to state the different uses of glucose. The lesson has been linked to related topics with understanding checks written in at regular intervals so this knowledge can be assessed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students who want to learn more than they currently know

This lesson has been written for GCSE students with a focus on the key processes and reactions involved in the carbon cycle as well as discussions centering around how the levels of carbon dioxide alter during the day and over longer periods of time. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms or to challenge students to recognise key reactions that they will have already met in their Biology lessons. As each stage of the cycle is encountered, time is taken to discuss the potential impacts and the organisms involved. The remainder of the lesson looks at carbon dioxide levels. Initially, students are challenged to explain why the levels would change during the course of a day. Students are already likely to be aware that carbon dioxide levels have increased over the last 100/200 years but not necessarily how much. Time is taken to focus on the mathematical skills which could be challenged on this topic and the percentage change equation is shown to the students so they can quantify their answers. As a class, deforestation and its effect on the carbon cycle and atmospheric levels are discussed so that students can mirror this in a homework task about combustion of fossil fuels. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students are constantly assessing their understanding.

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how auxins are involved in the response to the stimuli and gravity. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (29 slides) and associated worksheets which have been differentiated. The lesson begins by challenging students to consider the different stimuli that a plant will respond to. There is focus throughout the lesson on the use of key terminology and students will start immediately by meeting the different types of tropisms. A quick competition is used to introduce the students to auxins and the key details of these chemicals are discussed. They will see how they are produced in the tips of shoots and roots and cause cell elongation in the shoots. A summary task is used to get the students to explain how a plant grow towards a light source. The next task challenges the students to apply their knowledge as a range of experimental data is shown to them and they have to predict how the plant would respond and explain - this task has been differentiated two ways so those students who need extra assistance can access the learning. The final part of the lesson looks at gravitropism and all of the learning is brought together to explain how the shoots grow away and the roots towards. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

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

An engaging and informative lesson presentation (40 slides) that looks at the different steps that have to be taken when trying to identify potential donors for organ transplants. Links are made throughout the lesson to related topics such as the human defence systems and blood groups. The lesson begins by challenging the students to use their knowledge of the body’s defences to explain why closely matching tissues is critical when choosing a donor. Moving forwards, students will see how the four blood groups in the ABO system need to receive certain bloods and can only be given to certain others. There is a brief discussion of the HLA antigens and why this needs to be matched. The remainder of the lesson focuses on immuno-suppressant drugs and the advantages and disadvantages to individuals of taking these drugs. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding and any misconceptions to be addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students