A highly engaging lesson presentation (74 slides) and accompanying worksheets that uses exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to allow students to assess their understanding of the topic of Biological molecules (Topic 3.1). Students will have fun whilst recognising those areas of the specification which need further attention.

This fully-resourced REVISION LESSON has been designed to provide the students with numerous opportunities to assess their understanding of the content of module 5.2.2 (Respiration) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The importance of this metabolic reaction is obvious and this is reflected in the volume of questions in the terminal exams which require an in depth knowledge of the stages of both aerobic and anaerobic respiration. The lesson contains a wide range of activities that cover the following points of the specification: Glycolysis as a stage of aerobic and anaerobic respiration The use and production of ATP through respiration Anaerobic respiration in mammalian muscle tissue The stages of aerobic respiration that occur in the mitochondrial matrix Oxidative phosphorylation The use of respirometers Calculating the respiratory quotient value for different respiratory substrates Revision lessons which cover the other sub-modules of module 5 are uploaded and tie in well with this content

This is a fully-resourced lesson that looks at the functional and structural differences between the transport tissues in a plant, the xylem and phloem. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (41 slides), which includes numerous student-led tasks, progress checks and quick competitions and two question worksheets, one of which is a differentiated version to enable those students who are finding this topic difficult to still be able to access the learning. The lesson begins with the introduction of the two tissues as well as a brief introduction to the substances which they each carry. The next part of the lesson focuses on the xylem cells and the resulting xylem vessel, and key terms such as lignin are brought into the lesson so that students can understand how these cells are waterproofed, which causes them to decay and form hollow tubes. Having met a lot of information, students are challenged to act like an examiner to form a table based question to compare the xylem against the phloem where they have to come up with features which could be compared against. This table will form the backbone of the lesson and students will use it later in the lesson when they have to write summary passages about each of the tissues. Moving forwards, a quick competition is used to enable the students to meet the names of the cells that form the phloem tissue, the sieve tube elements and the companion cells. Students will see how they are involved in the functioning of the phloem and questions are posed which relate to other topics such as the involvement of mitochondria wherever active transport occurs. Progress checks like this are found at regular intervals throughout the lesson so that students can constantly assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students. If you are looking to teach about these tissues but to a higher standard, you could use my uploaded alternative called Xylem and Phloem (A-level)

A detailed lesson presentation (37 slides) and associated worksheets that guide students through the DNA sequencing method called pyrosequencing. The lesson focusses on the numerous enzymes and substrates which are involved in the cascade of events which eventually leads to the production of light when the conversion from luciferin to oxyluciferin occurs. A step by step guide is used to show the students how these events occur and the different outcomes are explored. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of this topic and the links to similar topics. This lesson has been designed for A-level students and above

An informative and engaging lesson (46 slides) that looks at the topic of immobilised enzymes and focusses on ensuring that students understand this topic around three main ideas. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain why immobilised enzymes are used, describe the different methods by which they are produced and describe some of their uses in biotechnology. Time is taken throughout the lesson to make sure that students understand the disadvantages associated with this process and that they are able to explain the specific limitations of each method. This lesson has been designed for students studying A-level Biology

This is a fully-resourced REVISION lesson that challenges the students on their knowledge of the content found in TOPIC 4 (Biodiversity and Natural resources) of the Edexcel A-level Biology (Salters Nuffield) specification. The lesson contains an engaging PowerPoint (104 slides) and accompanying worksheets that use a range of exam questions, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions to motivate the students whilst they evaluate their knowledge of the different sub-topics. The lesson has been designed to cover as much of the topic 4 specification as possible, but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention: Three-domain classification The features of the kingdoms Evolutionary relationships Behavioural, anatomical and physiological adaptations Glycosidic bonds The structure and function of cellulose The ultrastructure of plant cells Calculating the index of diversity and the heterozygosity index Applying the Hardy-Weinberg principle to calculate allele frequencies This lesson is suitable for revision at the end of the topic, in the lead up to the mocks or in the lead up to the actual A-level exams as topic 4 is assessed on both Paper 1 and Paper 2.

This fully-resourced lesson looks at the effects of nervous mechanisms on the heart rate. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the part of point 5.1.5 (k) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the control of the heart rate by the cardiovascular centre in the medulla oblongata 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. This allows the SAN to be recalled as this structure play an important role as the effector in this control system. Moving forwards, the three key parts of a control system are recalled as the next part of the lesson will specifically look at the range of sensory receptors, the coordination centre and the effector. Students are introduced to chemoreceptors and baroreceptors 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 control and this task has been differentiated three ways to allow differing abilities to access the work

A fun and engaging lesson presentation (33 slides) and associated worksheet that uses exam questions, with fully explained answers, quick tasks and competitions to allow students to assess their understanding of Module 3.1.2 (Transport in Animals). The students will enjoy the lesson whilst being able to recognise which areas of the specification need further attention. Competitions included in the lesson are “SPOT THE ERROR”, “Where’s Lenny” and “Crack the code”

This is a fully-resourced lesson which uses exam-style questions, quiz competitions, quick tasks and discussion points to challenge students on their understanding of topics B1 - B5, that will assessed on PAPER 1. 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 fundamentals are known and understood. The lesson has been written to take place at the local hospital where the students have to visit numerous wards and clinics and the on-site pharmacy so that the following sub-topics can be covered: Cancer as the result of uncontrolled cell division The production of gametes by meiosis Mitosis and the cell cycle Sex determination The difference between communicable and non-communicable diseases The pathogens that spread communicable diseases Identification of communicable diseases Treating bacterial infections with antibiotics Evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria Vaccinations Genetic terminology Genetic diagrams Structures involved in a nervous reaction A Reflex arc Risk factors Chemical and physical defences Osmosis and percentage gain and loss Fossils as evidence for human evolution 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 assistance sheets when they are unable to begin a question. Step-by-step guides have also been written into the lesson to walk students through some of the more difficult concepts such as genetic diagrams and evolution by natural selection. 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 detailed lesson introduces the 3 main principles of the cell theory and describes how cells are organised into tissues, organs and organ systems. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 2.1 (i) & (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The cell theory is introduced at the start of the lesson and the 1st principle is immediately discussed to ensure that students are aware that all living organisms are made of cells. This principle is discussed with relation to viruses to enable students to understand that the lack of cell structure in a virus is one of the reasons that they are not considered to be living. The second principle states that the cell is the basic unit of structure and organisation and this leads into the main part of the lesson where specialised cells and their groupings into tissues are considered. Students are challenged to compare an amoeba against a human to get them to focus on the difference in the SA/V ratio. This acts as an introduction into the process of differentiation and a recognition of its importance for multicellular organisms. Students will discover that a zygote is a stem cell which can express all of the genes in its genome and divide by mitosis. Time is then taken to introduce gene expression as this will need to be understood in the later topics of the course. Moving forwards, the lesson uses the process of haematopoiesis from haematopoietic stem cells to demonstrate how the red blood cell and neutrophil differ significantly in structure despite arising from the same cell along the same cell lineage. A series of exam-style questions will not only challenge their knowledge of structure but also their ability to apply this knowledge to unfamiliar situations. These differences in cell structure is further exemplified by the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and students will understand why the shape and arrangement of these cells differ in the trachea and alveoli in line with function. The link between specialised cells and tissues is made at this point of the lesson with these examples of epithelium and students will also see how tissues are grouped into organs and then into organ systems. The third principle states that cells arise from pre-existing cells and this will be demonstrated later in topic 2 with mitosis and meiosis.

This lesson describes the structure and ultrastructure of plant cells to allow students to compare this structure against animal cell structure. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 4.1 (i) & (ii) in unit 2 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and also describes the functions of the cell wall, chloroplast, amyloplast, vacuole, tonoplast, plasmodesmata, pits and middle lamella The lesson begins with a task called REVERSE GUESS WHO which will challenge the students to recognise a particular organelle from a description of its function. This will remind students that plant cells are eukaryotic and therefore contain a cell-surface membrane, a nucleus (+ nucleolus), a mitochondria, a Golgi apparatus, ribosomes and rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum like the animal cells. Moving forwards, the next part of the lesson focuses on the relationship between the structure and function of the vacuole, chloroplast, plasmodesmata and cellulose cell wall. When considering the vacuole, key structures such as the tonoplast are described as well as critical functions including the maintenance of turgor pressure. A detailed knowledge of the structure of the chloroplast at this early stage of their A-level studies will increase the likelihood of a clear understanding of photosynthesis when covered in topic 5. For this reason, time is taken to consider the light-dependent and light-independent reactions and to explain how these stages are linked. Students will learn that chloroplasts and amyloplasts can contain stores of starch so an opportunity is taken to challenge them on their knowledge of this polysaccharide as it was covered in topic 1. The final task challenges them to recognise descriptions of the cell wall, chloroplast, amyloplasts, vacuole, tonoplast and plasmodesmata which will leave 2 remaining which describe the pits and middle lamella.

This lesson describes the uses and implications of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling. The lesson PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 2.15 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification but regular links are made to the earlier content of topics 1 & 2, and their knowledge of topics including the heart and circulation, monohybrid inheritance and cystic fibrosis are tested. The lesson begins by challenging them to use this prior knowledge of topic 2 to identify the letters in the abbreviations PGD and CVS. The involvement of IVF to obtain the embryos (or oocytes) is then discussed and a series of exam-style questions are used to get them to understand how this method screens embryos prior to implantation, so that those identified as having genetic diseases or being carriers are not inserted into the female’s uterus. Mark schemes for all of the questions included in this lesson are embedded into the PowerPoint so students can constantly assess their progress. Moving forwards, Down syndrome (trisomy 21) is used as an example of a chromosomal abnormality that can be tested for using CVS or amniocentesis. Time is taken to describe the key details of both of these procedures so students have a clear understanding of the implications and the invasiveness to the female being tested. The link between amniocentesis and an increased risk of miscarriage is considered and the results of a 2006 study are used to challenge them on their data skills.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the meaning of the terms stem cell, pluripotency and totipotency. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover points 3.11 (i) and (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification and therefore this lesson also contains discussion periods where the topic is the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of stem cells in medical therapies. The lesson begins with a knowledge recall of the structure of eukaryotic cells and the students have to use the first letters of each of the four answers to reveal the key term, stem cell. Time is then taken to consider the meaning of cellular differentiation, and this leads into the key idea that not all stem cells are equal when it comes to the number of cell types that they have the potential to differentiate into. A quick quiz round introduces the five degrees of potency, and then the students are challenged to use their understanding of terminology to place totipotency, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency and unipotency in the correct places on the potency continuum. Although the latter three do not have to be specifically known based on the content of specification point 3.11 (i), an understanding of their meaning was deemed helpful when planning the lesson as it should assist with the retention of knowledge about totipotency and pluripotency. These two highest degrees of potency are the main focus of the lesson, and key details are emphasised such as the ability of totipotent cells to differentiate into any extra-embroyonic cell, which the pluripotent cells are unable to do. The morula, and inner cell mass and trophoblast of the blastocyst are used to demonstrate these differences in potency. The final part of the lesson discusses the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and also foetal stem cells which allows for a link to chorionic villus sampling from topic 2. There is also a Maths in a Biology context question included in the lesson (when introducing the morula) to ensure that students continue to be prepared for the numerous calculations that they will have to tackle in the terminal exams. This resource has been differentiated two ways to allow students of differing abilities to access the work

This lesson describes the meaning of biodiversity, explains how it relates to a range of habitats, and describes how to calculate an index of diversity. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets are part of the first in a series of 2 lessons that have been designed to cover the content of topic 4.6 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. The second lesson describes the balance between conservation and farming. A quiz competition called BIOLOGICAL TERMINOLOGY SNAP runs over the course of the lesson and this will engage the students whilst challenging them to recognise species, population, biodiversity, community and natural selection from their respective definitions. Once biodiversity as the variety of living organisms in a habitat is revealed, the students will learn that this can relate to a range of habitats, from those in the local area to the Earth. When considering the biodiversity of a local habitat, the need for sampling is discussed and some key details are provided to initially prepare the students for these lessons in topic 7. Moving forwards, the students will learn that it is possible to measure biodiversity within a habitat, within a species and within different habitats so that they can be compared. Species richness as a measure of the number of different species in a community is met and a biological example in the rainforests of Madagascar is used to increase its relevance. The students are introduced to an unfamiliar formula that calculates the heterozygosity index and are challenged to apply their knowledge to this situation, as well as linking a low H value to natural selection. The rest of the lesson focuses on the index of diversity and a 3-step guide is used to walk students through each part of the calculation. This is done in combination with a worked example to allow students to visualise how the formula should be applied to actual figures. Using the method, they will then calculate a value of d for a comparable habitat to allow the two values to be considered and the significance of a higher value is explained. All of the exam-style questions have mark schemes embedded in the PowerPoint to allow students to continuously assess their progress and understanding.

This lesson describes how to calculate the standard deviation to measure the spread of a set of data and to compare means using the t-test. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the part of point 4.2.2 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification that includes these two statistical tests. A step by step guide walks the students through each stage of the calculation of the standard deviation and gets them to complete a worked example with the class before applying their knowledge to another set of data. This data looks at the birth weights of humans on one day in the UK and this is used again later in the lesson to compare against the birth weights of babies in South Asia when using the student’s t-test. The null hypothesis is introduced and students will learn to accept or reject this based upon a comparison of their value against one taken from the table based on the degrees of freedom.

This lesson describes the gross structure of the human gas exchange system and the functions of the structural components like goblet cells. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 9.1 (a & c) of the CIE A-level Biology specification and has been specifically planned to prepare students for an upcoming lesson where the gas exchange between the alveoli and the blood is described. The lesson is filled with a range of activities such as guided discussion periods, exam-style questions (with markschemes) and quiz competitions and these run alongside the slides containing the detailed A-level Biology content to cover the following features: The incomplete rings of cartilage, ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium and goblet cells in the trachea The narrowing airways of the primary, secondary and tertiary bronchi The elastic fibres and smooth muscle in the terminal and respiratory bronchioles The pleural cavity and fluid of the lungs When describing the production of mucus by the goblet cells in the trachea, time is taken to consider cystic fibrosis and the inheritance of this autosomal recessive disorder. Students will be supported in working out genotypes from a pedigree tree to prepare them for topic 16 (Inherited change)

This lesson describes the process of gas exchange between air in the alveoli and the blood. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet have been designed to cover point 9.1 (d) of the CIE A-level Biology specification Gas exchange at the alveoli is a topic that was covered at GCSE so this lesson has been written to challenge the recall of that knowledge and to build on it. The main focus of the lesson is the type of epithelium found lining the alveoli and students will discover that a single layer of flattened cells known as simple, squamous epithelium acts to reduce the diffusion distance. The following features of the alveolar epithelium are also covered: Surface area Moist lining Production of surfactant The maintenance of a steep concentration gradient As a constant ventilation supply is critical for the maintenance of the steep concentration gradient, the final part of the lesson considers the mechanism of ventilation