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 detailed lesson describes the role of the strand of mRNA, the tRNA molecules, the amino acids and the ribosome during the second stage of protein synthesis - translation. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 6.2 (d) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification and ties in with the first part of this specification point which covered transcription.
Translation is a topic which is often poorly understood and so this lesson has been written to enable the students to understand how to answer the different types of questions by knowing and including the key details of the structures involved. The lesson begins by challenging the students to consider why it is so important that the amino acids are assembled in the correct order during the formation of the chain. Moving forwards, a quick quiz round called “LOST IN TRANSLATION” is used to check on their prior knowledge of the mRNA strand, the tRNA molecules, the genetic code and the ribosomes. The next task involves a very detailed description of translation that has been divided into 14 statements which the students have to put into the correct order. By giving them a passage that consists of this considerable detail, they can pick out the important parts to use in the next task where they have to answer shorter questions worth between 3 and 4 marks. These types of questions are common in the assessments and by building up through the lesson, their confidence to answer this type should increase. The final two tasks of the lesson involve another quiz called “The protein synthesis game”, where the teams compete to transcribe and translate in the quickest time before using all the information from the lessons on protein synthesis to answer some questions which involve the genetic code and the mRNA codon table.
This fully-resourced lesson bundle covers the content as detailed in topic 8.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification (recombinant DNA technology). All of the lessons have been written to contain a wide range of activities that will maintain student engagement whilst this potentially difficult concept is explained. Links are continuously made to previous lessons in topic 8 as well as those covered in the AS year (mainly topic 4)
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the producing DNA fragments lesson as this has been uploaded for free
Amino acids are the monomers of polypeptides and this lesson describes their structure and makes links to related topics such as genes and dipeptides. The engaging PowerPoint has been designed to cover the first part of point 1.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and provides a clear introduction to the following lesson on the formation of dipeptides and polypeptides.
The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check, where the students have to use the 1st letters of 4 answers to uncover a key term. This 4-letter key term is gene and the lesson begins with this word because it is important for students to understand that these sequences of bases on DNA determine the specific sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. Moving forwards, students are given discussion time to work out that there are 64 different DNA triplets and will learn that these encode for the 20 amino acids that are common to all organisms. The main task of the lesson is an observational one, where students are given time to study the displayed formula of 4 amino acids. They are not allowed to draw anything during this time but will be challenged with 3 multiple choice questions at the end. This task has been designed to allow the students to visualise how the 20 amino acids share common features in an amine and an acid group. A quick quiz round introduces the R group and time is taken to explain how the structure of this side chain is the only structural difference, before cysteine is considered in greater detail due to the presence of sulfur atoms. Students are briefly introduced to disulfide bridges so they will recognise how particular bonds form between the R groups in the tertiary structure which is covered in the next lesson. The lesson concludes with one more quiz round called LINK TO THE FUTURE where the students will see the roles played by amino acids in the later part of the course such as translation and mineral ions.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the behaviour of chromosomes during interphase, mitosis and cytokinesis in the cell cycle. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the first half of point 2.2 as detailed in the AQA A-level Biology specification whereas uncontrolled cell division and cancer and binary fission are covered in upcoming lessons.
Depending upon the exam board taken at GCSE, the knowledge and understanding of mitosis and the cell cycle will differ considerably between students and there may be a number of misconceptions. This was considered at all points during the planning of the lesson and to address existing errors, key points are emphasised throughout. The cell cycle is introduced at the start of the lesson and the quantity of DNA inside the parent cell is described as diploid and as 2n. A quiz competition has been written into the lesson and this runs throughout, challenging the students to identify the quantity of DNA in the cell (in terms of n) at different points of the cycle. Moving forwards, the first real focus is interphase and the importance of DNA replication is explained so that students can initially recognise that there are pairs of identical sister chromatids and then can understand how they are separated later in the cycle. The main part of the lesson focuses on prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase and describes how the chromosomes behave in these stages. Centrioles were not covered in the topic 2.1 lessons on cell structures so a quick task will introduce them to these organelles who are responsible for the production of the spindle apparatus, Students will understand how the cytoplasmic division that occurs in cytokinesis results in the production of genetically identical daughter cells. This leads into a series of understanding and application questions where students have to identify the various roles of mitosis in living organisms as well as tackling a Maths in a Biology context question. The lesson concludes with a final round of MITOSIS SNAP where they only shout out this word when a match is seen between the name of a phase, an event and a picture.
This fully-resourced lesson guides students through the construction of genetic crosses and pedigree diagrams for the inheritance of a single gene. The clear PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.2 (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and includes the inheritance of multiple allele characteristics as well as those that demonstrate codominance.
In order to minimise the likelihood of errors and misconceptions, step by step guides have been included throughout the lesson to support the students with the following:
Writing parent genotypes
Working out the different gametes that are made following meiosis
Interpreting Punnett crosses to work out phenotypic ratios
Students can often find pedigree trees the most difficult to interpret and to explain so exemplar answers are used as well as differentiated worksheets provided to support those students who need extra assistance.
This bundle contains 20 PowerPoint lessons which are highly-detailed and are fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets. Intricate planning means that the wide range of activities included in these lessons will engage and motivate the students, check on their current understanding and their ability to make links to previously covered topics and most importantly will deepen their understanding of the following specification points in topic 2 (Cells) of the AQA A-level Biology specification:
Structure and function of the organelles in eukaryotic cells
The specialised cells in complex, multicellular organisms
The structure of prokaryotic cells
The structure of viruses which are acellular and non-living
Measuring objects under an optical microscope
Use of the magnification formula
The principles of cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation
The behaviour of chromosomes during the stages of the cell cycle
Calculating the mitotic index
Binary fission
The basic structure of cell membranes
The role of phospholipids, proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids and cholesterol
Simple diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
Osmosis, explained in terms of water potential
The role of carrier proteins and the hydrolysis of ATP in active transport
Co-transport as illustrated by the absorption of sodium ions and glucose by the cells lining the mammalian ileum
Recognition of different cells by the immune system
The identification of pathogens from antigens
The phagocytosis of pathogens
The cellular response involving T lymphocytes
The humoral response involving the production of antibodies by plasma cells
The structure of an antibody
The roles of plasma cells and memory cells in the primary and secondary immune response
The use of vaccines to protect populations
The differences between active and passive immunity
The structure of the human immunodeficiency virus and its replication in helper T cells
How HIV causes the symptoms of AIDS
Why antibiotics are ineffective against viruses
The use of antibodies in the ELISA test
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, then download the eukaryotic animal cells, viruses, osmosis, lymphocytes, HIV and AIDS lessons as these have been shared for free.
I have also uploaded a lesson on optical microscopes (for free) but it isn’t included in this bundle as the limit of 20 resources has been reached!
This resource contains an engaging and detailed lesson PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets which cover the content of both the Core and Supplement sections of topic 14.2 (Sense organs) as detailed in the CIE IGCSE Biology specification. Understanding checks are included at regular points throughout the lesson to allow the students to self-assess their progress and quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE and LOOK into these WORDS introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way. The following content is covered across this resource:
The function of the cornea, retina, lens, optic nerve and iris
Identifying these structures and the pupil, fovea and blind spot on a diagram
The roles of the rods and cones in the retina and their distribution
Explain the pupil reflex in terms of the antagonistic action of the muscles in the iris
Accommodation to view near and distant objects
Sense organs and the stimuli to which they respond
This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students who are studying the CIE IGCSE Biology course but is suitable for both younger and older students who are studying this organ
This fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover the content of specification point 5.2.2 (The brain) as found in topic 5 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification. This resource contains an engaging PowerPoint (33 slides) and accompanying worksheets, some of which have been differentiated so that students of different abilities can access the work.
The resource is filled with a wide range of activities, each of which has been designed to engage and motivate the students whilst ensuring that the key Biological content is covered in detail. Understanding checks are included throughout so that the students can assess their grasp of the content. In addition, previous knowledge checks make links to content from earlier topics such as cancer.
The following content is covered in this lesson:
The functions of the cerebral cortex, medulla and cerebellum
Identification of the regions of the brain on an external and internal diagram
The early use of stroke victims to identify functions
The key details of the MRI scanning technique
The difficulties of diagnosing and treating brain disorders and disease
As stated at the top, this lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students who are studying the AQA GCSE Biology course, but it can be used with A-level students who need to go back over the key points before looking at the functionality of the regions in more detail
This lesson has been designed to cover the content in specification point 17.3 (Mitosis) which is part of topic 17 (Inheritance) of the CIE IGCSE Biology specification. A wide range of activities have been written into the lesson to motivate and engage the students whilst ensuring that the following content of both the Core & Supplement sections are covered in detail.
The duplication of chromosomes before mitosis
Mitosis is a form of division that results in genetically identical cells
The important roles of mitosis for living organisms
Stem cells use mitosis before differentiation to produce specialised cells
Understanding checks have been included in the lesson at regular points to allow the students to assess their understanding as well as previous knowledge checks to topics like organelles in animal and plant cells.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students but is suitable for older students who are studying mitosis at A-level and need to recall the key points
This lesson explains why the conduction of an impulse along myelinated neurones is faster than along unmyelinated neurones. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover point (7) of topic 15.1 of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
A wide range of activities are included in this lesson to maintain the motivation of the students whilst ensuring that the detail is covered in depth. Interspersed with the activities are understanding checks and prior knowledge checks to allow the students to not only assess their understanding of the current topic but also challenge themselves to make links to earlier topics such as the movement of ions across membranes and biological molecules.
Over the course of the lesson, students consider the structure of the myelin sheath and specifically how the electrical insulation is not complete all the way along. This leaves gaps, known as the nodes of Ranvier, which allow the entry and exit of ions. Saltatory conduction can be poorly explained by a lot of students so time is taken to look at the way that the action potential jumps between the nodes and this is explained further by reference to local currents. The rest of the lesson focuses on the other two factors which are axon diameter and temperature and students are challenged to discover these two by focusing on the vampire squid.
An engaging lesson presentation (32 slides) and differentiated worksheets that look at the meaning of the substances termed monoclonal antibodies, explains how they are produced and explores their different applications. The lesson begins by breaking the term down into three parts so that students can understand that these substances are proteins that attach to antigens and come from a single clone of cells. Students will meet key terms such as lymphocytes, myelomas and hybridomas and will be able to link them to understand how these antibodies are produced. Moving forwards, time is taken to focus on the application of monoclonal antibodies in pregnancy tests. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding and a set homework is included as part of the lesson.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but can be used with lower ability A-level students who are studying this topic
This lesson bundle contains 17 detailed and fully-resourced lessons which cover the following specification points in topic 3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification:
Topic 3.1
The relationship between the size of an organism or structure and its surface area to volume ratio
The development of systems in larger organisms as adaptations that facilitate exchange as this ratio reduces
Topic 3.2
Adaptations of gas exchange surfaces as shown by gas exchange in single-celled organisms, insects, bony fish and the leaves of dicotyledonous plants
The gross structure of the human gas exchange system
The essential features of the alveolar epithelium as a surface over which gas exchange takes place
The mechanism of breathing to include the role of the diaphragm and the intercostal muscles
Topic 3.3
During digestion, large molecules are hydrolysed to smaller molecules
Digestion in mammals by amylases, disaccharidases, lipase, endopeptidases, exopeptidases and dipeptidases
Mechanisms for the absorption of the products of digestion by cells lining the ileum of mammals
Topic 3.4.1
The structure and role of haemoglobin in the loading, transport and unloading of oxygen
The effects of carbon dioxide concentration on the dissociation of oxyhaemoglobin
The general pattern of blood circulation in a mammal
The gross structure of the human heart
Pressure and volume changes and valve movements during the cardiac cycle
The structure of the arteries, arterioles and veins
The formation of tissue fluid and its return to the circulatory system
Topic 3.4.2
Xylem as the tissue that transports water
The cohesion-tension theory of water transport
Phloem as the tissue that transports organic substances in plants
The mass flow hypothesis for the mechanism of translocation in plants
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons included in this bundle, then download the following lessons which have been uploaded for free
Alveolar epithelium
Absorption in the ileum
Arteries, arterioles and veins
Formation of tissue fluid
Translocation
This lesson describes the roles of the buccal cavity, operculum, gill lamellae and countercurrent flow in ventilation and gas exchange in bony fish. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the first lesson in a series of 2 that have been designed to cover the details of point 3.1.1 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The second lesson in this series covers the mechanisms of ventilation and gas exchange in insects.
The lesson has been specifically planned to prepare students for the content of module 3.1.2 (Transport in animals) and therefore begins with an introduction and a brief description of the single circulatory system of a fish as this has an impact on the delivery of deoxygenated blood to the lamellae. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce the operculum and then the flow of blood along the gill arch and into the primary lamellae and then into the capillaries in the secondary lamellae is described. The next task challenges the students to use their knowledge of module 2 to come up with the letters that form the key term, countercurrent flow. This is a key element of the lesson and tends to be a feature that is poorly understood, so extra time is taken to explain the importance of this mechanism. Students are shown two diagrams, where one contains a countercurrent system and the other has the two fluids flowing in the same direction, and this is designed to support them in recognising that this type of system ensures that the concentration of oxygen is always higher in the oxygenated water than in the blood in the lamellae. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the coordinated movements of the buccal-opercular pump to ensure that the water continues to flow over the gills.
Current understanding and prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson and students can assess their progress against the mark schemes which are embedded into the PowerPoint
A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how the sex chromosomes which determine gender are inherited in humans. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (24 slides) and an associated worksheet containing knowledge recall and application questions.
The lesson begins with a range of different quiz competitions which enable the students to get the answers of X, Y, zygote and 23. With a little bit of assistance, students are challenged to bring these terms together to complete a passage about how the inheritance of either an XX genotype will lead to a female or a XY genotype will lead to a male. Moving forwards, students are told how they will be expected to be able to construct a genetic diagram to show the inheritance of gender and so are given a quick recap before being challenged to do just that. The last part of the lesson gets students to discuss and consider whether females or males are responsible for determining sex in terms of their gametes.
There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. The lesson has been written for GCSE students primarily but the content is suitable for both KS3 and even A-level students
This fully-resourced lesson describes the principles and limitations of optical, transmission electron and scanning electron microscopes. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the specification details at the start of topic 2.1.3 of the AQA A-level Biology course and also explains the difference between magnification and resolution.
When designing all four of the lessons to cover the detail of 2.1.3, I was conscious that microscopes and the methods of studying cells is a topic that doesn’t always attract the full attention of the students. In line with this, I aimed to plan lessons that encouraged engagement so that the likelihood of knowledge retention and understanding was increased. An ongoing quiz competition runs across the 4 lessons and in this particular lesson, rounds such as YOU DO THE MATH and IT’S TIME FOR ACTION will introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way. Time is taken to look at the key details of each of the types of microscope and students will be able to describe how light or the transmission of electrons through or across a specimen will form an image. Students will come to recognise the difference between magnification and resolution and examples are provided and exam-style questions used to check on understanding. As well as current understanding checks, prior knowledge checks challenge the students to make links to other biological topics which include specialised cells and tissues, cell structures and biological molecules.
As detailed above, this lesson has been written to be the first in a series of 4 lessons and the others, which are uploaded are:
Measuring the size of an object viewed under an optical microscope
Use of the magnification formula
Cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation
An engaging lesson presentation (63 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within the Biology unit B7 (Ecology) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification unit B4.7).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Communities
Abiotic factors
Biotic factors
Levels of organisation
Recycling materials
Deforestation
Global warming
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Number CRAZY" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
An engaging lesson presentation (66 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module B3 of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Nervous system
Reflexes
Hormones
Negative feedback
The menstrual cycle
Controlling reproduction
Using hormones to treat infertility
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like "From Numbers 2 LETTERS" and "Take the IVF Hotseat" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This fully-resourced lesson describes the beneficial, neutral and harmful effects of gene mutations on the primary structure of a polypeptide. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 6.1.1 (a) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to understand how substitutions, deletions and insertions change the base sequence and describe how this affects protein production and function.
In order to understand how a change in the base sequence can affect the order of the amino acids, students must be confident in their understanding and application of protein synthesis which was covered in module 2.1.3. Therefore, the start of the lesson focuses on transcription and translation and students are guided through the use of the codon table to identify amino acids. Moving forwards, a task called known as THE WALL is used to introduce to the names of three types of gene mutation whilst challenging the students to recognise terms which are associated with the genetic code and were met back in 2.1.3. The main focus of the lesson is base substitutions and how these mutations may or may not cause a change to the amino acid sequence. The students are challenged to use their knowledge of the degenerate nature of the genetic code to explain how a silent mutation can result. The rest of the lesson looks at base deletions and base insertions and students are introduced to the idea of a frameshift mutation. One particular task challenges the students to evaluate the statement that base deletions have a bigger impact on primary structure than base substitutions. This is a differentiated task and they have to compare the fact that the reading frame is shifted by a deletion against the change in a single base by a substitution
This detailed and fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of the polysaccharides: glycogen, starch and cellulose. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 1.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and clear links are also made to the previous lessons in this topic where the monosaccharides and disaccharides were introduced.
By the end of this lesson, students should understand how key structural features like the 1 - 4 and 1 - 6 glycosidic bonds and the hydrogen bonds dictate whether the polysaccharide chain is branched or unbranched and also whether it spirals or not. Following the description of the structure of glycogen, students are challenged to design an exam question in the form of a comparison table so that it can be completed as the lesson progresses once they learn more about starch and cellulose. This includes a split in the starch section of the table so that the differing structures and properties of amylose and amylopectin can be considered. In the final part of the lesson, time is taken to focus on the formation of cellulose microfibrils and macrofibrils to explain how plant cells have the additional strength needed to support the whole plant.
Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated teaching time to complete
This engaging lesson describes the structure, properties and functions of the monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. The PowerPoint lesson has been designed to cover point [c] as detailed in AS unit 1, topic 1 of the WJEC A-level Biology specification and it makes clear links to the upcoming lessons in this topic on alpha and beta glucose and the properties of starch, glycogen, cellulose and chitin.
The lesson begins with a made-up round of the quiz show POINTLESS, where students have to try to identify four answers to do with carbohydrates. In doing so, they will learn or recall that these molecules are made from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, that they are a source of energy which can sometimes be rightly or wrongly associated with obesity and that the names of the three main groups is derived from the Greek word sakkharon. A number of quick quiz rounds have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and the first round allows the students to meet some of common monosaccharides. Moving forwards, students will learn that a disaccharide is formed when two of these monomers are joined together and they are then challenged on their knowledge of condensation reactions which were originally encountered during the lesson on water. Students will understand how multiple reactions and multiple glycosidic bonds will result in the formation of a polysaccharide and glycogen, starch and cellulose are recalled and there is a brief introduction to chitin. The final part of the lesson considers how hydrolysis reactions allow polysaccharides and disaccharides to be broken back down into monosaccharides.
