A fully resourced lesson which includes an informative lesson presentation (34 slides) and differentiated worksheets that show students how to convert between units so they are confident to carry out these conversions when required in Science questions. The conversions which are regularly seen at GCSE are covered as well as some more obscure ones which students have to be aware of. A number of quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to maintain motivation and to allow the students to check their progress in an engaging way This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but is suitable for KS3

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 3 (Exchange and transport) of the OCR A-level Biology specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Exchange surfaces Mammalian gaseous exchange system Tissues in the gaseous exchange system Transport in animals Blood vessels Exchange at the capillaries ECG Transport of oxygen Transport in plants Transport tissues Movement of water through plants Transpiration Translocation Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

A resourced lesson which uses a concise lesson presentation (18 slides) and a differentiated diagram to guide students through the method of blood clotting. This lesson has been designed for students studying GCSE (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) and this is reflected in the appropriate detail where only the involvement of fibrin needs to be known. Students are shown how blood clotting is a cascade effect where one event leads on to the next.

A fully-resourced lesson that looks at the topic of osmosis and how the movement of water between a cell and the solution can affect the appearance of an animal and a plant cell. This lesson includes a detailed and engaging lesson presentation (42 slides) and differentiated worksheets that include exam questions that can be set as homework. There is a lot of key terminology associated with this topic and time is taken to ensure that students understand the meaning of each of these terms before moving forwards. Students are introduced to the different types of solutions and then a step-by-step guide is used to show them how to compare the water potential of the solution and the cell and then how this will determine which was water moves. The main task is differentiated so that students are challenged and can access the work. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but is also suitable for A-level students

This fully-resourced lesson explores the inheritance of sex-linked diseases in humans and then challenges the students to apply their knowledge to examples in other animals. The detailed PowerPoint and associated differentiated resources have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[i]) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of genetic diagrams which include sex-linkage. Key genetic terminology is used throughout and the lesson begins with a check on their ability to identify the definition of homologous chromosomes. Students will recall that the sex chromosomes are not fully homologous and that the smaller Y chromosome lacks some of the genes that are found on the X. This leads into one of the numerous discussion points, where students are encouraged to consider whether females or males are more likely to suffer from sex-linked diseases. In terms of humans, the lesson focuses on haemophilia and red-green colour blindness and a step-by-step guide is used to demonstrate how these specific genetic diagrams should be constructed and how the phenotypes should then be interpreted. The final tasks of the lesson challenge the students to carry out a dihybrid cross that involves a sex-linked disease and an autosomal disease before applying their knowledge to a question about chickens and how the rate of feather production in chicks can be used to determine gender. All of the tasks are differentiated so that students of differing abilities can access the work and all exam questions have fully-explained, visual markschemes to allow them to assess their progress and address any misconceptions.

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at the structures of arteries, veins and capillaries and ensures that students can relate these features to their respective functions. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (41 slides) and a differentiated worksheet The lesson begins by getting the students to come up with a really simple rule to remind themselves that arteries carry blood away from the heart. They are then challenged to extend this definition by considering the pressure of the blood found in arteries. Students will learn that most arteries carry oxygenated blood but will consider and recall the artery which is the exception to the rule. Students are shown a diagram of the basic structure of the artery and the reasons for the narrow lumen and thick muscular wall are explained. Moving forwards, students are challenged to use the work on arteries to sketch a diagram of a vein and to explain why they have given this vessel certain features. A quick competition is then used to check their understand of the work so far whilst introducing valves and again they are given a chance to work out which blood vessel would need these structures in their lumen. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the capillary and time is taken to relate the features to an actual example involving the alveoli of the lungs. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. As always, the lesson finishes with a slide containing advanced terminology so that students who have aspirations to take A-level Biology can extend and deepen their knowledge

An engaging lesson presentation which looks at the two types of animal stem cells, exploring their important differences and briefly looking at their potential uses in medicine. The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of the term differentiation and then challenging students to draw a simple conclusion once they know that stems cells are undifferentiated cells. Time is taken to look into this part of the knowledge in depth but then students are given the key points which must be understood for them to move forwards. Students are told that there are two types of animal stem cells before a quiz competition is used to get them to predict which one of the two is being described by the clues. The answers to the competition then have to be used to write a summary passage about the two types. Students are also told that stem cells exist in plants in the form of meristem cells. Finally, Parkinson’s disease and Diabetes mellitus Type I are used as examples of conditions that could be potentially treated with stem cells.

A thought-provoking lesson presentation (34 slides) that looks at each of the stages in the development of drugs and considers the potential issues that arise at each of the stages. The lesson begins by ensuring that the students know the scientific definition of a drug and then they will be told how much is spent by the NHS alone each year on medicinal drugs so they can recognise the importance of this topic. Moving forwards, each stage in the development is considered in the appropriate detail. Students are challenged to consider some stages from both a scientific angle and a business angle so they can understand why certain animals are chosen for the testing. Key terms such as placebo and double blind trial are introduced and discussion time is written into the lesson so that insightful questions can be posed by all. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with KS3 students who might be carrying out research or a project on the topic of drugs.

An engaging lesson presentation (39 slides) which explores how cells differentiate in order to specialise to become more effective at carrying out a particular function. This lesson focuses on five cells - red blood cells, sperm cells, fat cells, ciliated cells and palisade cells. The lesson begins by challenging the mathematical skills of the students as they have to convert the number 37 trillion into standard form. Students will learn that although all of the cells found in a human would be eukaryotic animal cells, they wouldn’t all be the same. They are introduced to the key term differentiation through a quiz competition and time is taken to ensure that students understand how this process leads to specialisation. The remainder of the lesson concentrates on looking at the function and features of the five cells. Quiz competitions are used throughout to maintain engagement whilst ample time is given to student discussion where they are challenged to consider why a cell would have specialised in such a way. Key terminology is consistently used so that students are not caught off guard in an exam question when this specialist language is used. Regular progress checks are written into the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students who are looking to extend their knowledge on the topic of cells.

A fully-resourced lesson which guides students through using genetic trees to work out the genotypes of unknown individuals and also how to work out whether a condition is caused by a dominant or a recessive allele. This lesson includes a detailed lesson presentation (24 slides) and a series of differentiated questions to allow the students to try to apply their new-found knowledge. The lesson begins by challenging students to recall the meaning of the key terms, genotype and phenotype. Time is taken initially to explain how genetic trees can be used in questions. Lots of useful hints are given throughout the lesson, such as filling in the genotypes for those that you already know like the affected in a recessive condition. Moving forwards, a worked example is used to talk the students through a question. Students are then given the opportunity to try a question and this has been differentiated so those who need extra assistance can still access the work. The remainder of the lesson shows the students how they can use the tree to work out whether the condition is caused by a dominant or recessive allele and again a progress check is used so students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for both GCSE and A-level students.

A resourced lesson which looks at the organisation of the human nervous system and explores how these structures are involved in nervous reactions. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (27 slides) and an associated worksheet with an understanding check. The lesson begins by looking at different examples of stimuli and therefore introducing the key term, receptors, as structures which detect these changes in the environment. Moving forwards, a quiz competition is used to introduce the students to the abbreviations CNS and PNS and students will learn the structures that are found in these parts. At this stage of the lesson, a quick understanding check is written into the lesson to see whether students know the functions of each of the structures and check whether they can order them correctly from stimuli to effectors. Students will meet the term synapse and be taught that the conduction across these gaps is slow so that this knowledge can be applied in future lessons on reflexes. The remainder of the lesson challenges the students to apply their new-found knowledge in ordering an example of a nervous reaction.

An engaging lesson presentation (31 slides) and associated worksheet that looks at animal and plant cells as eukaryotic cells. The lesson focuses on the organelles which are found inside these two cells and ensures that students understand the difference between the cells as well as briefly looking at the difference to prokaryotic cells at the end of the lesson. There is a lot of key terminology involved in this topic, so a range of tasks including fun quiz competitions are used to introduce these terms in an engaging manner. The lesson is student based, with the emphasis on them to identify the functions of the different organelles as well as recognising which ones are found in both cells or just plant cells. Discussions are encouraged during the lesson with leading questions, such as questioning whether a red blood cell isn’t actually an eukaryotic cell because of the lack of nucleus. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals during the lesson so that students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with KS3 students who are looking to extend their knowledge beyond the basics that they will be taught at this level.

An informative lesson presentation (20 slides) and associated worksheet that looks at how negative feedback loops act as a final control in homeostatic mechanisms. This is a topic which is poorly understood by students at both GCSE and even A-level, so whilst designing this lesson, the focus was on a few key points and applying it to a range of actual examples. Students will see how a negative feedback loop is used in the control of adrenaline release and temperature regulation and they will also be shown what would happen if this loop didn’t exist. Students are then challenged to apply their knowledge by putting the order of the regulation of metabolic rate into the correct order. The final part of the lesson briefly looks at how positive feedback loops also exist by using the example of the release of oxytocin during birth. This lesson has primarily been designed for GCSE students but is suitable for A-level Biology students too.

An engaging and detailed lesson presentation (31 slides) that looks at how nitrogen is cycled and focuses on the different bacteria who play key roles in this cycle. The lesson begins by exploring why nitrogen is so critical for living organisms for the synthesis of DNA and proteins. Students are introduced to nitrogen-fixing bacteria to start and challenged to use their knowledge of interdependence to state the type of ecological relationship that is formed between them and the leguminous plant that they live on. Each stage of the cycle is complimented by a diagram highlighting that part so students are able to visualise how the cycle comes together. Time is taken to ensure that students recognise that any non-leguminous plants can only absorb nitrogen when it is nitrates form from the soil. Moving forwards, students will meet decomposers and nitrifying bacteria and again be shown where their function fits into the cycle. As the final part of the learning, students are challenged to consider what else is needed in order for this to be a cycle and will meet the denitrifying bacteria as a result. Progress checks, in a range of forms, have been written into this lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be immediately addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students, but could be used with A-level students who want to have a recap before extending their knowledge further.

A detailed lesson presentation and associated question worksheet which uses a step by step guide and numerous worked examples to show students how to draw genetic crosses to calculate offspring percentages. Before students are able to draw genetic diagrams, they need to understand and be able to use genetic terminology so this is the focus for the start of the lesson. Time is taken to go over the meaning of dominant and recessive alleles, genotypes and phenotypes. Moving forwards, students will be challenged to link genotypes to phenotypes for both dominant and recessive disorders and common misconceptions such as carriers in recessive disorders are explained. Finally, a 5 step guide is used to walk students through drawing genetic diagrams. Students are then given a chance to apply their new-found knowledge to questions about the inheritance of cystic fibrosis and polydactyly. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable for A-level students who are studying the topic of monogenic inheritance

An informative lesson presentation (38 slides) that looks at a range of non-communicable diseases and also explores how risk factors can increase the chances of an individual having one of these diseases. The lesson begins by looking at CHD so that students can recognise that this is a non-communicable disease and check on their understanding of this key term. Moving forwards, a step by step question and answer format is used to show students how to form a long answer. Key terminology such as thrombosis and atherosclerosis are introduced using quick quiz competitions which act to maintain the engagement. The rest of the lesson focuses on a range of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and time is taken to deepen knowledge of the human anatomy by challenging students to link the names of arteries to the organs that they supply. Progress checks have been 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 written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK)

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 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