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.
An engaging lesson presentation (80 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 3 (Quantitative chemistry) of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (specification point C4.3). The lesson includes useful hints and tips to encourage success in assessments. For example, students are shown how to recognise whether to use Avogadro’s constant or the moles formula in a moles calculation question.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Conservation of mass and balanced symbol equations
Relative formula mass
Mass changes when a reactant or product is a gas
Moles
Amounts of substances in equations
Concentration of solutions
Atom economy
Molar volume
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Number CRAZY” and “In the BALANCE” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
A fully-resourced lesson that looks at the meaning of the mole and shows how this measurement is used in calculations. The lesson includes a clear lesson presentation (32 slides) and a set of questions. This lesson has been written to explain in a concise manner so that the key details are understood and embedded. Students are shown how to recognise when a mole calculation requires them to use Avogadro’s constant and when they should the formula including the relative formula mass.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 -16 year olds in the UK)
An engaging lesson presentation (60 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 P2 (Electricity) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Circuit symbols
Current, resistance and potential difference
Series and parallel circuits
Direct and alternating potential difference
Mains electricity
Power
Static charge
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “It doesnt HURT to CONVERT” and “Take the HOTSEAT” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
An engaging lesson presentation (16 slides) which looks at the surface area to volume ratio and ensures that students can explain why this factor is so important to the organisation of living organisms. This is a topic which is generally poorly misunderstood by students and therefore time has been taken to design an engaging lesson which highlights the key points in order to encourage greater understanding.
The lesson begins by showing students the dimensions of a cube and two answers and challenges them to work out what the questions were that produced these answers. Students are shown how to calculate the surface area and the volume of an object before it is explained how this can then be turned into a ratio. Time is taken at this point to ensure that students can apply this new-found knowledge as they have to work out which of the three organisms in the “SA: V OLYMPICS” would stand aloft the podium. Students are given the opportunity to draw conclusions from this task so that they can recognise that the larger the organism, the lower the surface area to volume ratio. The lesson finishes by explaining how larger organisms, like humans, have adapted in order to increase the surface area at important exchange surfaces in their bodies.
There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable for A-level students who want to look at this topic from a basic level
An engaging lesson presentation (72 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 B6 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Sexual and asexual reproduction
DNA structure
Genetic inheritance and disorders
Sex determination
Variation
Genetic engineering
Resistant bacteria
Classification of living organisms
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like "From Numbers 2 LETTERS" and "This shouldn't be too TAXing" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This REVISION resource has been designed to motivate and engage students whilst they are challenged on their knowledge of the content in topics C6-C10 of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification which can be assessed on PAPER 2. This is fully-resourced and contains a detailed PowerPoint (146 slides) and accompanying worksheets, some of which have been differentiated.
The resource was written with the aim of covering as many of the sub-topics in C6-C10 as possible, but the following ones have been given a particular focus:
The general formulae of the alkanes, alkenes, alcohols and carboxylic acids
Reversible reactions and equilibrium
Changing conditions and the position of equilibrium
The factors affecting the rate of reaction
Complete combustion of the alkanes and climate change
The changes in carbon dioxide levels over time
Addition and condensation polymers
Fractional distillation and the properties of the fractions
Analysis and interpreting chromatograms
Detecting cations
This lesson can be used in combination with the PAPER 1 REVISION resource that I have uploaded.
A concise lesson presentation (20 slides) that looks at how the collision theory is related to the rate of reaction. This is a short lesson that would be taught at the beginning of the topic that looks at the rate of reaction and the factors that affect the rate. Students are challenged with a quick competition that gets them to recognise keywords which are involved in the collision theory. Some time is then taken to focus on "activation energy" and how this is shown on a reaction profile. Finally, students will use their keywords to form a clear definition for the collision theory which includes its link to the rate of reaction so this can be used in the upcoming lessons
This lesson has ultimately been designed for GCSE students but can be used with all age groups as an introduction to the topic
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.
This is a fully-resourced lesson that looks at how the transfer of electrons from metals to non-metals causes ionic bonds and compounds to form and then explores the different properties of these structures. The lesson includes a detailed and engaging lesson presentation (43 slides) and a task worksheet which has been differentiated two ways.
The lesson begins by introducing the name of the type of bond, but does not go into any more detail at this stage. This is because the lesson is designed to allow the students to discover that in order for both of the atoms involved to get a full outer shell, electrons have to be transferred from one to the other. Over the course of the lesson, students will recognise that it is the metal that loses the electrons and becomes a positive ion whilst the non-metal gains the electrons and becomes a negative ion. There are lots of discussion and discovery points like this written into the lesson so that students can take ownership for their learning. Students are guided through drawing dot and cross diagrams to represent these compounds and as a result links are made to the topics of naming compounds, writing chemical formulae, forming ions and electron configurations. There are a number of quick competitions in the lesson which introduce new terms to the students. One such competition introduces the term lattice and the lesson builds from here to understand why ionic compounds have high melting and boiling points. Moving forwards, students will also learn that solid ionic compounds cannot conduct electricity whilst those in molten form or in an aqueous solution are able to. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to bring all of the information together they have seen to draw a dot and cross diagram for aluminium oxide, explain how it was formed and then explain how aluminium is extracted from this compound by electrolysis. This final task has been differentiated so that students who need extra assistance can still access the learning.
This lesson has been written for GCSE aged students but could be used with higher ability younger students who are pushing on with the elements, compounds and mixtures topic
This is a fully-resourced lesson about group 7 of the Periodic Table, the halogens, which includes a lesson presentation (34 slides) and a differentiated worksheet. The lesson begins by challenging students to recognise and explain why the electronic structure of group 1 and group 7 means that they react together easily. As the lesson progresses, students will learn more and more properties about the halogens and key terms such as diatomic are used throughout so that students become accustomed to these. Moving forwards, students will carry out a series of displacement reactions so that they can recognise that the reactivity of these elements decreases as they go down the group. Students are challeged to explain this with reference to electron configuration and a differentiated worksheet will help those who need assistance to access this work.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but is suitable for younger students who might be carrying out a project on the Periodic Table
A detailed, engaging and informative lesson presentation (50 slides) and accompanying worksheets that looks at the commonly misunderstood topic of chromatography. This lesson goes through paper, thin-layer and gas chromatography so that students can analyse and interpret the results that would be found on a chromatogram. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recall details of this separation method when they met it at KS3. Students will meet the two chemical phases, mobile and stationary, and begin to understand that this method relies on the distribution of substances between these two phases. Students will meet the calculation for retention factor and be shown how to tackle questions on this topic before trying themselves. Time is taken to go over the details of gas chromatography, in a step by step guide format, as this is a poorly understood topic. There are progress checks throughout the lesson, which include mark schemes and detailed explanations, so that students can assess their understanding and address any misconceptions that could arise.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with A-level students
A fully-resourced lesson (82 slides) 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 the Chemistry unit C4 (Chemical changes) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point C5.4)
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Reactivity series
Extraction of metals and reduction
Oxidation and reduction in terms of electrons
Reactions of metals with acids
Neutralisations
Electrolysis
Half equations
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “It’s time for ACTION” and “Number CRAZY” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This is a fully-resourced REVISION lesson that consists of an engaging PowerPoint (121 slides) and associated worksheets that challenge the students on their knowledge of topics B5 - B7 (Homeostasis and response, Inheritance, variation and evolution and Ecology) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy specification and can be assessed on PAPER 2.
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 that can be assessed in paper, but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention:
The structure of DNA
Genetic terminology
Inheritance crosses
Sex determination
IVF
The structure of the nervous system
Reflexes
Type I and II Diabetes
The main steps in the process of genetic engineering
Antibiotic resistance
Evolution by natural selection
Ecological terms
The carbon cycle
The mathematic elements of the Combined Science specification are challenged throughout the resource.
Due to the size of this resource, it is likely that teachers will choose to use it over the course of a number of lessons and it is suitable for use in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual GCSE exams.
A detailed lesson presentation (25 slides) that introduces students to the difficult topic of specific heat capacity. Students are guided through the equation for energy transferred and shown how to rearrange the equation, so they are able to tackle the question, no matter the subject of the question. There are regular opportunities for students to apply their new found knowledge to questions and to assess themselves against the answers. Quick games and competitions are also used to maintain engagement.
If you choose to download this lesson, it would be much appreciated if you would take just a few seconds to write a review so I can improve my practice and other teachers can see if this resource is right for them. Thank you in advance.
A concise lesson presentation (19 slides) and associated worksheet (newspaper articles) that introduces students to the process of homeostasis in the human body and the three main factors (water potential, blood glucose, temperature) that are controlled by this system. The lesson begins by getting the students to work out a code to give them an exemplary definition for homeostasis. A newspaper article is used to get the students to recognise the three factors that are controlled. A quick competition is used to show the students the main parts of any homeostatic control system.
This lesson is designed for GCSE students but could be used with both KS3 and A-level as a quick recap
This is an engaging and fully resourced REVISION lesson which uses a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick differentiated tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content within topic 1 (Energy) of the AQA GCSE Physics (8463) specification.
The specification points that are covered in this revision lesson include:
Students should be able to describe all the changes involved in the way energy is stored when a system changes, for common situations.
Students should be able to calculate the changes in energy involved when a system
Students should be able to calculate the amount of energy associated with a moving object, a stretched spring and an object raised above ground level
Students should be able to apply the equation to calculate the amount of energy stored in or released from a system as its temperature changes
Students should know that the specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of the substance by one degree Celsius
Students should be able to define power as the rate at which energy is transferred or the rate at which work is done
Students should know that energy can be transferred usefully, stored or dissipated, but cannot be created or destroyed
Students should be able to describe, with examples, how in all system changes energy is dissipated, so that it is stored in less useful ways. This energy is often described as being ‘wasted’
Students should be able to explain ways of reducing unwanted energy transfers, for example through lubrication and the use of thermal insulation.
Students should be able to calculate the energy efficiency for any energy transfer using the recalled equation
Students should know the main energy resources available for use on Earth including fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas), nuclear fuel, biofuel, wind, hydro-electricity, geothermal, the tides, the Sun and water waves.
The students will thoroughly enjoy the range of activities, which include quiz competitions such as “It’s time for ACTION” where they have to compete to be the 1st to recognise a process ending in -tion from its description whilst all the time evaluating and assessing which areas of this topic 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 lesson which introduces gene mutations and then explores how these base changes affect the primary structure of a polypeptide. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to understand how base substitutions and base deletions change the base sequence and describe how this affects the polypeptide.
In order to understand how a change in the base sequence can affect the order of the amino acids, students must be confident in their understanding and application of protein synthesis which was taught in 4.2. Therefore, the start of the lesson focuses on transcription and translation and students are guided through the use of the codon table to identify amino acids. Moving forwards, a quick quiz competition is used to introduce the names of three types of gene mutation whilst challenging the students to recognise terms which are associated with the genetic code and were met in the previous lesson. The main focus of the lesson is base substitutions and how these mutations may or may not cause a change to the amino acid sequence. The students are challenged to use their knowledge of the degenerate nature of the genetic code to explain how a silent mutation can result. The rest of the lesson looks at base deletions and base insertions and students are introduced to the idea of a frameshift mutation. One particular task challenges the students to evaluate the statement that base deletions have a bigger impact on primary structure than base substitutions. This is a differentiated task and they have to compare the fact that the reading frame is shifted by a deletion against the change in a single base by a substitution.
A fully resourced lesson presentation (53 slides) and associated worksheet that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and a quiz competition to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within TOPIC 10 (Using resources) of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification (specification point C4.10). The lesson includes useful hints and tips to encourage success in assessments.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Potable water
Waste water treatment
Alternative methods of extracting metals
Using materials
The Haber process
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds including one called “It’s time for acTION” which requires students to work out a process (ending in -tion) from the provided definition
An engaging lesson presentation (35 slides) that looks at the different physical and chemical defences that plants use to prevent infection by pathogens. There are clear links made between this topic and earlier plant topics, such as structure of plant cells and leaves, to check that knowledge is sound. Students will learn some examples of the chemical defences and be introduced to specific examples in plants. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and includes a set homework as part of the lesson.
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 7.1 of the AQA A-level specification which states that students should be able to use fully-labelled genetic diagrams to predict or interpret the results of crosses involving 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.
The lesson has been designed to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on the topic of inheritance (7.1), so if you like the quality of this lesson please take a moment to look at these too