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 fully-resourced lesson looks at the internal and external structure of the mammalian heart and uses the human heart to represent this anatomy. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 3.1.2 (e) (i) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification
As this topic was covered at GCSE, the lesson has been planned to build on this prior knowledge whilst adding the key details which will enable students to provide A-level standard answers. The primary focus is the identification of the different structures of the heart but it also challenges their ability to recognise the important relationship to function. For example, time is taken to ensure that students can explain why the atrial walls are thinner than the ventricular walls and why the right ventricle has a thinner wall than the left ventricle. Opportunities are taken throughout the lesson to link this topic to the others found in topic 3.1.2 including those which have already been covered like circulatory systems as well as those which are upcoming such as the initiation of heart action. There is also an application question where students have to explain why a hole in the ventricular septum would need to be repaired if it doesn’t naturally close over time.
Each of the 7 lessons in this bundle are fully-resourced and have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 3.4.1 (Mass transport in animals) of the AQA A-Level Biology specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
Haemoglobin and the role in the transport of oxygen
The effects of carbon dioxide concentration on the dissociation of oxyhaemoglobin
The general pattern of blood circulation in a mammal
The gross structure of the human heart
The calculation of cardiac output
Pressure and volume changes and valve movements during the cardiac cycle
The structure and function of arteries, arterioles and veins
The formation of tissue fluid
The lessons have been written to include a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other topics within this topic and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the blood vessels and the formation of tissue fluid lessons as these are free
This fully-resourced REVISION lesson has been written to challenge the students on their knowledge of the content of topic 8 (Transport in mammals) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources will motivate the students whilst they assess their understanding of the content and identify any areas which may require further attention.
The wide range of activities have been written to cover as much of the topic as possible but the following specification points have been given particular focus:
The significance of the oxygen dissociation curves at different concentrations of carbon dioxide (The Bohr effect)
The role of haemoglobin in carrying oxygen
The role of haemoglobin in carrying carbon dioxide
Draw the structures of red blood cells, neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes
The relationship between the structure and function of a capillary
The internal structure of the heart and its associated blood vessels
Explain how heart action is initiated and controlled
The pressure changes of the cardiac cycle
The relationship between the structure and function of arteries and veins
The double, closed circulatory system of a mammal
Quiz rounds such as “Does this FLOW correctly” and “YOU DO THE MATH” are used to test the students on the finer details of their knowledge of the blood vessels and numerical facts
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the structure of genes and explores their role as a base sequence on DNA that codes for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the second part of point 4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and has been written to specifically tie in with the previous lesson on DNA in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check as the students have to recognise the key term chromosome from a description involving DNA and histones. This allows genes, as sections of a chromosome, to be introduced and the first of a number of quiz rounds is then used to get the students to meet the term locus so that they can understand how each gene has a specific location on a chromosome. Whenever possible, opportunities are taken to make links to the other parts of the AQA specification and this is utilised here as students are reminded that alternative versions of a gene (alleles) can be found at the locus. Moving forwards, students will learn that 3 DNA bases is a triplet and that each triplet codes for a specific amino acid. At this point, the genetic code is introduced and students are challenged to explain how the code contains 64 different triplets. By comparing this number against the number of different amino acids in proteins, students will see how each amino acid is encoded for by more than one triplet and how this explains the degenerate nature of the genetic code. Again, an opportunity is taken to link to gene mutations. Finally, the students are told that most of the nuclear DNA in a eukaryote doesn’t code for a polypetptide and that even within a gene, there are coding and non-coding regions known as exons and introns respectively. The last section of the lesson uses a quiz round to check on all of the key terms which have been met in the two lessons on DNA, genes and chromosomes.
This engaging lesson covers the biological classification of a species, phylogenetic classification and the use of the binomial naming system. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.5 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which is titled species and taxonomy.
The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of a population in Biology so that the term species can be introduced. A hinny, which is the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, is used to explain how these two organisms must be members of different species because they are unable to produce fertile offspring. Although the art of courting might be lost on humans in the modern world, the marabou stork is used as an example to show how courtship behaviour is an essential precursor to successful mating in most organisms. Students are encouraged to discuss other examples of courtship behaviour, such as the release of pheromones and birdsong, so that their knowledge and understanding is broad.
Moving forwards, students will learn that species is the lowest taxon in the modern-day classification hierarchy. A quiz runs throughout the lesson and this particular round will engage the students whilst they learn the names of the other 7 taxa and the horse and the donkey from the earlier example are used to complete the hierarchy. Students will understand that the binomial naming system was introduced by Carl Linnaeus to provide a universal name for each species and they will be challenged to apply their knowledge by completing a hierarchy for a modern-day human, by spotting the correct name for an unfamiliar organism and finally by suggesting advantages of this system.
The final part of the lesson briefly looks at how advances in genome sequencing and the comparison of common biological molecules has allowed the relationships between organisms to be clarified.
This is a detailed lesson and it is estimated that it will take around 2 hours of A-level teaching time to cover the content and therefore this specification point.
This lesson looks at the detailed structure of DNA and builds on the knowledge from topic 1 to explain how this nucleic acid differs in the nucleus, mitochondria and chloroplasts of eukaryotic cells and in prokaryotic cells. Both the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the first part of point 6.1 (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification.
As well as focusing on the differences between the DNA found in these two types of cells which includes the length, shape and association with histones, the various tasks will ensure that students are confident to describe how this double-stranded polynucleotide is held together by hydrogen and phosphodiester bonds. These tasks include exam-style questions which challenge the application of knowledge as well as a few quiz competitions to maintain engagement.
Each of the 3 lessons in this bundle are fully-resourced and have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 4.2 (DNA and protein synthesis) of the AQA A-Level Biology specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
The concept of the genome and the proteome
The structure of mRNA
The structure of tRNA
Transcription as the production of mRNA from DNA
The differences between the outcome of transcription in porkaryotes and eukaryotes
Splicing
Translation as the production of polypeptides from the sequence of codons on mRNA
The lessons have been written to include a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other topics within this topic and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the structure of RNA lesson as this has been shared for free
This fully-resourced lesson bundle covers the content as detailed in topic 8.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification (recombinant DNA technology). All of the lessons have been written to contain a wide range of activities that will maintain student engagement whilst this potentially difficult concept is explained. Links are continuously made to previous lessons in topic 8 as well as those covered in the AS year (mainly topic 4)
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the producing DNA fragments lesson as this has been uploaded for free
This fully-resourced lesson explains how gel electrophoresis is used to analyse nucleic acids and proteins and explores its applications in forensic science and medical diagnosis. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been written to cover point 19.1 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification
As a whole lesson, each step of the genetic fingerprinting process is covered but with the main focus on gel electrophoresis within this process. Students will be introduced to STRs and will come to recognise their usefulness in human identification as a result of the variability between individuals. Moving forwards, the involvement of the PCR and restriction enzymes are discussed and students are challenged on their knowledge of this process and these substances as they were encountered in a previous lesson. The main section of the lesson focuses on the use of gel electrophoresis to separate DNA fragments (as well as proteins) and the key ideas of separation due to differences in base pair length or molecular mass are discussed and explained. As well as current understanding checks, an application question involving Huntington’s disease is used to challenge their ability to apply their knowledge of the process to an unfamiliar situation. The remainder of the lesson describes how the DNA is transferred to a membrane and hybridisation probes are used to create a pattern on the X-ray film.
Time has been taken to make continuous links to the previous lessons in topic 19.1 as well as those from topic 6 where DNA, RNA and protein synthesis were introduced.
This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that has been written to challenge students on their knowledge and understanding of the PAPER 2 topics. The range of tasks will prepare the students to answer the range of questions that they may encounter on topics B1 and B6 - B9 as detailed in the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification.
The lesson has been designed to take place on the PAPER 2 HIGH STREET and the tasks include exam-style questions with displayed mark schemes, engaging quiz competitions and discussion points to allow the following points to be covered:
Eukaryotic vs Prokaryotic cells
Converting between units of size
The structures of the animal and plant cells
The structure of the human heart
Calculating the surface area to volume ratio
Adaptations of the gas exchange system
The blood vessels associated with the human heart
Calculating the cardiac output
The features of the root hair cell to allow for absorption
The nitrogen cycle
The relationship between the rate of photosynthesis and light intensity and distance
Using the inverse square law calculation
Temperature and photosynthesis
The regulation of blood glucose by the release of insulin and glucagon
Diabetes type I and II
Calculating the BMI
The interaction of the reproductive hormones in the menstrual cycle
IVF as assisted reproductive technology
The hormonal and barrier methods of contraception
Eutrophication as a negative human interaction in an ecosystem
The carbon cycle
In order to cater for the range of abilities that can be found in Combined Science classes, most of the tasks have been differentiated. There are also a number of step by step guides to demonstrate how to tackle some of the more difficult concepts including the mathemetical elements
If you would like to see the quality of these revision lessons, download the PAPER 1 REVISION LESSON which has been shared for free
This is a fully-resourced lesson bundle, where the detailed and engaging PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the details of topic 6 of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which concerns the nucleic acids and protein synthesis. All 7 of the lessons include differentiated tasks to cater for all abilities of students whilst containing the detail to push them to the next level.
The following specification points are covered within these lessons:
The structure of nucleotides
ATP as a phosphorylated nucleotide
The structure of DNA
The structure of mRNA, tRNA and rRNA
DNA replication
Genes and polypeptides
Gene mutations
Sickle cell anaemia
Transcription and translation
Links are continually made throughout the lessons to previously-covered topics as well as to those which will be covered later in the AS course or during the second year
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons, download the semi-conservative replication and gene mutation lessons as these have been shared for free
This fully-resourced lesson describes how the different properties of water make this biological molecule incredibly important in Biology. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover point 1.7 of the AQA A-level Biology specification.
Hydrolysis reactions have been a recurring theme throughout topic 1, so the start of this lesson challenges the students to recognise the definition when only a single word is shown: water. Students will also recall the meaning of a condensation reaction. Moving forwards, the rest of the lesson focuses on the relationship between the structure and properties of water, beginning with its role as an important solvent. The lesson has been specifically written to make links to future topics and this is exemplified by the transport of water along the xylem in plants. A quick quiz round is used to introduce cohesion and tension so students can understand how the column of water is able to move along this vascular tissue without interruption. The next section focuses on the high latent heat of vaporisation and heat capacity of water and these properties are put into biological context using thermoregulation and the maintenance of a stable environment for aquatic animals. The lesson finishes with an explanation of the polar nature of water, a particularly important property that needs to be well understood for a number of upcoming topics, such as cell membranes.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the movement of molecules by active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis and explains the need for ATP. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the second part of point 2.4 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology specification. The first part of 2.4, concerning simple and facilitated diffusion, was covered in the previous lesson.
The start of the lesson challenges the students to use their prior knowledge of biological molecules to come up with the abbreviation ATP and they will learn that this is a phosphorylated nucleotide that contains adenine, ribose and three phosphate groups. Students may not have known this as the energy currency from GCSE so time is taken to explain that this molecule must be broken down to release energy and students are challenged to recall which type of reaction will be involved and to predict the products of such a reaction. This hydrolysis of ATP can be coupled to energy-requiring reactions within the cell and the rest of the lesson focuses on the use of this energy for active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis. Students are challenged to answer a series of questions which compare active transport against the forms of passive transport and to use data from a bar chart to support this form of transport. In answering these questions they will discover that carrier proteins are specific to certain molecules and time is taken to look at the exact mechanism of these transmembrane proteins. A quick quiz round introduces endocytosis and the students will see how vesicles are involved along with the enery source of ATP to move large substances in or out of the cell. The lesson concludes with a link to a future topic as the students are shown how exocytosis is involved in a synapse.
This detailed lesson describes the process of translation and the roles of the mRNA, tRNA, rRNA and amino acids during this second stage of protein synthesis. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of points 2.5 (i) & (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and contains constant links to the previous lessons in this topic on transcription and the structure of DNA and RNA.
Translation is a topic which is often poorly understood and so this lesson has been written to support the students in answering the different types of questions by knowing and including the details of the key 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 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 absorbed to answer some questions which involve the genetic code and the mRNA codon table
Some of the key biological topics are covered in topic 2 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) course and include the transport of materials across cell membranes, DNA structure and replication, protein synthesis and monohybrid inheritance. In line with this, many hours of intricate planning have gone into the design of all of the 19 lessons that are included in this bundle to ensure that the content is covered in detail, understanding is constantly checked to immediately address misconceptions and that engagement is high. This is achieved through the wide variety of tasks in the PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets which include exam-style questions with clear answers, discussion points, differentiated tasks and quick quiz competitions.
The following specification points are covered by the lessons within this bundle:
The properties of gas exchange surfaces in living organisms
Understand how the rate of diffusion is dependent on these properties and can be used in the calculation of the rate of diffusion by Fick’s law
Adaptations of the mammalian lung for rapid gaseous exchange
Structure and properties of cell membranes
Simple and facilitated diffusion as methods of passive transport
The involvement of ATP and carrier proteins in active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis
The basic structure of mononucleotides
The structures of DNA and RNA
The process of protein synthesis
The roles of the template strand, mRNA and tRNA
The nature of the genetic code
A gene is a sequence of bases on DNA that codes for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide
The basic structure of an amino acid
The formation of polypeptides and proteins
The primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins
Globular and fibrous proteins using haemoglobin and collagen as examples
The mechanism of action and the specificity of enzymes
Enzymes are biological catalysts that reduce activation energy
The process of DNA replication
Errors in DNA replication can give rise to mutations
The meaning of key genetic terms
Patterns of inheritance, in the context of monohybrid inheritance
Understand how the expression of a gene mutation in people with cystic fibrosis impairs the functioning of the gaseous exchange, digestive and reproductive systems
Understand the uses and implications of genetic screening and prenatal testing
Due to the detail included in each of these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of allocated teaching time to cover the content.
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the gas exchange surfaces, cell membranes, transcription, globular and fibrous proteins, monohybrid inheritance and cystic fibrosis lessons as these have been shared for free
This fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of globular proteins, specifically focusing on haemoglobin, insulin and pepsin. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover specification point 2.1.2 (n) of the OCR A-level Biology A course but due to the detailed coverage of haemoglobin, the start of this lesson could also be used when teaching lessons that cover specification points 3.1.2 (i) and (j).
By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe that the interactions of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic R groups results in a spherical shape that is soluble in water and be able to explain the importance of this property with reference to the individual functions of these three globular proteins. They will also be able to name key individual details for each protein, such as haemoglobin being a conjugated protein, insulin being linked by numerous disulfide bridges and pepsin’s low number of basic R groups meaning it is stable in the acidic environment of the stomach.
Extra time has gone into the planning of this lesson to ensure that links are continuously made to previous topics such as amino acids and the levels of protein structure as well as to upcoming topics like the control of blood glucose concentration that is covered in module 5.1.4.
This engaging lesson describes the relationship between the structure, properties and functions of a phopholipid and cholesterol. The PowerPoint has been written as the second lesson in a series of two that cover specification points 2.1.2 (h), (i) & (j) of the OCR A-level Biology A course and there is a particular focus on their roles in membranes to link to module 2.1.5.
In the previous lesson, the students met triglycerides and a quick quiz round called FAMILY AFFAIR is used at the start of the lesson to challenge the students on their knowledge of the structure of this macromolecule to identify the shared features in a phospholipid. This then allows the differences to be introduced, such as the presence of a phosphate group in place of the third fatty acid. Moving forwards, the students will learn that the two fatty acid tails are hydrophobic whilst the phosphate head is hydrophilic which leads into a key discussion point where the class has to consider how it is possible for the phospholipids to be arranged when both the inside and outside of a cell is an aqueous solution. The outcome of the discussion is the introduction of the bilayer which is critical for the lesson in module 2.1.5 on the fluid mosaic model. Students are briefly introduced to facilitated diffusion and reminded of active transport so they can recognise that proteins will be found in the membrane to allow for movement of large or polar molecules. The remainder of the lesson focuses on cholesterol, beginning with the structure. The hydrophobic nature of this molecule is then considered and discussed so that they can understand its role in the regulation of membrane fluidity. That just leaves one final quiz round which identifies vitamin D, testosterone and oestrogen as three substances that are formed from cholesterol
This bundle of 6 fully-resourced lessons have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 1.4 of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The specification points in this DNA and protein synthesis topic which are covered by the lessons are as follows:
The structure of DNA
The semi-conservative replication of DNA
A gene is a sequence of bases on DNA that codes for an amino acid sequence
The structure of mRNA
The structure of tRNA
The process of transcription
The process of translation
Base deletions, insertions and substitutions as gene mutations
The effect of point mutations on amino acid sequences
The engaging PowerPoint lessons and accompanying resources contain a wide range of activities and tasks that include exam-style questions with displayed mark schemes, quick quiz competitions, useful hints and discussion periods.
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons then download the structure of DNA and transcription lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
This detailed lesson describes the light-dependent reaction of photosynthesis and focuses on the transfer of electrons and proton pumping. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the first part of point 5.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and has been planned to link with the previous lesson on the structure of the chloroplast and to prepare the students for the next lesson on the light-independent reaction.
The light-dependent reaction is a topic which students tend to find difficult so this lesson has been planned to walk them through all of the key details. Time is taken to describe the roles of the major protein complexes that are embedded in the thylakoid membrane and this includes the two photosystems, the cytochrome proton pump and ATP synthase. A series of exam-style questions have been written that link to other biological topics in this course such as cell structure and membrane transport as well as application questions to challenge them to apply their understanding. Some of these resources have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work and to be pushed at the same time. Students will learn that there are two pathways that the electron can take from PSI and at the completion of the two tasks which describe each of these pathways, they will understand how ATP is generated in non-cyclic and cyclic fashion. The final task of the lesson asks them to compare these two forms of photophosphorylation to check that they understand when photolysis is involved and reduced NADP is formed.
Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2.5 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to complete.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the components of the chloroplast, focusing on the grana and stroma as the sites of photosynthesis. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.2.1 (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and has been specifically designed to introduce students to the light-dependent and light-independent stages before they are covered in detail in upcoming lessons.
Students were introduced to eukaryotic cells and their organelles structures in module 2.1.1 so this lesson has been written to test and to build on that knowledge. A version of the quiz show POINTLESS runs throughout the lesson and this maintains engagement whilst challenging the students to recall the parts of the chloroplast based on a description which is related to their function. The following structures are covered in this lesson:
double membrane
thylakoids (grana)
stroma
intergranal lamellae
starch grains
chloroplast DNA and ribosomes
Once each structure has been recalled, a range of activities are used to ensure that key details are understood such as the role of the thylakoid membranes in the light-dependent reactions and the importance of ATP and reduced NADP for the reduction of GP to TP in the Calvin cycle. Links to other topics are made throughout and this is exemplified by the final task of the lesson where students are challenged on their recall of the structure, properties and function of starch (as originally covered in module 2.1.2)
