This lesson describes the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis and focuses on the mechanisms involved in the production of ATP and reduced NADP. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the details of point 5.2.1 (d) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and has been specifically planned to link with the previous lesson on the structure of the chloroplast and photosynthesis and to prepare the students for the next lesson on the light-independent stage. The light-dependent stage is a process which students can find difficult to understand in the necessary detail so this lesson has been planned to walk them through all of the key details. Time is taken to describe the roles of the major protein complexes that are embedded in the thylakoid membrane and this includes the two photosystems, the cytochrome proton pump and ATP synthase. A series of exam-style questions have been written that link to other biological topics in this course such as eukaryotic cell structures and membrane transport as well as application questions to challenge them to apply their understanding. Some of these resources have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work and to be pushed at the same time. Students will learn that there are two pathways that the electron can take from PSI and at the completion of the two tasks which describe each of these pathways, they will understand how ATP is generated in non-cyclic and cyclic photophosphorylation. The final task of the lesson asks them to compare these two forms of photophosphorylation to check that they understand when photolysis is involved and reduced NADP is formed. Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2.5 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to complete.

This lesson describes how the eyepiece graticule and stage micrometer are used in the measurement of cells. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 1.1 [c] of the CIE A-level Biology specification and also includes a number of tasks that have been written to ensure that students are able to recognise the millimetre, micrometre and nanometre as units of size and that they are able to convert between them. As this content is part of topic 1.1, it is likely that this lesson on the measurement of cells and the units of size will be one of the first that students will encounter in this A-level course. With this in mind, this lesson and the next two on microscopes and calculating actual size have been specifically written to contain a wide variety of tasks, including an ongoing quiz competition. This will act to maintain engagement in a topic that can sometimes discourage students at this early stage of the course whilst ensuring that the key content is covered and understanding is constantly checked. A step by step guide walks them through the use of the scale on the stage micrometer to identify the size of the divisions of the eyepiece graticule and then they are challenged to apply this method to a series of questions. Useful hints are provided throughout the lesson and students will be able to confidently convert between metres, millimetres, micrometres and nanometres by the end of the lesson A quiz scoresheet is included with the lesson so that teachers can keep track of the points won in the different rounds and add them to those won in the upcoming lessons in topic 1.1

This fully-resourced lesson describes how carbon dioxide, light intensity and temperature limit the rate of photosynthesis. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.7 (viii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification The lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the four previous lessons in this topic which covered the structure of the chloroplast, the light-dependent and light-independent stages and GALP as a raw material. Exam-style questions are included throughout the lesson and these require the students to explain why light intensity is important for both reactions as well as challenging them on their ability to describe how the relative concentrations of GP, GALP and RuBP would change as carbon dioxide concentration decreases. There are also links to previous topics such as enzymes when they are asked to explain why an increase in temperature above the optimum will limit the rate of photosynthesis. Step by step guides are included to support them to form some of the answers and mark schemes are always displayed so that they can quickly assess their understanding and address any misconceptions

This fully-resourced lesson describes how GALP is used as a raw material in the production of monosaccharides, amino acids and other molecules. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover point 5.7 (vii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification concerning the uses of GALP but as the lesson makes continual references to biological molecules, it can act as a revision tool for a lot of the content of topic 1. The previous lesson covered the light-independent stage and this lesson builds on that understanding to demonstrate how the product of the Calvin cycle, glyceraldehyde phosphate, is used. The start of the lesson challenges the students to identify two errors in a diagram of the cycle so that they can recall that most of the GALP molecules are used in the regeneration of ribulose bisphosphate. A quiz version of Pointless runs throughout the lesson and this is used to challenge the students to recall a biological molecule from its description. Once each molecule has been revealed, time is taken to go through the details of the formation and synthesis of this molecule from GALP or from GP in the case of fatty and amino acids. The following molecules are considered in detail during this lesson: glucose (and fructose and galactose) sucrose starch and cellulose glycerol and fatty acids amino acids nucleic acids A range of activities are used to challenge their prior knowledge of these molecules and mark schemes are always displayed for the exam-style questions to allow the students to assess their understanding. As detailed above, this lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the earlier lessons in this module on the structure of the chloroplast and the light-dependent and light-independent stages of photosynthesis.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the components of the chloroplast, focusing on the grana and stroma as the sites of photosynthesis. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.2.1 (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and has been specifically designed to introduce students to the light-dependent and light-independent stages before they are covered in detail in upcoming lessons. Students were introduced to eukaryotic cells and their organelles structures in module 2.1.1 so this lesson has been written to test and to build on that knowledge. A version of the quiz show POINTLESS runs throughout the lesson and this maintains engagement whilst challenging the students to recall the parts of the chloroplast based on a description which is related to their function. The following structures are covered in this lesson: double membrane thylakoids (grana) stroma intergranal lamellae starch grains chloroplast DNA and ribosomes Once each structure has been recalled, a range of activities are used to ensure that key details are understood such as the role of the thylakoid membranes in the light-dependent reactions and the importance of ATP and reduced NADP for the reduction of GP to TP in the Calvin cycle. Links to other topics are made throughout and this is exemplified by the final task of the lesson where students are challenged on their recall of the structure, properties and function of starch (as originally covered in module 2.1.2)

This fully-resourced lesson describes the series of reactions in the light- independent stage of photosynthesis. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the details of point 5.2.1 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and detailed planning includes continual links to the previous lesson on the light-dependent stage to ensure that students recognise how the products of that stage, ATP and reduced NADP, are essential for the Calvin cycle The lesson begins with an existing knowledge check where the students are challenged to recall the names of structures, substances and reactions from the light-dependent stage in order to reveal the abbreviations of the main 3 substances in the light-independent stage. This immediately introduces RuBP, GP and TP and students are then shown how these substances fit into the cycle. The main section of the lesson focuses on the three phases of the Calvin cycle and time is taken to explore the key details of each phase and includes: The role of RuBisCO in carbon fixation The role of the products of the light-dependent stage, ATP and reduced NADP, in the reduction of GP to TP The use of the majority of the TP in the regeneration of RuBP A step-by-step guide, with discussion points where the class consider selected questions, is used to show how 6 turns of the cycle are needed to form the TP that will then be used to synthesise 1 molecule of glucose. A series of exam-style questions are included at appropriate points of the lesson and this will introduce limiting factors as well as testing their ability to answer questions about this stage when presented with an unfamiliar scientific investigation. The mark schemes are included in the PowerPoint so students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions are immediately addressed.

This engaging lesson describes the basic structure of an amino acid and introduces them as the monomers of polypeptides. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 2.6 (i) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and has been specifically written to lead into the next lesson on 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 as covered later in the topic. Moving forwards, the students are given 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 dipeptides.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the inheritance of genes with loci on the X chromosomes and considers biological examples. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.15 (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level specification and focuses on the inheritance of red-green colour blindness and haemophilia in humans 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 task of the lesson challenge the students to apply their knowledge to an exam 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 mark schemes to allow them to assess their progress and address any misconceptions

This fully-resourced lesson uses step by step guides to walk students through the interpretation of genetic pedigree diagrams for monohybrid inheritance. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.15 (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and includes the inheritance when there are more than two alleles at a gene locus as well as those that demonstrate codominance. In order to minimise the likelihood of errors and misconceptions, the guides that are included within the lesson will 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 and the worksheets are differentiated so students can seek assistance if necessary.

This lesson describes how monosaccharides are joined together during condensation reactions to form maltose, sucrose and lactose. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the third part of point 1.2 & 1.4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but also make links to the previous lesson on monosaccharides when considering the different components of these three disaccharides. The first section of the lesson focuses on a prefix and a suffix so that the students can recognise that the names of the common disaccharides end in -ose. In line with this, a quick quiz round is used to introduce maltose, sucrose and lactose before students are challenged on their prior knowledge as they have to describe how condensation reactions and the formation of glycosidic bonds were involved in the synthesis of each one. The main task of the lesson again challenges the students to recall details of a previous lesson as they have to identify the monomers of each disaccharide when presented with the displayed formula. Time is taken to show how their knowledge of these simple sugars will be important in later topics such as digestion, translocation in the phloem and the Lac Operon in the control of gene expression. The lesson finishes with two exam-style questions where students have to demonstrate and apply their newly acquired knowledge and the mark schemes are included within the lesson PowerPoint so students can assess their understanding and address any misconceptions if they have arisen.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells and the functions of each of the organelles in these cells. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and therefore this lesson also describes how all living organisms are made of cells and that these cells are organised into tissues, organs and organ system in multicellular organisms. As cells are the building blocks of living organisms, it makes sense that they would be heavily involved in all of the 8 topics in the Edexcel course and intricate planning has ensured that links to previously covered topics as well as upcoming ones are made throughout the lesson. The cell theory is introduced at the start of the lesson and the first 2 principles are explained. Students will see how epithelial cells are grouped together to form different types of epithelium in the respiratory tract and their prior knowledge of gas exchange at the alveoli from topic 2 is tested with a series of questions. The rest of the lesson uses a wide range of activities, that include exam-style questions, class discussion points and quick quiz competitions, to maintain motivation and engagement whilst describing the relationship between the structure and function of the following organelles: nucleus nucleolus centrioles ribosomes rough endoplasmic reticulum Golgi apparatus lysosomes smooth endoplasmic reticulum mitochondria cell surface membrane All of the worksheets have been differentiated to support students of differing abilities whilst maintaining challenge Due to the detail that is included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to go through all of the tasks

This fully-resourced lesson describes the ultrastructure of a prokaryotic cell and the function of the structures found in these cells. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification point 3.5 (i) & (ii) as detailed in the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and also compares these cells against the eukaryotic cells that were met in the previous lesson. A clear understanding of terminology is important for A-level Biology so this lesson begins with a challenge, where the students have to recognise a prefix that they believe translates as before or in front of . This leads into the discovery of the meaning of prokaryote as before nucleus and this acts to remind students that these types of cell lack this cell structure. Links to the previous lessons on the eukaryotic cells are made throughout the lesson and at this particular point, the students are asked to work out why the DNA would be described as naked and to state where it will be found in the cell. Moving forwards, the students will discover that these cells also lack membrane bound organelles and a quick quiz competition challenges them to identify the specific structure that is absent from just a single word. In addition to the naked DNA, students will learn that there are also ribosomes in the cytoplasm and will discover that these are smaller than those found in the cytoplasm of an eukaryotic cell (but the same size as those in chloroplasts and mitochondria). The remainder of the lesson focuses on the composition of the cell wall, the additional features of prokaryotic cells such as plasmids and there is also the introduction of binary fission as the mechanism by which these organisms reproduce

This fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the structure of monosaccharides and their roles in living organisms. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of points 1.2 & 1.4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and describes alpha-glucose, galactose, fructose, deoxyribose and ribose. The lesson begins by reminding students that monosaccharides are the simplest sugars and that these monomers provide energy. Using the molecular formula of glucose as a guide, students will be given the general formula for the monosaccharides and will learn that deoxyribose is an exception to the rule that the number of carbon and oxygen atoms are equal. Moving forwards, students have to study the displayed formula of glucose for two minutes without being able to note anything down before they are challenged to recreate what they saw in a test of their observational skills. At this point of the lesson, the idea of numbering the carbons is introduced so that the different glycosidic bonds can be understood in an upcoming lesson as well as the recognition of the different isomers of glucose. The difference between alpha and beta-glucose is provided but students do not need to consider the beta form until topic 4. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the roles of the monosaccharides and the final task involves a series of application questions where the students are challenged to suggest why ribose could be considered important for active transport and muscle contraction

This lesson describes the differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, including glycogen and starch. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover point 1.2 (i) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and the main aim of the lesson is to prepare the students for the upcoming lessons on the individual carbohydrate groups. 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 and starch are introduced as well as amylose and amylopectin as components of this latter polymer.

This fully-resourced lesson explores how the structure of capillaries, arteries and veins relate to their functions. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 1.7 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification. This lesson has been written to build on any prior knowledge from iGCSE or earlier in this topic to enable students to fully understand each type of blood vessel has its particular features. Students will be able to make the connection between the narrow lumen and elastic tissue in the walls of arteries and the need to maintain the high pressure of the blood. A quick version of GUESS WHO is used to introduce smooth muscle and collagen as the substances that are found in the tunica media and externa and again the reason for their presence is explored and explained. The next part of the lesson looks at the role of the capillaries in exchange and links are made to diffusion to ensure that students can explain how the red blood cells pressing against the endothelium results in a short diffusion distance. The remainder of the lesson considers the structure of the veins and students are challenged to explain how the differences to those observed in arteries is due to the lower blood pressure found in these vessels. Valves are introduced and important mechanisms like the skeletal muscle pump are discussed to ensure that students can understand how the return of blood to the right atrium of the heart is maintained.

This lesson describes the role of haemoglobin in transport and explains the change in the dissociation curve when there is an increased concentration of carbon dioxide (the Bohr effect). The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 1.9 (i) & (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and this lesson also compares the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve of foetal haemoglobin against maternal haemoglobin. The lesson begins with a version of the quiz show Pointless and this introduces haemotology as the study of the blood conditions. Students are told that haemoglobin has a quaternary structure as it is formed of 4 polypeptide chains which each contain a haem group with an iron ion attached and that it is this group which has a high affinity for oxygen. Time is taken to discuss how this protein must be able to load (and unload) oxygen as well as transport the molecules to the respiring tissues. Students will plot the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve and the S-shaped curve is used to encourage discussions about the ease with which haemoglobin loads each molecule. At this point, foetal haemoglobin and its differing affinity of oxygen is introduced and students are challenged to predict whether this affinity will be higher or lower than adult haemoglobin and to represent this on their dissociation curve. Moving forwards, the different ways that carbon dioxide is transported around the body involving haemoglobin are described and the dissociation of carbonic acid into hydrogen ions is discussed so that students can understand how this will affect the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen in the final part of the lesson on the Bohr effect. A quick quiz is used to introduce Christian Bohr and the students are given some initial details of his described effect. This leads into a series of discussions where the outcome is the understanding that an increased concentration of carbon dioxide decreases the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen. The students will learn that this reduction in affinity is a result of a decrease in the pH of the cell cytoplasm which alters the tertiary structure of the haemoglobin. The lesson finishes with a series of questions where the understanding and application skills are tested as students have to explain the benefit of the Bohr effect for an exercising individual.

This detailed lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of starch and cellulose. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover point 4.9 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and focuses on the importance of the glycosidic and hydrogen bonds for the structure of these polysaccharides. The structure of amylose and amylopectin was described during a lesson in topic 1, so the start of this lesson challenges the students on their recall of these details. They have to complete a comparison table for these two polysaccharides by identifying the monomer and type of glycosidic bonds that are found in each of the structures. Time is taken to explain how the greater resistance to digestion of amylose means that this carbohydrate is important for plant energy storage whereas the multiple chain ends in the branched amylopectin means that this polysaccharide can be hydrolysed quickly when energy is needed. The rest of the lesson describes the structure of cellulose and focuses on the link between the structure and the need for this polysaccharide to support the plant cell as well as the whole plant. Students will see how every other beta glucose monomer is rotated by 180 degrees and will learn that hydrogen bonds form between these molecules on the same chain as well as between adjacent chains in a cellulose microfibril. The lesson concludes with a quick quiz competition where the students have to compete to open a safe using a combination made up of key values associated with glycogen, starch and cellulose.

This fully-resourced lesson describes how evolution can come through natural selection and acts on variation to bring about adaptations. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification points 3.2 (i) & (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and considers a range of different behavioural, anatomical and physiological adaptations. President Trump’s error ridden speech about antibiotics is used at the beginning of the lesson to remind students that this is a treatment for bacterial infections and not viruses as he stated. 2 quick quiz competitions are used to introduce MRSA and then to get the students to recognise that they can use this abbreviation to remind them to use mutation, reproduce, selection (and survive) and allele in their descriptions of evolution through natural selection. The main task of the lesson challenges the students to form a description that explains how this strain of bacteria developed resistance to methicillin to enable them to see the principles of natural selection. This can then be used when describing how the anatomy of the modern-day giraffe has evolved over time. The concept of convergent evolution is introduced and links are made to the need for modern classification techniques. Moving forwards, students will understand how natural selection leads to adaptations and a quick quiz competition introduces the different types of adaptation and a series of tasks are used to ensure that the students can distinguish between anatomical, behavioural and physiological adaptations. The Marram grass is used to test their understanding further, before a step by step guide describes how the lignified cells prevent a loss of turgidity. Moving forwards, the students are challenged to explain how the other adaptations of this grass help it to survive in its environment. The final part of the lesson focuses on the adaptations of the anteater and links are made to the topic of classification hierarchy which was covered at the start of topic 3… Due to the extensiveness of this lesson and the detail contained within the resources, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to deliver this lesson.