I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus, Biology.
This lesson teaches students how to calculate surface area to volume ratio in simple steps, then links this to exchange surfaces / the size of organisms.
This resource includes:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Retrieval practice
Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
Guided ‘worked examples’ (teacher models)
Regular checks for understanding (quizzes)
Guided ‘turn and talk’
Independent practice tasks, with answer slides
Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides
A written plenary task
A full 1 hour PowerPoint lesson designed for a lower ability year 11 class.
This lesson covers the four main factors affecting rate of reaction, based on the AQA Combined Science syllabus. Also suitable for AQA Chemistry.
This lesson includes:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
A lesson hook
Direct instruction slides, with dual coding/diagrams and reduced cognitive load
Guided classroom discussions
Useful teacher-led models
independent tasks with scaffolding, and answer slides
Guided exam questions with scaffolding, and answer slides
A written plenary
A full one hour lesson for a Year 13 class studying A Level Biology with the OCR A syllabus.
This resource comes with a full PowerPoint and three worksheets.
This resource contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
A retrieval practice (labelling structures in the heart)
A lesson hook
Direct instruction slides (dual coding, low cognitive load)
Check for understanding slides (hand signal, multiple choice questions)
Teacher model talking through negative feedback loop
Guided class discussions
Independent practice slides (exam questions) with answer slides / mark schemes
Plenary whiteboard quiz with answers
This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This lesson is an overview of the three types of cell transport, and uses movement of substances across a root hair cell as a specific example.
This resource includes:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
Regular checks for understanding (quizzes)
Guided ‘turn and talk’
Independent practice tasks, with answer slides
Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides
A written plenary task
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks, with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook (embedded video from Operation Ouch)
Guided class discussions
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks (exam questions), with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task based on an exam question
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook
Embedded videos
Guided class discussions
Guided teacher model slides
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks (exam questions), with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task based on an exam question
This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This lesson is an overview of active transport, also discussing adaptations of the intestinal epithelial cells.
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
Regular checks for understanding (quizzes)
Guided ‘turn and talk’
Independent practice tasks, with answer slides
Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides
A game ‘Articulate’
A written plenary task
This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This lesson looks at gas exchange in the gills, the structure of the gills, ram ventilation and the adaptations of the gills.
This resource includes:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
A lesson hook
A demo (fish head dissection)
Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
Regular checks for understanding (quizzes)
Guided ‘turn and talk’
Independent practice tasks, with answer slides
Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides
A written plenary task
These lessons were designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This resource includes two PowerPoints, each one hour, guiding students through the Required Practical on osmosis in potatoes.
The first PowerPoint guides students through completing the practical.
The second PowerPoint is a theory-based lesson, which gets students to think about what happened and why. It also talks them through writing a conclusion, analysing their data etc.
A full 1 hour PowerPoint lesson on the structure of mammalian muscle, as well as the process of muscle contraction.
This lesson contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
A retrieval practice task on the types of muscle
Direct instruction slides, dual coding with reduced cognitive load
Guided class discussions
Frequent checks for understanding
Guided independent tasks with answer slides
Embedded exam questions with answer slides
A 10-question plenary quiz (either written or whiteboard), with answer slides
This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification.
This lesson covers the Linnaean classification system, the binomial naming system, and the three-domain system of classification.
This is a full 1 hour lesson which contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
A lesson hook
Direct instruction slides on classification
An embedded video (catchy song!)
Guided student discussions
Plenty of checkpoints (e.g. multiple choice hand signal questions)
Visual teacher-led models
Student written tasks
Exam questions with scaffolds, and modeled answers
A written plenary
This 1 hour lesson covers the following topics:
Causes of extinction
Evidence for extinction
The fossil record
The formation of fossils
This is designed with the GCSE AQA Combined Science specification in mind (and includes exam questions from this syllabus), but this should be fairly transferable.
This resource is a fully planned lesson with engaging lesson hooks, an embedded video, exam questions and scaffolded mark schemes, multiple choice quizzes, and a board game for students to play as a group.
A full 1 hour lesson on fungal diseases from the AQA GCSE Biology syllabus. Also suitable for AQA GCSE Combined Science.
This resource contains:
A 5 in 5 style retrieval starter
A lesson hook on parasitic fungi in ants
A hook / discussion on making links between athlete’s foot and mushrooms
Direct instruction on athlete’s foot - causes, methods of spread, prevention
A choice task ‘choose the difficulty’ - three deliberate practice questions on athlete’s foot (with answers)
Retrieval practice linking tobacco mosaic virus to photosynthesis topic
Direct instruction on rose black spot
Lightning questions on rose black spot
A practice exam-style question on rose black spot with guided peer assessment
A ‘question olympics’ game - retrieval from this topic
A plenary task
This lesson resource was designed for a lower attaining year 10 class studying AQA GCSE Combined Science.
This is a full 1 hour lesson.
This PowerPoint contains:
A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter
A lesson hook
Direct instruction on Lamarck’s theory
Direct instruction on Darwin’s theory of natural selection
A teacher model showing natural selection in flowers
A guided activity where students assess written responses to an exam question on natural selection in Arctic hares using a mark scheme
An independent exam question on natural selection in giraffes, with guided self assessment
Direct instruction on antibiotic resistance
A deliberate practice task on antibiotic resistance and how it develops, with guided self assessment
A written plenary task (an exam question with a mark scheme)
This resource was designed for a top set year 8 class studying an electricity topic.
This resource requires the following practical equipment:
One large rope for demo
Power packs
Crocodile clips
Wires
Bulbs
Ammeters
Resistors
This PowerPoint resource contains:
A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter on current, potential difference and insulators
A retrieval practice task on giving definitions for key terms (current, potential difference, ammeter, voltmeter, electrons)
Direct instruction on resistance with dual coding
A hand signals quiz to check for understanding
A simple ‘fill in the blanks’ task with delayed key word bank
A rope model demo for current and resistance
A discussion task about the model - what did each person represent?
A practical activity on the effect of resistors on current in a circuit (results table provided as print out)
A plenary task (writing a conclusion for the investigation)
A full 1 hour lesson on food chains designed for a higher ability year 7 class.
This could be taught to any KS3 class, of any ability, with minor tweaks.
This lesson contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
An embedded video clip from Zootopia
A retrieval practice from primary school - matching key terms e.g. predator/prey to their definitions
A directed student discussion on food chains
Direct instruction slides on food chains
Checkpoints
Student independent tasks writing simple food chains
Direct instruction on trophic levels
A true or false quiz on food chains and trophic levels
An independent task with a printable worksheet - drawing a food chain and naming the trophic levels
A whiteboard quiz
A written plenary task
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource on static electricity. This was originally designed for a top set year 8 class.
This lesson involves practical demonstrations and activities.
The following equipment will be needed:
A comb and a tap (for demo)
Balloons (for demo)
Empty can (for demo)
Plastic rods, cloth and small pieces of paper (for class practical)
The PowerPoint contains:
A “5 in 5” retrieval style starter based on the electricity topic, with answers
Retrieval practice on the structure of an atom and subatomic particles
A practical demo bending water using a comb
Direct instruction on static electricity (using comb and water as an example)
A hand signals ‘thumbs up’ true or false quiz
A practical demo making hair stand up using a balloon
A practical demo making an empty can roll using a balloon
A guided conservation on why this happens
A deliberate practice written task on static electricity, with guided self assessment
A class practical on picking up paper using static electricity
A deliberate practice written task on this practical, with guided self assessment
A plenary task
This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This lesson covers:
Extinction - what is it? What are the major causes of extinction?
Fossil evidence for extinction
Fossil formation - how are fossils formed?
This is a full 1 hour lesson and contains:
A 5-in-5 style retrieval starter
A careers link
A lesson hook
An embedded video
Exam questions with modeled answers
A simple board game for students to play (you will need dice)
Discussions
A variety of checkpoints (multiple choice, hand signals)
A plenary task
This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This is a full 1 hour lesson which contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
A discussion and video as a lesson hook
Direct instruction slides on selective breeding
Guided student discussions with feedback
A visual, step-by-step instruction of selectively breeding flowers
A ‘teacher model’ slide which models how to answer exam questions on selective breeding
Written exam questions (with scaffolds) for students to complete independently
A printout for students to respond to exam questions on
A written plenary task (exam question) with feedback