This lesson covers the biological classification of a species, taxonomic hierarchy and the binomial system of naming species. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 4.2.2 (a) & (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of these three topics. The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of the term population in Biology so that the term species can be introduced. A hinny, which is the hybrid offspring of a horse and a donkey, is used to explain how these two organisms must be members of different species because they are unable to produce fertile offspring. Moving forwards, students will learn that species is the lowest taxon in the modern-day classification hierarchy. The first of a number of rounds of a competition is used to engage the students whilst they learn the names of the 7 other taxa and the horse and the donkey from the earlier example are used to complete the hierarchy. Students will understand that the binomial naming system was introduced by Carl Linnaeus to provide a universal name for each species and they will be challenged to apply their knowledge by completing a hierarchy for a modern-day human, by spotting the correct name for an unfamiliar organism and finally by suggesting advantages of this system.

This lesson describes the ecological, economic and aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are filled with real-life biological examples and have been designed to cover point 4.2.1 (g) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. Many hours of research have gone into the planning of the lesson so that interesting examples are included to increase the relevance of the multitude of reasons to maintain biodiversity. These include the gray wolves and beavers of Yellowstone National Park and the Za boabab in the Madagascar rainforests as examples of keystone species. Students will learn that these species have a disproportionate effect on their environment relative to their abundance and exam-style questions and guided discussion periods are used to challenge them to explain their effect on other species in the habitat. The OCR exams have a heavy mathematical content and this is reflected in this lesson as students are challenged to complete a range of calculations to manipulate data to support their biological-based answers. All of the exam questions that are included throughout the lesson have mark schemes embedded into the PowerPoint to allow the students to assess their progress. Moving fowards, the economic ans aesthetic reasons to maintain biodiversity are considered, and there is a focus on the soil depletion that occurs when a continuous monoculture is used. The 1 Billion tree scheme that began in New Zealand in 2018 is introduced and the reasons that some groups of people are objecting to what they consider to be a pine monoculture are discussed. Students will recognise that the clear felling of the trees dramatically changes the landscape and that the increased runoff that results can have catastrophic affects for both aquatic life and for humans with floods. A number of quiz competitions are included in the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and some of the worksheets have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work

This fully-resourced lesson describes how the mechanism of natural selection results in changes in a population that are known as adaptations. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification points 4.2.2 (g), (h) and (i) as detailed in the OCR A-level Biology A specification and also considers how antibiotic resistance has implications for human populations. 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. Moving forwards, 2 quick quiz competitions are used to introduce MRSA and then to get the students to recognise that they can use this abbreviation as a reminder 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 which was considered in the previous sub-module. 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. A series of exam-style questions on the Mangrove family will challenge them to make links to other topics such as osmosis and the mark schemes are displayed to allow them to assess their understanding. The final part of the lesson focuses on the adaptations of the anteater and again current understanding of this topic is tested alongside prior knowledge of classification hierarchy. Due to the extensiveness of this lesson and the detail contained within the resources, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to deliver this lesson.

This lesson describes the origin of phagocytes and the sequence of events that occur during the phagocytosis of pathogens. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 11.1 (a) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification and also includes an introduction to antigen-presentation so that the students are prepared for the next lesson on the role of T and B lymphocytes At the start of the lesson, the students are challenged to recall that cytosis is a suffix associated with transport mechanisms and this introduces phagocytosis as a form of endocytosis which takes in pathogens and foreign particles. This emphasis on key terminology runs throughout the course of the lesson and students are encouraged to consider how the start or end of a word can be used to determine meaning. The process of phagocytosis is then split into 5 key steps and time is taken to discuss the role of opsonins as well as the fusion of lysosomes and the release of lysozymes. A series of application questions are used to challenge the students on their ability to make links to related topics including an understanding of how the hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan wall of a bacteria results in lysis. Students will be able to distinguish between neutrophils and monocytes from a diagram and at this point, the role of macrophages and dendritic cells as antigen-presenting cells is described so that it can be used in the next lesson. The lesson concludes with a brief introduction to lymphocytes so that initial links between phagocytosis and the specific immune responses are made.

This lesson describes how cholera, measles, malaria, TB and HIV are transmitted from an infected individual to an uninfected individual. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet have been primarily designed to cover point 10.1 [c] of the CIE A-level Biology specification but intricate planning ensures that the students are constantly challenged on their recall of the content of the previous lesson where the names and types of pathogens that caused these diseases was covered. The lesson contains a wide range of tasks which will engage the students whilst challenging them to think about the biological content. Relevant examples such as the UK government’s public message of “HANDS, FACE, SPACE” are used to explain how measles, TB and HIV are directly transmitted through droplet infection or the exchange of bodily fluids. A series of exam-style questions challenge the students on their knowledge of the transmission of HIV and the mark scheme is embedded into the PowerPoint to allow them to assess their progress. The rest of the lesson focuses on the transmission of cholera and malaria in unsafe water and through a vector respectively. Again, the students are challenged to recall the name and type of pathogen that is the causative organism before details of the spread are discussed and described.

This lesson describes the means of transmission of animal and plant communicable pathogens, including direct and indirect transmission. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 4.1.1 (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but intricate planning ensures that the students are constantly challenged on their recall of the content of the previous lesson, where the different types of pathogens that cause communicable diseases in plants and animals was covered. The lesson contains a wide range of tasks which will engage the students whilst challenging them to think about the biological content. Relevant examples such as the UK government’s public message of “HANDS, FACE, SPACE” are used to explain how TB and HIV are directly transmitted through droplet infection or the exchange of bodily fluids. A series of exam-style questions challenge the students on their knowledge of the transmission of HIV and the mark scheme is embedded into the PowerPoint to allow them to assess their progress. Students will learn that although HIV is mainly a sexually transmitted infection, the sharing of needles by intravenous drug users and vertical transmission from a mother to foetus (or baby) are other mechanisms for the spread. Moving forwards, the next part of the lesson focuses on the transmission of cholera and malaria in unsafe water and through a vector respectively. Time is taken to emphasise the meaning of a vector and student understanding is checked later in the lesson when discussing the spread of the fungus responsible for Dutch elm disease by the elm beetle. The effect of climate and social factors are also considered, and the outbreak of cholera in Yemen in 2016 is used to introduce a number of the social determinants that affect transmission. The final part of the lesson describes the direct and indirect means of transmission of plant pathogens and biological examples are sourced to increase the relevance.

This fully-resourced lesson distinguishes between active and passive, natural and artificial immunity and describes the principles of vaccinations. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources which are differentiated have been designed to cover points 4.1.1 (j) & (l) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and there is also a description and discussion about the concept of herd immunity. In a previous lesson in module 4.1.1, students were introduced to the primary and secondary immune responses so the start of this lesson uses an imaginary game of TOP TRUMPS to challenge them on the depth of their understanding. This will act to remind them that a larger concentration of antibodies is produced in a quicker time in the secondary response. The importance of antibodies and the production of memory cells for the development of immunity is emphasised and this will be continually referenced as the lesson progresses. The students will learn that this response of the body to a pathogen that has entered the body through natural processes is natural active immunity. Moving forwards, time is taken to look at vaccinations as an example of artificial active immunity. Another series of questions focusing on the MMR vaccine will challenge the students to explain how the deliberate exposure to antigenic material activates the immune response and leads to the retention of memory cells. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce the variety of forms that the antigenic material can take along with examples of diseases that are vaccinated against using these methods. The eradication of smallpox is used to describe the concept of herd immunity and the students are given time to consider the scientific questions and concerns that arise when the use of this pathway is a possible option for a government. The remainder of the lesson looks at the different forms of passive immunity and describes the drawbacks in terms of the need for a full response if a pathogen is re-encountered

This lesson describes the nature of the genetic code as near universal, non-overlapping and degenerate and relates this to the triplet code. The engaging lesson PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 2.11 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and clear links are made to protein synthesis and gene mutations which students will meet in the next lot of lessons. At the start of the lesson, the students are challenged to use their knowledge of the bases in DNA and RNA to complete a definition which describes the genetic code as being near universal, non-overlapping and degenerate. Time is taken to explain how three bases on DNA (a triplet) and three bases on mRNA (a codon) encode for a single amino acid or a stop codon and this is the triplet code. A quick quiz competition is used to generate the number 20 so that the students can learn that there are 20 proteinogenic amino acids in the genetic code. This leads into a challenge, where they have to use their prior knowledge of DNA to calculate the number of different DNA triplets (64) and the mismatch in number is then discussed and related back to the lesson topic. Moving forwards, base substitutions and base deletions are briefly introduced so that they can see how although one substitution can change the primary structure, another will change the codon but not the encoded amino acid. The lesson concludes with a brief look at the non-overlapping nature of the code so that the impact of a base deletion (or insertion) can be understood when covered in greater detail in the lesson covering point 2.14

An engaging lesson presentation (35 slides) that looks at the different physical and chemical defences that plants use to prevent infection by pathogens. There are clear links made between this topic and earlier plant topics, such as structure of plant cells and leaves, to check that knowledge is sound. Students will learn some examples of the chemical defences and be introduced to specific examples in plants. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students and includes a set homework as part of the lesson.

This clear and concise lesson explains how the inheritance of two or more genes that have loci on the same chromosome demonstrates autosomal linkage. The engaging PowerPoint and associated resource have been designed to cover the part of point 16.2 (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to use genetic diagrams to solve problems that involve autosomal linkage. This is a topic which can cause confusion for students so time was taken in the design to split the concept into small chunks. There is a clear focus on how the number of original phenotypes and recombinants can be used to determine linkage and suggest how the loci of the two genes compare. Important links to other topics such as crossing over in meiosis are made to enable students to understand how the random formation of the chiasma determines whether new phenotypes will be seen in the offspring or not. Linkage is an important cause of variation and the difference between observed and expected results and this is emphasised on a number of occasions. The main task of the lesson acts as an understanding check where students are challenged to analyse a set of results involving the inheritance of the ABO blood group gene and the nail-patella syndrome gene to determine whether they have loci on the same chromosome and if so, how close their loci would appear to be.

This lesson describes the role of myelination in saltatory conduction. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet have been designed to cover point 8.5 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and includes constant references to the earlier lessons on the structure of neurones and the conduction of an action potential along an axon. A wide range of activities have been written into this resource 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. Time at the end of the lesson is also given to future knowledge such as the involvement of autonomic motor neurones in the stimulation of involuntary muscles. Over the course of the lesson, students consider the structure of the myelin sheath and specifically how the insulation is not complete all the way along which leaves gaps known as the nodes of Ranvier which allow the entry and exit of ions. Saltatory conduction tends to be poorly explained by 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.

This lesson describes the role of the rER and the Golgi apparatus in the formation of proteins, the transport within cells and their secretion. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 3.4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and also includes key details about the role of the cytoskeleton in the transport of the vesicles that contain the protein between the organelles and the membrane. The lesson begins with the introduction of the cytoskeleton and explains how this network of protein structures transverses across the cytoplasm and is fundamental to the transport of molecules between organelles. The lesson has been planned to closely tie in with the previous lesson on the ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells and students are challenged on their knowledge of the function of the organelles involved in protein formation (and modification) through a series of exam-style questions. By comparing their answers against the mark scheme embedded in the PowerPoint, students will be able to assess their understanding of the following: Transcription in the nucleus to form an mRNA strand and the exit of this nucleic acid through the nuclear pore Translation at the ribosomes on the surface of the rER to assemble the protein Transport of the vesicles containing the protein to the Golgi apparatus Modification of the protein at the Golgi apparatus Formation of the Golgi vesicle and its transport to the cell membrane for exocytosis Time is taken to discuss the finer details of this process such as the arrival of the vesicle at the cis face and the transport away from the trans face and the requirement of ATP for the transport of the vesicles along the microtubule track and exocytosis. The remainder of the lesson uses a series of exam-style questions about digestive enzymes (extracellular proteins) to challenge the students on their recall of the structure of starch and proteins

This lesson describes how the antagonistic action of the radial and circular muscles of the iris causes the pupil to dilate or contract. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 8.2 (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification. The students may have encountered this concept at GCSE, so this lesson has been written to build on that knowledge and includes key A-level details such as the innervation of the smooth muscles by divisions of the autonomic nervous system. Students will learn how the contraction of the radial muscles pulls the iris radially and enlarges the pupil, allowing more light to enter when an individual is in a room with dim light and that this contraction is the result of the conduction of an electrical impulse along a sympathetic motor neurone.

This lesson has been designed to cover the content as detailed in points 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3 (Mitosis as part of the cell cycle) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology & Combined Science specifications. Consisting of a detailed and engaging PowerPoint (44 slides) and an accompanying worksheet, the range of activities will motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. Students will learn how interphase, the 4 phases of mitosis and cytokinesis result in the production of genetically identical diploid daughter cells. Time is taken to go through each of the three stages of the cell cycle in detail so students can recognise how the key events of each stage allow this important form of “copying” cell division to occur. Progress checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of the content and any misconceptions can be addressed whilst quiz competitions, like The Big REVEAL and YOU DO THE MATH, are used to introduce new terms and important values in a fun and memorable way. This lesson has been written for GCSE-aged students who are studying the Edexcel GCSE Biology or Combined Science specifications but can be used with older students who need to know the key details of the cell cycle for their A level course before taking it to greater depths

This detailed lesson explores how a range of methods are used to produce fragments of DNA as part of the recombinant DNA technology process. Both the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover the first part of point 8.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and also provides information that will prove useful for the other lessons in this sub-topic on the polymerase chain reaction and using transformed host cells. The lesson begins with a definition of recombinant DNA technology so that students can begin to understand how this process involves the transfer of DNA fragments from one species to another. Links are made to the genetic code and transcription and translation mechanisms, which were met in topic 4, in order to explain how the transferred gene can be translated in the transgenic organism. Moving forwards, the method involving reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase is introduced and their knowledge of the structure of the polynucleotides and the roles of enzymes is challenged through questions and discussion points. Restriction enzymes are then introduced and time is taken to look at the structure of a restriction site as well as the production of sticky ends due to the staggered cut on the DNA. A series of exam-style questions with displayed mark schemes are used to allow the students to assess their current understanding. The final part of the lesson looks at the production of synthetic genes of any sequence using gene machines and a series of application questions are used to push the students to consider how this advance in technology could be utilised. As well as understanding and prior knowledge checks, quick quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to introduce key terms such as cDNA and EcoR1 in a memorable way.

This is a fully-resourced lesson which introduces gene mutations and then explores how these base changes affect the primary structure of a polypeptide. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to understand how base substitutions and base deletions change the base sequence and describe how this affects the polypeptide. 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 taught in 4.2. 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 quick quiz competition is used to introduce 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 in the previous lesson. 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 extensive and fully-resourced lesson describes the steps in the production of recombinant DNA in genetic technology. Both the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover all of the detailed content of topic 19.1 of the CIE International A-level Biology specification apart from the polymerase chain reaction and gel electrophoresis as these are found in other uploaded lessons. The lesson begins with a definition of recombinant DNA to allow students to begin to understand how this process involves the transfer of DNA fragments from one species to another. Links are made to the genetic code and transcription and translation mechanisms, which were met in topic 6, in order to explain how the transferred gene can be translated in the transgenic organism. Moving forwards, the method involving reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase is introduced and their knowledge of the structure of the polynucleotides and the roles of enzymes is challenged through questions and discussion points. Restriction enzymes are then introduced and time is taken to look at the structure of a restriction site as well as the production of sticky ends due to the staggered cut on the DNA. A series of exam-style questions with displayed mark schemes are used to allow the students to assess their current understanding. The second half of the lesson looks at the culture of transformed host cells as an in vivo method to amplify DNA fragments. Students will learn that bacterial cells are the most commonly transformed cells so the next task challenges their recall of the structures of these cells so that plasmid DNA can be examined from that point onwards. The following key steps are described and explained: • Remove and prepare the plasmid to act as a vector • Insert the DNA fragment into the vector • Transfer the recombinant plasmid into the host cell • Identify the cells which have taken up the recombinant plasmid • Allow the transformed host cells to replicate and express the novel gene Time is taken to explore the finer details of each step such as the addition of the promoter and terminator regions, use of the same restriction enzyme to cut the plasmid as was used to cut the gene and the different types of marker genes. As well as understanding and prior knowledge checks, quick quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to introduce key terms such as cDNA and EcoR1 in a memorable way. Due to the detail that is included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 hours to cover the points

This lesson describes how the nervous system allows effectors to respond to stimuli and also describes hormonal control in animals. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover points 8.2 & 8.13 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but it can also be used as a revision lesson as there are numerous prior knowledge checks of muscle contraction, protein structure and the control of gene expression. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recall that a control system contains sensory receptors, a coordination centre and effectors. Sensory receptors are covered in detail later in the topic when some key examples are considered as well as those in the retina, but time is taken now to describe how these structures act like transducers, converting one form of energy into electrical energy and the Pacinian corpuscle is used as an example. The students will learn that the communication between the receptors and the coordination centre and the effectors is by cell signalling and that the effectors can be muscles which contract or glands that release chemicals. The next part of the lesson looks at the differing responses from the nervous and hormonal systems and discusses how this can be governed by the need for a rapid response or more of a long term effect. In terms of nervous control, the students are challenged on their recall of the sliding filament theory of muscle contraction as covered in topic 7. Moving forwards, the students will learn that hormones can be either peptide or steroid hormones and their action at a target cell differs based on their form. Students are tested on their knowledge of protein structure by a series of exam-style questions on insulin and glucagon. They are reminded that steroid hormones can pass directly through the cell membrane and their knowledge of the control of gene expression by transcription factors is tested through a task involving oestrogen and the ER receptor. The lesson concludes by reminding students that the control of heart rate, as covered in topic 7, is a coordinated response that involves both nervous and hormonal control.

This lesson describes how energy is transferred between trophic levels using the terms net and gross primary productivity and calculates the efficiency of this transfer. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 10.2 (i) and (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and the content of the lesson also accounts for the loss of energy between different levels and describes the farming practices that act to reduce these losses. Due to the fact that the productivity of plants is dependent on photosynthesis, a series of exam-style questions have been written into the lesson which challenge the students to explain how the structure of the leaf as well as the light-dependent and light-independent reactions are linked to GPP. All of the exam questions have mark schemes that are included in the PowerPoint to allow students to immediately assess their understanding. A number of quick quiz competitions as well as guided discussion points are used to introduce the formulae that calculate NPP and N and to recognise the meaning of the components. Once again, this is immediately followed with an opportunity to apply their understanding to selected questions and the students will have to calculate the efficiency of energy transfer. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the ways that energy is lost at each trophic level and the biology behind the following farming practices are discussed: raising herbivores to reduce the number of trophic levels in a food chain intensely rearing animals to reduce respiratory losses in human food chains the use of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides the addition of artificial fertilisers The ethical issues raised by these practices are also considered and alternative methods discussed such as the addition of natural predators and the use of organic fertilisers like manure

This lesson describes the role of the posterior pituitary gland and ADH in the homeostatic balance of blood water potential. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification points (f & g) in topic 7 of A2 unit 3 of the WJEC A-level Biology specification. Students learnt about the principles of homeostasis and negative feedback in an earlier lesson in this topic, so this lesson acts to build on that knowledge and challenges them to apply their knowledge. A wide range of activities have been included in the lesson to maintain motivation and engagement whilst the understanding and prior knowledge checks will allow the students to assess their progress as well as challenge themselves to make links to other Biology topics. The lesson begins with a discussion about how the percentage of water in urine can and will change depending on the blood water potential. Students will quickly be introduced to osmoregulation and they will learn that the osmoreceptors and the osmoregulatory centre are found in the hypothalamus. A considerable amount of time is taken to study the cell signalling between the hypothalamus and the posterior pituitary gland by looking at the specialised neurones (neurosecretory cells). Links are made to the topics of neurones, nerve impulses and synapses and the students are challenged to recall the cell body, axon and vesicles. The main section of the lesson forms a detailed description of the body’s detection and response to a low blood water potential. The students are guided through this section as they are given 2 or 3 options for each stage and they have to use their knowledge to select the correct statement. The final task asks the students to write a detailed description for the opposite stimulus