Big believer in the power of beautiful lesson plans to make learning easier. My resources cover the sciences and geography. My biochemistry degree and tuition work I do mean I create resources for a lot of courses as and when I need a resource-always feel free to comment and request something if you want something else or an adaptation. Oxford biochemistry graduate.
Big believer in the power of beautiful lesson plans to make learning easier. My resources cover the sciences and geography. My biochemistry degree and tuition work I do mean I create resources for a lot of courses as and when I need a resource-always feel free to comment and request something if you want something else or an adaptation. Oxford biochemistry graduate.
This two-page resource lists pathogens, transmission routes, disease effects, treatment methods and other facts for the human diseases on the Cambridge International A-level biology course. The large number of disease case studies on the course is something students need a lot of help with. A blank worksheet version is also included for students to fill in themselves.
To help students build up a common sense knowledge of the kind of issues surrounding these diseases that could be important in future and likely topics of exam questions, there’s a section on “other things to know” explaining issues like malaria potentially being spread by global warming. That should make this set of notes particularly useful for students aiming high and looking to study medicine, nursing and biosciences degrees in future or getting ready for interviews. Although flu is not one of the “official” case studies on the course, because it’s covered in the vaccination topic notes on it are also included.
I’ve had positive feedback from students who found it interesting and felt that it gave them a sense of issues in modern medicine-one student studying history A-level said it really helped put studying AIDS in history in context.
Notes and diagrams on epigenetics for the AQA course, starting from some simple analogies to the real world. I also give the core definition AQA have asked for of epigenetics, which isn’t clearly stated in the textbook but came up on a specimen paper.
There’s links to tons of YouTube videos explaining how epigenetics works, and a mnemonic for remembering euchromatin and heterochromatin. Length is two very well-filled pages: you could print it double-sided as a resource for students to keep.
Could also be useful for students taking OCR as extension material.
One page revision notes for AQA explaining the idea of error bars. I include model answers for a range of types of question and explanation of what p < 0.05 means. I list a couple of past paper questions which have good questions to practice from, all from the current specification.
AQA want you to say that differences are significant if error bars don’t overlap, even though in reality it’s more complicated than that. I clearly explain this and say that this idea shouldn’t be used if students go on to degree-level statistics.
Questions and mark schemes consulted in writing these notes included:
significant difference: 74022 2020 2.4
differences that are not significant: 74012 2019 1.2
range error bars: 74023 2017 2.5
no error bars: 74022 2020 7.2
probability and chance: 74021 2019 4.4
Update, 2024: Following feedback from a student, added scale to clarify that the error bar shows mean ± SD. Clarified that the comments on probability/significance are when comparing means (so e.g. wouldn’t apply to the chi-squared test).
One-page set of notes on differential ultracentrifugation to extract organelles, covering homogenization, the ice-cold, buffered, isotonic solution, extracting different organelles and links to recommended videos.
This set of notes is particularly targeted towards revising the practical come exam time-it doesn’t go into a detailed practical methodology for fractionation but gives exam-oriented explanation of how a centrifuge works, what a cold, buffered, isotonic solution is and why it’s needed.
These notes should be suitable for all major A-level courses, but they’re particularly designed to help AQA students taking into account points on the mark schemes for the 74011 specimen paper Q1, 74023 2018 Q5 and 74011 2018 Q7, which would be great for practice alongside these notes.
Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions. For the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSEs.
The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students.
These worksheets are very similar to my set for AQA, if you tutor both courses you don’t really need the other version.
For the Edexcel iGCSE, I intend to do a version of this worksheet specific to that course in future, but for now this worksheet is fine to use; a few questions (10 and 11 on the written worksheet, 3 on the link-the-boxes worksheet) aren’t things students need to memorise but those questions would still be fine for students to do as “suggest” questions.
Worksheet on homeostasis and thyroid function, covering thyroxine, TSH and nutrient deficiencies as well as revising homeostasis and negative feedback generally. This two-page worksheet has plenty of illustrations and diagrams to help students remember the topic. Targets the Edexcel 9-1 biology GCSE. There’s an in-depth mark scheme and versions for colour and black and white printing.
Doing AQA? I have a separate version of the worksheet for the AQA course.
Doing the Edexcel iGCSE? This worksheet isn’t needed, that course doesn’t go into so much depth on the topic.
2024 update: following feedback from students, added more space for answers.
Two-page worksheet on plant hormones for the AQA 9-1 GCSE. Covers phototropism, geotropism, gibberellins and their industrial uses, ethene and an experiment design question. Versions in colour and for black and white printing. There’s an in-depth mark scheme.
Doing a different course? I have similar worksheets for AQA biology A-level, Edexcel GCSE and Cambridge iGCSE.
Worksheet on homeostasis and thyroid function, covering thyroxine, TSH and nutrient deficiencies as well as revising homeostasis and negative feedback generally.
This two-page worksheet has plenty of illustrations and diagrams to help students remember the topic. Targets the AQA 9-1 biology GCSE. There’s versions of the worksheet for colour and black and white printing and an in-depth mark scheme.
Doing Edexcel GCSE? I have a separate version targeting that course specifically.
2024 update: fixed a glitch with question numbering and following feedback from students, added more space for writing down some answers.
Worksheet for AQA A-level biology plant tropism on two pages, covering IAA, phototropism, gravitotropism, the acid growth hypothesis and an experiment design question. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a detailed mark scheme. Written for the new 2015 specification.
Doing a different specification? I have versions for AQA GCSE current specification, Edexcel GCSE and Cambridge iGCSE in a similar style.
2024 update: edited to give students more space for writing answers.
Worksheet on homeostasis and thyroid function, covering thyroxine, TSH and homeostasis and negative feedback generally. This two-page worksheet has plenty of illustrations and diagrams to help students remember the topic and case-study questions. There’s an in-depth mark scheme and versions for colour and black and white printing. Targets the OCR twenty-first Century Science 9-1 GCSE Biology course. I also have versions for AQA GCSE biology and Edexcel GCSE biology.
Worksheet on two pages covering plant disease for the AQA 9-1 biology GCSE specification. Topics include tobacco mosaic virus, Agrobacterium tumefaciens and rose black spot, as well as one calculation practice. Level is fairly basic, without many complicated questions.
Versions of the worksheet are included for colour and black and white printing. Pictures, diagrams and mark scheme are included.
Worksheet for Cambridge iGCSE biology plant hormones on two pages, covering IAA, phototropism, gravitotropism, the effects of auxin and an experiment design question. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a detailed mark scheme.
October 2024 update: added more space for writing answers.
Two-page worksheet and mark scheme on the use of positron emission tomography scans in medical imaging of the brain and cancer, a topic on the current Edexcel biology GCSE, with a range of diagrams, pictures and links to recommended videos. The worksheet is also suitable for teaching in physics as a case study.
Worksheet assumes a bit of basic knowledge of radioactivity and gamma rays (safety precautions, hazards) so may be worth coordinating with physics that those topics have been covered, although it’s only at a common sense level of knowledge. A version of the worksheet converted to black and white is included too.
Specification reference: brain and spinal cord problems, B2.11B and B2.12B, higher tier.
One-page set of notes on confocal microscopy targeting A-level biology (especially OCR A) with some selected images and a link to a recommended video.
Although suitable for other courses, these notes were specifically targeted at OCR A-level biology A. The focus is on the images produced by confocal microscopy rather than on the details of how the mirror system works.
Questions studied writing this pack (and recommended for exam technique) included:
AS-level unit 2, question 1 from 2017
AS-level unit 2 specimen, question 6 (MCQ)
A-level 2020 paper 1, question 2 (MCQ)
Worksheet for the AQA specification on two pages covering genetic definitions and genetic crosses. Dominant and recessive, alleles and genes and Punnet squares are all covered as questions.
Sensitivity note: the worksheet includes cystic fibrosis as a case study. Topic reference: B13.7, 13.8, 13.9. This pack is almost identical to my pack for Edexcel covering this topic, you could use either if you teach both courses.
Worksheet for the Edexcel 9-1 GCSE biology specification on genetic definitions and genetic crosses on two pages. Dominant and recessive, alleles and genes and Punnet squares are all covered.
Sensitivity note: the worksheet includes cystic fibrosis as a case study. This pack is almost identical to my AQA pack covering the same content, you could use either if you teach both courses. Specification reference: B3.12, B3.13, B3.14.
Two-page illustrated worksheet on Salmonella bacterial disease, covering infection, effects, epidemiology, treatment and vaccination against bacteria, for the AQA 9-1 GCSE biology specification (B5.7). Versions with images in colour and converted to black and white are included, as well as an in-depth mark scheme.
Two-page link-up-the-boxes worksheet and two-page written worksheet recapping definitions of community, habitat, ecosystem and biotic/abiotic factors, along with case study questions.
For the AQA 9-1 biology GCSEs: based on collating past paper questions I’ve found the definitions of the terms are important for students to know, but suitable for other courses.
The link-up-the-boxes worksheet is deliberately written to be very easy for students with low knowledge and confidence. The written worksheet covers biotic factors, quadrats, transects and competition, along with a calculation question and practice identifying types of habitat. Versions for colour and black and white printing and a mark scheme are included. Could also be suitable as a quick recap exercise for A-level students.