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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An engaging lesson presentation (34), accompanied by a summary worksheet, which together explore the factors which change the rate of transpiration and focuses on the explanation behind each factor. The lesson begins by introducing the term, transpiration, and linking this to the structure of a leaf to ensure that students know that water is lost as water vapour out of the stomata. Students are provided with an analogy of plants being like clothes on a washing line to challenge them to come up with some of the factors involved. Time is taken to look specifically at humidity as this is a factor which is commonly misunderstood. Moving forwards, students are challenged to draw sketch graphs to predict whether increasing each of these factors will increase the rate of transpiration or decrease it. A series of questions to lead to answers is used to show the students how to explain the effect of increasing the light intensity. The remainder of the lesson looks at a potometer and how it can be used to calculate the rate. The mathematical skills of the students are challenged during a range of tasks and then linked back to the Science so they can recognise which features of plants will help to reduce water loss. Progress checks are written into this lesson at regular intervals to allow students to assess their understanding and a number of quick competitions act to maintain engagement. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is suitable for A-level students who are studying the plants topic

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

A quick, concise lesson presentation (15 slides) which together with a question worksheet focuses on ensuring that students can define an isotope and pick these substances out from a selection of substances. The lesson begins by looking at the number of sub-atomic particles in an aluminium atom so that students can recall what is shown by the atomic and mass numbers. This will enable students to calculate the number of protons, neutrons and electrons in three given isotopes and as a result, complete a definition of these substances. The remainder of this short lesson involves 4 application questions where students either have to recognise isotopes from a table or from a diagram and also are asked to write out the formula of an isotope. Ideally this lesson will be taught in conjunction with a lesson on atomic structure.

A concise lesson presentation (27 slides) that looks at the key details of the sub-atomic particles and briefly explores how the atomic and mass numbers of the Periodic Table can be used to calculate the numbers of these particles in different atoms. The lesson begins with a Mathematical link as students are challenged to convert the size of an atom from standard form into a real number. Moving forwards, students will meet the three sub-atomic particles and be asked to predict which one is positive, neutral and negative in charge. The relative mass of a proton is shown and then students are asked to work out the mass of a neutron and an electron by observing some experimental results with a scales. Finally, the students are shown how to use the atomic number to work out the number of protons (and electrons) in an atom and how to work out the number of neutrons. This lesson has been designed to act as a knowledge recall and top-up as this should have already been learnt at KS3.

A practical based lesson presentation (26 slides) that investigates how increasing the temperature affects the rate of reaction and helps students to explain the trend in the results. Students can either carry out the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid or use the results which are provided. The equation to work out the rate of reaction is introduced to the students and they are challenged to plot the results on a line graph. A key term to be used in the explanation is introduced through a quick competition and then students are challenged to explain the trend

An engaging, practical-based lesson presentation (34 slides), accompanied by an assistance sheet, which together look at how the results of displacement reactions can be used to order the metals into the reactivity series. The lesson begins by introducing a displacement reaction and ensuring that students understand the meaning of this term and how it relates to the topic of the lesson. Students will carry out a series of 12 displacement reactions, involving 4 different metals and will then be challenged to interpret the results to place the metals into their allocated positions in the series. Moving forwards, the students are given the results of more reactions, some which occurred and others which didn’t so they can place the remaining metals into the reactivity series. Time is also taken to understand how the position of hydrogen in the series can be used to predict the results of reactions between metals and acids. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students

A lesson presentation (44 slides), accompanied by a question worksheet, which together looks at the reactants and products of a neutralisation reaction and challenges students to represent these reactions with equations. The lesson begins with a bit of fun as students are asked to read through a scene from the US comedy show and spot that a neutralisation reaction is hidden under the jokes. Students will use their KS3 knowledge to recall that these reactions involve acids and alkalis and moving forwards they will be introduced to a new term, base. The rest of the lesson focuses on writing word and balanced symbol equations for different neutralisation reactions. A step by step guide is used to demonstrate how to work out the name of the salt as well as writing accurate chemical formulae. Finally, students are challenged to apply their new-found knowledge and complete equations for 4 neutralisation reactions and they can assess against the displayed mark schemes. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that this self-assessment is constant and any misconceptions are quickly addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with younger students who are looking to extend their knowledge

An informative lesson presentation (24 slides), accompanied by a set of differentiated question worksheets, which together guide students through calculating energy changes in reactions and then challenges them to apply their new-found knowledge. The lesson begins by asking the students to complete a sentence which details how energy is taken in to break bonds in the reactants and given out when bonds are formed in the products. The bond energy table is then introduced so that students understand how it will be used in questions. Moving forwards, a step by step guide is used to calculate the energy change value for two reactions and students are shown how to interpret the positive or negative result as endothermic or exothermic respectively. The remainder of the lesson asks the students to apply what they have learnt to calculate the energy change for two more reactions. This question worksheet is differentiated two ways so that students who need extra assistance can still access the work. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students

A concise lesson presentation (22 slides) and question worksheet, which together focus on the challenge of applying the equations of motion to calculation questions. Students are given this equation on the data sheet in the exam - therefore, this lesson shows them how they will be expected to rearrange in it four ways. For this reason, the start of the lesson revisits the skills involved in rearranging the formula, beginning with simple tasks and building up to those that involve indices as are found in this equation. Once students have practised these skills, they are challenged to answer 4 questions, although 1 is done together with the class to visualise how to set out the working. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students