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 use and interpretation of electrocardiogram (ECG) traces and focuses on their use in the diagnosis of CVD and other heart conditions. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 3.1.2 (h) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and continual links are made to linked topics from earlier in this module
The lesson has been written to take place in an imaginary cardiology ward where the students are initially challenged on their knowledge of the symptoms and risk factors of CVD before looking at testing through the use of ECGs and diagnosis. The main focus of the lesson is the ECG and a quiz competition is used to introduce the reference points of P, QRS and T before time is taken to explain their representation with reference to the cardiac cycle. Moving forwards, a SPOT the DIFFERENCE task is used to challenge the students to recognise differences between sinus rhythm and some abnormal rhythms including tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. Bradycardia is used as a symptom of sinus node disfunction and the students are encouraged to discuss this symptom along with some others to try to diagnose this health problem.
This is a fully-resourced lesson which uses exam-style questions, engaging quiz competitions, quick tasks and discussion points to challenge students on their understanding of the content of topics B1 - B3, that will assessed on PAPER 1. It has been specifically designed for students on the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science course who will be taking the FOUNDATION TIER examinations but is also suitable for students taking the higher tier who need to ensure that the key points of each of the sub-topics are embedded.
The lesson has been written to take place in numerous shops that could be found on the high street to allow the following sub-topics to be covered:
Eukaryotes and prokaryotes
The prefixes of size and converting between units
The cell structures of animal and plant cells
The principles of organisation
The structure of the heart and the circulatory system
The features of the alveoli which enable efficient gas exchange
Temperature and photosynthesis
The role of enzymes in reactions
The functions of the components of blood
The homeostatic control of blood glucose by insulin secretion
Diabetes type I and II
The hormones involved in the menstrual cycle
Mitosis and the cell cycle
The structures involved in a nervous reaction
Reflex arcs
In order to maintain challenge whilst ensuring that all abilities can access the questions, the majority of the tasks have been differentiated and students can ask for extra support when they are unable to begin a question.
Due to the extensiveness of this revision lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 teaching hours to complete the tasks and therefore this can be used at different points throughout the duration of the course as well as acting as a final revision before the PAPER 1 exam
This is a highly-detailed and fully-resourced lesson which covers the detail of specification point 14.1 (g) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the roles of the hypothalamus, posterior pituitary, ADH and collecting ducts in osmoregulation. Students learnt about the principles of homeostasis and negative feedback in an earlier lesson, so this lesson acts to build on that knowledge and challenges them to apply their knowledge. A wide range of activities have been included in the lesson to maintain motivation and engagement whilst the understanding and prior knowledge checks will allow the students to assess their progress as well as challenge themselves to make links to other Biology topics.
The lesson begins with a discussion about how the percentage of water in urine can and will change depending on the blood water potential. Students will quickly be introduced to osmoregulation and they will learn that the osmoreceptors and the osmoregulatory centre are found in the hypothalamus. A considerable amount of time is taken to study the cell signalling between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary gland by looking at the specialised neurones (neurosecretory cells). Links are made to the topics of neurones, nerve impulses and synapses and the students are challenged to recall the cell body, axon and vesicles. The main section of the lesson forms a detailed description of the body’s detection and response to a low blood water potential. The students are guided through this section as they are given 2 or 3 options for each stage and they have to use their knowledge to select the correct statement. The final task asks the students to write a detailed description for the opposite stimulus and this task is differentiated so those who need extra assistance can still access the work.
This lesson has been written for students studying on the CIE International A-level Biology course and ties in closely with the other uploaded lessons on the structure of the kidney, ultrafiltration and selective reabsorption
This REVISION resource has been designed to motivate and engage students whilst they are challenged on their knowledge of the content in topics C1-C5 of the AQA Trilogy GCSE Combined Science specification which can be assessed on PAPER 3. This is fully-resourced and contains a detailed PowerPoint (170 slides) and accompanying worksheets, some of which have been differentiated.
The resource was written with the aim of covering as many C1-C5 sub-topics as possible, but the following ones have received particular focus:
The chemical properties of the Group 1, 7 and 0 elements
The structure of atoms and ions
The properties of ionic compounds
Drawing dot and cross diagrams to represent ionic compounds
Extracting metals using carbon
REDOX reactions
Electrolysis of molten salts and solutions
Neutralisation reactions
Writing balanced chemical symbol equations
Simple and giant covalent structures
Diamond and graphite
Moles and Avogadro’s constant
The organisation of the Periodic Table
Due to the extensiveness of this resource, it is likely to be used over the course of a number of lessons with a particular class and this allows the teacher to focus in on any sub-topics which are identified as needing more time.
This is a fully-resourced lesson which uses exam-style questions, engaging quiz competitions, quick tasks and discussion points to challenge students on their understanding of the content of topics B1 & B6 - B9, that will assessed on PAPER 2. It has been specifically designed for students on the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Combined Science course who will be taking the FOUNDATION TIER examinations but is also suitable for students taking the higher tier who need to ensure that the key points of each of the sub-topics are embedded.
The lesson has been written to take place in numerous shops that could be found on the high street as well as at an urban park to allow the following sub-topics to be covered:
Eukaryotes and prokaryotes
The prefixes of size and converting between units
The cell structures of animal and plant cells
The structure of the heart and the circulatory system
The features of the alveoli which enable efficient gas exchange
Calculating cardiac output
Temperature and photosynthesis
The role of enzymes in reactions
The functions of the components of blood
The homeostatic control of blood glucose by insulin secretion
Diabetes type I and II
Calculating BMI and the link between obesity and diabetes type II
The hormones involved in the menstrual cycle
The different methods of contraception
Estimating population size using sampling results
The carbon cycle
In order to maintain challenge whilst ensuring that all abilities can access the questions, the majority of the tasks have been differentiated and students can ask for extra support when they are unable to begin a question.
Due to the extensiveness of this revision lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3/4 teaching hours to complete the tasks and therefore this can be used at different points throughout the duration of the course as well as acting as a final revision before the PAPER 2 exam
This is a fully-resourced lesson which uses exam-style questions, engaging quiz competitions, quick tasks and discussion points to challenge students on their understanding of the content of topics P1 & P8 - P15, that will assessed on PAPER 6. It has been specifically designed for students on the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science course who will be taking the FOUNDATION TIER examinations but is also suitable for students taking the higher tier who need to ensure that the fundamentals are known and understood.
The lesson has been written to cover as many specification points as possible but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention:
The 13 recall and apply equations tested in PAPER 6
Electrical components and symbols
Setting up an ammeter and voltmeter in a circuit
Current and potential difference in a series circuit
The change in resistance in a LDR, diode, thermistor and filament bulb
Mains domestic supply in the UK
Plugs and fuses as safety devices
Contact and non-contact forces
Attraction and repulsion in magnets
Magnetic fields
Changes of state as physical changes
The extension of a spring
In order to maintain challenge whilst ensuring that all abilities can access the questions, the majority of the tasks have been differentiated and students can ask for extra support when they are unable to begin a question. A revision quiz, consisting of 10 rounds, runs over the course of the lesson and a score sheet is included with the resources to maintain motivation and engagement.
Due to the extensiveness of this revision lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 teaching hours to complete the tasks and therefore this can be used at different points throughout the course as well as acting as a final revision before the PAPER 6 exam.
This detailed and engaging lesson has been written to challenge the students on their recall and application of the 30 equations which they have to know for the CIE IGCSE Physics exams. The lesson is designed to not only check that they know these equations but also on their ability to rearrange formulae when required and to convert between units. The main task of the lesson consists of 15 exam-style questions which challenge 17 of these recall equations and then an engaging quiz competition and class discussions are used to identify the other 13. Students are guided throughout the lesson in the use of the mathematical skills and are shown examples to aid their progress.
The detail of this lesson means that it can be used at numerous times throughout the duration of the IGCSE course to check on their progress with the equations.
This lesson has been designed to tie in with the other 5 uploaded revision lessons which cover the content of the 5 topics on the specification
This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of the sinoatrial node (SAN) and the atrioventricular node (AVN) in the control of blood flow through the heart. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 1.2.5 as detailed in the Edexcel A-level PE specification and also includes the roles of the bundle of His and Purkyne fibres to enable students to get a full understanding.
The lesson begins with the introduction of the SAN as the natural pacemaker and then time is given to study each step of the conduction of the impulse as it spreads away from this node in a wave of excitation. The lesson has been written to make clear links to the cardiac cycle (which is covered in an upcoming lesson) and to the structure of the heart and students are challenged on their knowledge of this system. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to consider why a delay would occur at the AVN and then they will learn that the impulse is conducted along the bundle of His to the apex before being conducted on the Purkyne fibres so that the contraction of the ventricles can happen from the bottom upwards. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to describe the conducting tissue, with an emphasis on the use of key terminology
This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of the SAN, AVN, bundle of His and Purkyne fibres in the neural control of the cardiac cycle. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point B3 in UNIT 2 of the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science
The lesson begins with the introduction of the SAN as the natural pacemaker and then time is given to study each step of the conduction of the impulse as it spreads away from this node in a wave of excitation. The lesson has been written to make clear links to the cardiac cycle (which was covered in the previous lesson) and to the structure of the heart and students are challenged on their knowledge of this system. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to consider why a delay would occur at the AVN and then they will learn that the impulse is conducted along the Bundle of His to the apex before being conducted on the Purkyne fibres so that the contraction of the ventricles can happen from the bottom upwards. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to describe the conducting tissue, with an emphasis on the use of key terminology
This is a fully-resourced lesson which describes and explains how cardiac hypertrophy affects the cardiac output, stroke volume and resting heart rate. The lesson has been specifically designed to cover the first part of point C4 in UNIT 1 of the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science specification.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that the left ventricle has the most muscular wall of all of the heart chambers. This allows the stroke volume to be introduced as the volume of blood ejected from the left ventricle each heart beat and then a quiz competition is used to introduce normative values for the stroke volume and the heart rate. Moving forwards, students will learn that the cardiac output is the product of the stroke volume and the heart rate. The main part of the lesson looks at the adaptation of the heart to aerobic training in the form of cardiac hypertrophy and then the students are challenged to work out how this would affect the stroke volume, the cardiac output and the resting heart rate. A number of tasks are used to get the students to explain why the resting heart rate decreases and to calculate the changes in cardiac output. One of the two tasks has been differentiated and this allows students of differing abilities to access the work.
This detailed lesson explains how five different sources are used in the energy production for sport and exercise. The engaging PowerPoint has been written to cover the first part of point A7 in UNIT 1 of the Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science specification which states that students should know how stored ATP, phosphocreatine, blood glucose, glycogen and fatty acids are energy sources.
Time is taken to go through each of the five energy sources and to explain how they are used to produce or re-synthesise ATP. Students will understand how the different sources are used during different parts of exercise. A series of 5 quiz rounds is used to introduce important words and values in a memorable way to try to increase the likelihood of them being recalled.
This lesson describes how the structures of the xylem vessel elements, phloem sieve tube elements and companion cells relates to their functions. Both the engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.1 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification.
The lessons begins by challenging the students to identify the substances that a plant needs for the cellular reactions, where they are absorbed and where these reactions occur in a plant. The aim of this task is to get the students to recognise that water and mineral ions are absorbed in the roots and needed in the leaves whilst the products of photosynthesis are in the leaves and need to be used all over the plant. Students will be reminded that the xylem and phloem are the vascular tissues responsible for transporting these substances and then the rest of the lesson focuses on linking structure to function. A range of tasks which include discussion points, exam-style questions and quick quiz rounds are used to describe how lignification results in the xylem as a hollow tube of xylem cells to allow water to move as a complete column. They will also learn that the narrow diameter of this vessel allows capillary action to move water molecules up the sides of the vessel. The same process is used to enable students to understand how the structures of the companion cells allows assimilates to be loaded before being moved to the sieve tube elements through the plasmodesmata.
It is estimated that it will take around 2 hours of A-level teaching time to cover the detail which has been written into this lesson.
This detailed lesson describes how oxygen is transported by haemoglobin and explains how the dissociation of oxyhaemoglobin changes with increases in carbon dioxide (Bohr shift). The informative PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the final point of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems section of the OCR A-level PE specification.
The lesson begins by using a quiz round from the game show POINTLESS to engage students and to introduce haemotology as the study of diseases related to blood. This includes haemoglobin and students will be reminded that this is the protein that is found in the red blood cells of humans. They will learn that it is a protein consisting of four polypeptide chains with a haem group on each chain and that it is this haem molecule which has a high affinity for oxygen to enable oxyhaemoglobin to be formed. Moving forwards, students will plot an oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve. The understanding of the changes in saturation can be poorly understood so a step-by-step method with simple questions to discuss is used to ensure that the fundamentals are embedded. Ultimately, students will understand that haemoglobin becomes fully saturated at the high partial pressures of oxygen at the alveoli at the lungs, before transporting it to the cells of the working muscles where it dissociates to release the oxygen at the lower partial pressures there.
A quick quiz competition, called SPORTS SCIENCE, is used to challenge their knowledge of the names of famous sports people to identify the surname of the scientist, Christian Bohr. They are told that this effect describes how an increase in the concentration of a substance affects the dissociation curve and are encouraged to predict what this substance might be. By shifting the curve to the right, students will learn that the affinity of haemoglobin is reduced. The curve is used to show how the saturation of haemoglobin is less at low partial pressures of oxygen when there is increased carbon dioxide concentration before they are challenged to summarise the effect on the dissociation before applying all of their knowledge to a final sporting situation.
The final task has been differentiated 2 ways so that students of differing abilities are able to access the work
This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of the SAN, AVN, bundle of His and the Purkyne fibres in the heart’s conduction system. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the final specification point of the “Cardiovascular system at rest” topic in unit 1.1.b of the OCR A-level PE specification
The lesson begins with the introduction of the SAN as the natural pacemaker and then time is given to study each step of the conduction of the impulse as it spreads away from this node in a wave of excitation. The lesson has been written to make clear links to the cardiac cycle which was introduced in the previous lesson and to the structure of the heart and students are challenged on their knowledge of this system. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to consider why a delay would occur at the AVN and then they will learn that the impulse is conducted along the Bundle of His to the apex before being conducted on the Purkyne fibres so that the contraction of the ventricles can happen from the bottom upwards. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to describe the full sequence of events in the conduction of the electrical impulse through the heart tissue, and there is a particular emphasis on the use of key terminology
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the regulation of the heart rate by the cardiovascular centre in the medulla oblongata. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources, which are differentiated 3 ways, have been designed to cover the sixth point of topic 1.1.2 in the applied anatomy and physiology unit of the AQA A-level PE specification.
This lesson begins with a prior knowledge check where students have to identify and correct any errors in a passage about the conduction system of the heart which was covered in an earlier lesson in topic 1.1.2. This allows the SAN to be recalled as this structure plays an important role as the effector in this regulatory system. Moving forwards, the three key parts of a regulatory system are introduced as the next part of the lesson will specifically look at the range of sensory receptors, the regulatory centre and the effector. A quick quiz round is used to introduce a range of stimuli so that students can understand how chemoreceptors, proprioceptors and baroreceptors generate electrical impulses to be conducted along a neurone to the brain. Another quick quiz introduces the medulla oblongata as the location of the cardiovascular centre. The communication between this centre and the SAN through the autonomic nervous system can be poorly understood so detailed explanations are provided and the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions are compared. The final task challenges the students to demonstrate and apply their understanding by writing a detailed description of the regulation and this task has been differentiated three ways to allow differing abilities to access the work
This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of the SAN, AVN, bundle of His and Purkyne fibres in the neural control of the cardiac cycle. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third point of section A9 as detailed in the CIE International A-level PE specification
The lesson begins with the introduction of the SAN as the natural pacemaker and then time is given to study each step of the conduction of the impulse as it spreads away from this node in a wave of excitation. The lesson has been written to make clear links to the cardiac cycle (which will be covered in the next lesson) and to the structure of the heart and students are challenged on their knowledge of this system. Moving forwards, students are encouraged to consider why a delay would occur at the AVN and then they will learn that the impulse is conducted along the Bundle of His to the apex before being conducted on the Purkyne fibres so that the contraction of the ventricles can happen from the bottom upwards. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to describe the conducting tissue, with an emphasis on the use of key terminology
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the regulation of the heart rate by the cardiovascular centre in the medulla oblongata. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the sixth point of SECTION A9 of Applied Anatomy and Physiology as detailed in the CIE International A-level PE specification. This lesson focuses on the neural and hormonal factors involved.
This lesson begins with a prior knowledge check where students have to identify and correct any errors in a passage about the conduction system of the heart which was covered in an earlier lesson in A9. This allows the SAN to be recalled as this structure plays an important role as the effector in this regulatory system. Moving forwards, the three key parts of a regulatory system are introduced as the next part of the lesson will specifically look at the range of sensory receptors, the regulatory centre and the effector. Students are introduced to chemoreceptors and baroreceptors, as well as receptors in the muscles, and time is taken to ensure that the understanding of the stimuli detected by these receptors is complete and that they recognise the result is the conduction of an impulse along a neurone to the brain. A quick quiz is used to introduce the medulla oblongata as the location of the cardiovascular centre. The communication between this centre and the SAN through the autonomic nervous system can be poorly understood so detailed explanations are provided and the sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions compared. The final task challenges the students to demonstrate and apply their understanding by writing a detailed description of the regulation and this task has been differentiated three ways to allow differing abilities to access the work
This fully-resourced lesson builds on the previous lesson where the structure of a muscle fibre was introduced and explains how muscle contracts according to the sliding filament theory. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the 3rd part of points 1.3.5 & 1.3.6 of the Edexcel A-level PE specification. The wide range of activities included in the lesson will engage and motivate the students whilst the understanding checks will allow them to assess their progress.
The lesson begins by getting them to reveal the prefix myo so that they can recognise that myology is the study of muscles. This leads into the next task, where they have to identify two further terms beginning with myo and are the names of structures involved in the arrangement of skeletal muscle. Key terminology is used throughout the lesson so that students feel comfortable when they encounter this in questions. Students were introduced to the sarcomere and the bands and zones that are found within a myofibril in a previous lesson and they are challenged to discuss how the sarcomere can narrow but the lengths of the myofilaments remain the same. The main task of the lesson involves the formation of a bullet point description of the sliding filament model where one event is the trigger for the next. Time is taken during this section to focus on the involvement of calcium ions and ATP. The final part of the lesson involves students having to apply their knowledge by describing the effect on muscle contraction when a part of a structure is unable to function correctly.
This detailed lesson describes the characteristics and physiology of the aerobic energy pathway and has been designed for the Edexcel A-level PE course. In line with specification point 1.4.4 & 1.4.5, the content of the lesson covers the ease and speed of ATP production and the intensity and duration of exercise which will be supported by the aerobic pathway when it is the dominant energy provider.
The lesson begins by introducing the aerobic pathway as the pathway that becomes the dominant energy provider after the ATP-PC and glycolytic pathways. Students are challenged to recognise that this pathway supports lower intensity exercise but that it will support exercise for a much longer duration than the others, suggesting that it produces a high yield of ATP. The main part of the lesson looks at how this high yield of ATP is produced during glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain and students will learn the location of each of these stages in the cell. Questions, discussion points and quiz competitions are included throughout the lesson and act as understanding checks to ensure that any misconceptions are addressed immediately.
The final tasks of the lesson are a series of multiple choice questions and a quiz round called “UNLOCK THE AEROBIC PATHWAY SAFE” where the teams of students compete to recall the quantitative values associated with this topic.
This detailed lesson introduces ATP as the body’s energy store and explains how PC, glycogen and fat are sources for its re-synthesis during exercise. The engaging PowerPoint has been designed to cover the second part of point 1.4.3 as detailed in the Edexcel A-level PE specification.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that the link between muscle contraction, active transport and the conduction of electrical impulses is the need for energy. A number of quick quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to maintain engagement and to introduce key terms and values and the first quiz round will result in the students meeting adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP). Time is taken to describe the structure of this energy store and to explain how it will be broken down into ADP and a phosphate and that this mechanism results in the release of energy for muscle contraction. Importantly, students will learn that the ATP stored in muscles will only allow for the first few seconds of contraction and therefore if exercise and contraction are to continue, the ATP will need to be re-synthesised. The main part of the lesson explores how phosphocreatine, glycogen and fats are sources for this re-synthesis. Key details about each of these sources are provided and explained and links are made to upcoming lessons on the energy pathways as well as to topics already covered such as the different types of muscle fibres. The final round of the quiz, which is called “What’s your SOURCE?” acts a final understanding check as the teams of students have to recognise one of the 4 energy sources based on a description.
This lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the next lessons on the ATP-PC, glycolytic and aerobic pathways.