A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This lesson describes how an ever decreasing water potential is created in the renal medulla to enable water reabsorption in the loop of Henle and collecting duct. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource are part of the 4th lesson in a series of 5 lessons which have been designed to cover point 6.4.3 (Control of blood water potential) of the AQA A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that the glomerular filtrate entering the loop will only contain water, ions and urea if the kidneys are functioning properly. Time is then taken to look at the structure of the loop of Henle, focusing on the descending and ascending limbs, and their differing permeabilities. Students will be reminded that this part of the nephron is located in the renal medulla, before a step-by-step guide is used to describe how the transfer of ions, particularly sodium ions, from the ascending limb to the descending limb, creates a very negative water potential in this region of the kidney. This allows water to move out of the descending limb to the tissue fluid and then into the capillaries.
The next part of the lesson challenges students to consider the bigger picture as they learn that this decreasing water potential in the medulla allows water to be reabsorbed from the filtrate in the collecting duct too.
The remainder of the lesson uses the real-world examples of the hopping mouse and kangaroo rat to check student understanding, and there are also prior knowledge checks to encourage students to make links to relevant content from earlier topics. All answers are embedded into the PowerPoint.
This lesson describes the meaning of excretion, as well as the role of the liver, kidneys, lungs and the skin in the removal of carbon dioxide and urea. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.1.2 (a) of the OCR A-level Biology specification and also explains the importance of excretion for homeostasis.
The lesson begins by reminding students that excretion is one of the 7 characteristics of living organisms, as introduced within MRS GREN when they were younger. An A-level worthy definition of excretion is then introduced, and time is taken to ensure that students recognise that substances must be products of metabolism to be deemed to be excreted. In line with this, the students are challenged to spot that urea and carbon dioxide need to be excreted whilst faeces is egested.
Moving forwards, the role of the liver and then the kidneys in the excretion of urea are described. There is a focus on terminology, specifically prefixes and suffixes, to allow students to understand the meaning of deamination which occurs in the liver. The lesson doesn’t go into huge detail about this process and the subsequent ornithine cycle as these are both covered in an upcoming lesson about the functions of the liver. The transport of carbon dioxide is revisited and prior knowledge checks are used to allow the students to assess their recollection of hydrogen carbonate ions and carbaminohaemoglobin. All answers to these checks as well as any understanding checks are embedded into the PowerPoint.
The final part of the lesson explores how the skin is involved in excretion and a link is made to the maintenance of internal conditions within narrow limits by homeostasis.
This extensive lesson describes the structure of the human brain and the functions of its parts. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to be in line with point 5.1.5 (h) of the OCR A-level biology A specification and therefore covers the gross structure of the human brain and the function of the cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
The lesson begins with a knowledge recall challenge, where the students have to complete the diagram showing the organisation of the nervous system, as covered in the previous lesson. This reminds them that the brain is part of the CNS and also reintroduces the autonomic nervous system which will be useful when describing the medulla oblongata. As this is an extensive lesson covering a lot of detail, it has been planned to contain 5 quiz rounds as part of a competition which will help to maintain engagement whilst checking on their recall and understanding of content. There are also multiple understanding and prior knowledge checks which allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic and to make links to previously covered content. All answers to these knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint.
The lesson describes the structure of the cerebrum as two hemispheres and then considers the localisation of function of the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex. It moves onto the cerebellum, focusing on its role of perfecting and coordinating movement, and explains how this is achieved through neural connections with the cerebrum. The control of heart rate by the medulla oblongata is described before the lesson concludes with an exploration of the connections between the hypothalamus and the two lobes of the pituitary gland, specifically in the mechanisms of osmoregulation and thermoregulation.
Two of the worksheets have been modified to allow students of different understanding levels to access the work.
It is likely that this lesson will take between 2 - 3 hours of teaching time, but sections can be edited and removed if the teacher doesn’t want to look at a particular structure in that detail at this stage of study.
This lesson describes how epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation and histone modification can alter the activation of certain genes. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been planned to cover points 3.20 ii & iii of the Edexcel Internationational A-level biology specification, and also highlights that these modifications can be passed on following cell division.
The lesson begins by introducing the meaning of the prefix epi as on or above so students understand that epigenetics refers to changes in gene function due to factors beyond the genetic code. Moving forwards, they will learn that DNA methylation involves the attachment of a methyl group to cytosine and will come to understand how this inhibits transcription. They are challenged to recognise the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis through a variety of tasks before reading through a source detailing the results of a study between this cardiovascular condition and DNA methylation.
The remainder of the lesson considers how the acetylation of histone proteins affects the expression of genes.
Understanding and prior knowledge checks are embedded throughout the lesson (along with the answers) to allow the students to assess their progress on this topic and to encourage them to make links to the content of topics 1 - 2.
This lesson describes the location and main functions of the cerebrum, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and hypothalamus. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed in line with point 9.4 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level biology B specification and also include descriptions of the link between the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland.
The lesson begins with a multiple-choice question, where the students will learn that cerebrum is the Latin word for brain. This brain structure is described as two hemispheres and students will be introduced to the localisation of function of the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex. It moves onto the cerebellum, focusing on its role of perfecting and coordinating movement, and explains how this is achieved through neural connections with the cerebrum. The control of heart rate by the medulla oblongata is described before the lesson concludes with an exploration of the connections between the hypothalamus and the two lobes of the pituitary gland, specifically in the mechanisms of osmoregulation and thermoregulation.
As this is an extensive lesson covering a lot of detail, it has been planned to contain 5 quiz rounds as part of a competition which will help to maintain engagement whilst checking on their recall and understanding of content. There are also multiple understanding and prior knowledge checks which allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic and to make links to previously covered content. All answers to these knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint.
It is likely that this lesson will take between 2 - 3 hours of teaching time, but sections can be edited and removed if the teacher doesn’t want to look at a particular structure in that detail at this stage of study.
The biological molecules topic is incredibly important, not just because it is found at the start of the course, but also because of its detailed content which must be well understood to promote success with the other 9 Edexcel A-level Biology B topics. Many hours of intricate planning has gone into the design of all of the 18 lessons that are included in this bundle to ensure that the content is covered in detail, understanding is constantly checked and misconceptions addressed 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 differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides
The structure of glucose and ribose
The formation of disaccharides and polysaccharides from monosaccharides
The structure of starch, glycogen and cellulose
The synthesis of a triglyceride
The differences between saturated and unsaturated lipids
The relationship between the structure of lipids and their roles
The structure and properties of phospholipids
The structure of an amino acid
The formation of polypeptides and proteins
The role of ionic, hydrogen and disulphide bonding in proteins
The levels of protein structure
The structure of collagen and haemoglobin
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 structure of enzymes as globular proteins
The concept of specificity and the induced-fit hypothesis
Enzymes are catalysts that reduce activation energy
Understand how temperature affects enzyme activity
Enzymes catalyse a wide range of intracellular reactions as well as extracellular ones
The importance of water for living organisms
Due to the detail included in these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of allocated A-level teaching time to complete.
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons then download the monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, glucose and ribose, triglycerides, structure of DNA and transcription lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
This detailed bundle contains 4 lesson PowerPoints and their accompanying resources that cover the following specification points found within topic 9.5 (Nervous transmission) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification:
The transport of sodium and potassium ions across the axon membrane results in resting potential
The formation of an action potential and its propagation along an axon
The role of saltatory conduction
The structure and function of a synapse
The formation and effects of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials
The wide range of tasks, which include exam-style questions with detailed mark schemes, focused discussion points and quiz competitions which introduce key terms and values, will engage and motivate the students whilst the content is covered in the detail required at A-level
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons included in this bundle, then download the resting and action potentials lesson as this has been shared for free
This lesson describes the role of auxins in elongation growth, specifically in the plant responses of phototropism and gravitropism. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 15.2 (2) of the CIE A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check, where the students have to identify key terms encountered across topics 1 - 14, and use their 1st letters to form the term, tropism. Students are reminded of the meaning of a tropism, and how these directional growth responses are determined by the direction of the external stimuli. They should have met auxins at this previous level, but will now be introduced to IAA, and will complete several tasks which check that they understand the key features of these chemicals, such as their location of production and method by which they move through the shoots and roots. The students are guided through the movement of IAA to the shaded side in a shoot during phototropism, and will learn how this uneven distribution leads to uneven growth. An exam-style question presents them with two further scenarios, where the tip of the shoot has been cut off or is covered, and the students need to describe and explain what will happen to the appearance of the shoot after a week. Moving forwards, the students will learn how the pumping of hydrogen ions acidifies the cell wall and the subsequent activation of expansin proteins are involved in the cell elongation.
The remainder of the lesson discusses the response to gravity and explains how shoots and roots respond differently.
The lesson is full of understanding and prior knowledge checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint.
This lesson explains how labelled DNA probes in microarrays can be used to identify active genes. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the content of point 8.20 of the Edexcel International A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins by introducing the BRCA genes, and the students will learn how faulty alleles of these two genes can increase an individual’s risk of developing breast cancer. Therefore, there is a need to be able to locate specific alleles like these, and this function is performed by DNA probes. The students are challenged to use the function of the probes to predict their structure and will understand that they are short lengths of single stranded DNA that have a base sequence complementary to the base sequence of part of the target allele. A quick quiz round is used to introduce hybridisation as a key term, to ensure that students recognise that the probe will bind if the complementary base sequence is encountered. Moving forwards, a DNA microarray is introduced to show that it’s possible to screen for multiple genes.
The remainder of the lesson considers how the DNA probes are used to screen for heritable conditions and drug responses, and real-life examples are used to increase relevance.
This lesson describes the location and functions of the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and hypothalamus. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.8 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level biology A (SNAB) specification and also includes descriptions of the link between the hypothalamus and the anterior and posterior lobes of the pituitary gland.
The lesson begins with a multiple-choice question, where the students will learn that cerebrum is the Latin word for brain. This brain structure is described as two hemispheres and students will be introduced to the localisation of function of the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex. It moves onto the cerebellum, focusing on its role of perfecting and coordinating movement, and explains how this is achieved through neural connections with the cerebrum. The control of heart rate by the medulla oblongata is described before the lesson concludes with an exploration of the connections between the hypothalamus and the two lobes of the pituitary gland, specifically in the mechanisms of osmoregulation and thermoregulation.
This is an extensive lesson covering a lot of detail, so as shown in the cover image, the lesson plan contains 5 quiz rounds as part of a competition which will help to maintain engagement whilst checking on their recall and understanding of content. There are also multiple understanding and prior knowledge checks which allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic and to make links to previously covered content. All answers to these knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint.
It is likely that this lesson will take between 2 - 3 hours of teaching time, but sections can be edited and removed if the teacher doesn’t want to look at a particular structure in that detail at this stage of study.
This lesson describes the location and functions of the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, medulla oblongata and hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.14 of the Edexcel International A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins with a multiple-choice question, where the students will learn that cerebrum is the Latin word for brain. This brain structure is described as two hemispheres and students will be introduced to the localisation of function of the 4 lobes of the cerebral cortex. It moves onto the cerebellum, focusing on its role of perfecting and coordinating movement, and explains how this is achieved through neural connections with the cerebrum. The control of heart rate by the medulla oblongata was covered in topic 7 and their recollection of the connections between receptors, the control centre and the effectors is challenged before the lesson concludes with an exploration of the connections between the hypothalamus and the two lobes of the pituitary gland, specifically in the mechanism of thermoregulation.
This is an extensive lesson covering a lot of detail, so as shown in the cover image, the lesson plan contains 5 quiz rounds as part of a competition which will help to maintain engagement whilst checking on their recall and understanding of content. There are also multiple understanding and prior knowledge checks which allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic and to make links to previously covered content. All answers to these knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint.
It is likely that this lesson will take between 2 - 3 hours of teaching time.
This lesson describes how the loop of Henle acts as a countercurrent multiplier to increase the reabsorption of water. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the 2nd lesson in a series of 2 lessons which have been designed to cover point 7.20 of the Edexcel International A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that the glomerular filtrate entering the loop will only contain water, ions and urea if the kidneys are functioning properly. Time is then taken to look at the structure of the loop of Henle, focusing on the descending and ascending limbs, and their differing permeabilities. Students will be reminded that this part of the nephron is located in the renal medulla, before a step-by-step guide is used to describe how the transfer of ions, particularly sodium ions, from the ascending limb to the descending limb, creates a very negative water potential in this region of the kidney. This allows water to move out of the descending limb to the tissue fluid and then into the capillaries.
The next task has been designed to challenge the students on their knowledge of the numbers associated with biology to reveal the key term, countercurrent. They will learn that the countercurrent flow principle involves fluids flowing in opposite directions past each other and an example in bony fish is used to increase the relevance, before they understand how this multiplier works in the loop to increase water reabsorption.
The next part of the lesson challenges students to consider the bigger picture as they learn that this decreasing water potential in the medulla allows water to be reabsorbed from the filtrate in the collecting duct too.
The remainder of the lesson uses the real-world examples of the hopping mouse and kangaroo rat to check student understanding, and there are also prior knowledge checks to encourage students to make links to relevant content from earlier topics. All answers are embedded into the PowerPoint.
Topic 8 of the Edexcel International A-level biology specification is content heavy and therefore all 10 lessons included in this bundle have been planned to cover this content in an engaging and memorable way. The lessons are filled with a wide variety of tasks, including understanding and prior knowledge checks, guided discussion periods and quick quiz competitions. Answers to all of the knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoints to allow the students to assess their progress.
The following specification points are covered by this bundle:
8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.5, 8.6, 8.8, 8.10, 8.13, 8.14, 8.18, 8.19, 8.20
If you would like to get a sense for the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the nervous and hormonal control, saltatory conduction and pupil reflex lessons as these have been shared for free.
This lesson describes the stages of succession from colonisation to the formation of a climax community. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the content of point 5.15 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification.
This lesson uses a step-by-step method to guide the students through each stage of the process of succession, explaining each of the gradual, progressive changes that occur in a community over time. At each stage, time is taken to consider the organisms involved. There is a focus on lichens as examples of pioneer species and students will understand how colonisation by these organisms is critical to provide organic matter and to turn the bare ground into soil so it is habitable by other species. The island of Surtsey in Iceland is used as a real-world example and shows how different parts of an area can be at different stages of succession.
Understanding and prior knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint (along with the answers) to allow students to assess their progress against the current topic and to encourage them to make links to previously-covered work.
This lesson describes the protective effect of a simple reflex, as exemplified by those which involve the sensory, relay and motor neurones. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the final lesson in a series of 3 lessons which have been planned to cover the content of point 6.1.1 of the AQA A-level biology specification, titled “Survival and response”.
As shown on the cover image, the lesson begins with a challenge, where the students have to recognise the connection between key terms which have been grouped together. This will remind them of the names of three types of neurones, the three types of muscle tissue and some reflexes. Time is taken at the start to ensure that students understand that although the brain might be informed of a reflex, it isn’t involved in the processing to coordinate the movement. At the same time, the role of the other part of the CNS, the spinal cord in spinal reflexes, is emphasised. This lesson has been specifically planned to build on their knowledge of reflex actions from GCSE and to build in the detail that will support them in this lesson and as they move through the content of topic 6. Ultimately, students will understand how the rapid response of a simple reflex allows organisms to avoid damage and survive, due to the nervous pathway only consisting of three neurones, and therefore less synapses than other reactions.
Understanding checks, in the form of exam-style questions are written into the lesson and the answers embedded into the PowerPoint to allow students to assess their progress against the current topic.
The two other lessons in this series covering the detail of specification point 6.1.1 are named “responses in flowering plants” and “taxes and kineses”.
All 5 lessons included in this bundle have been filled with a variety of tasks to engage the students whilst covering the content of topic 6.1 of the AQA A-level biology specification, titled “Stimuli, both internal and external, are detected and lead to a response”. These tasks include understanding and prior knowledge checks to allow the students to assess their progress against the current topic, as well as making links to relevant topics from earlier in the course.
The “responses in flowering plants” lesson has been shared for free, so you might choose to download this first to give an indication of the quality of the lessons in this bundle.
The 8 lessons included in this bundle are detailed and engaging and have been filled with a variety of tasks to challenge the students on their understanding of the content of topic 8, which is titled GREY MATTER. These lessons cover the earlier specification points in this topic, focusing on the conduction of impulses through the mammalian nervous system.
If you would like to view the quality of these lessons, then download the neurones, pupil dilation and nervous and hormonal control lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
