A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This bundle of 5 REVISION lessons covers the content in the following topics that can be assessed on Paper 5 (Physics 1) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science course:
Topic 1: Key concepts in Physics
Topic 2: Motion and forces
Topic 3: Conservation of energy
Topic 4: Waves
Topic 5: Light and the EM spectrum
Topic 6: Radioactivity
Each of the lessons have been designed to include a wide range of activities that will keep the students engaged whilst they assess their knowledge of each of these topics.
This bundle of 5 revision lessons covers the specification content in topics 1 - 4 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification that can be assessed in the Paper 1 exam.
The following topics are covered by these lessons:
Topic 1: Cell Biology
Topic 2: Organisation
Topic 3: Infection and response
Topic 4: Bioenergetics
In addition, there is a Paper 1 revision lesson which covers content from all of the 4 topics in one highly detailed resource
The students will be motivated and engaged by the range of activities that are found in the lessons whilst crucially being able to assess their knowledge of the different topics and recognise those areas which will need their further attention.
This is a highly-detailed revision resource which has been designed to be used over a number of lessons and allows teachers to dip in and out of the material as fits to the requirements of their classes and students. The resource consists of an engaging and detailed powerpoint (132 slides) and worksheets which have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to be challenged and access the work. The lesson consists of a wide range of activities which will engage and motivate the students and includes exam questions, quiz competitions and quick tasks. The mathematical element of the course is challenged throughout the lesson
The lesson has been designed to cover as many of the sub-topics within topics 5, 6 and 7 of the AQA GCSE Biology specification, and will be covered in paper 2, but the following sub-topics have been given particular attention:
Topic B5: Homeostasis and response
IVF
The central nervous system
The structure and functions of the eye
Diabetes
Control of blood glucose concentration
Topic B6: Inheritance, variation and evolution
The structure and function of DNA
Mutations and their effects on phenotypes
Genetic terminology
Inherited disorders
Classification
Topic B7: Ecology
Ecological terms
The Carbon cycle
This revision resource can be used in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams and due to its size, it could be repeatably used to ensure that students develop a deep understanding of these topics.
This bundle of 5 REVISION lessons has been designed to include a range of activities which will engage and motivate the students whilst they assess their understanding of the content in topics 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 which can be covered in Paper 1. The activities include exam questions, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions. These lessons are suitable for use at the end of a topic, in the lead up to mock exams or in the lead up to the actual GCSE Biology Paper 1 exam.
An engaging lesson presentation (30 slides) that looks at electric current and ensures that students know the key details about this factor in preparation for their GCSE studies. The lesson begins by forming a definition for this electrical term and then as the lesson progresses, this definition is broken so that each element is understood. Students will be introduced to the difference between electron flow and conventional current. Time is taken to ensure that students understand that an ammeter must be set up in series. The remainder of the lesson will focus on the mathematical calculations which include current and important skills such as converting between units is covered.]
As stated above, this lesson has been designed primarily for those students taking their GCSE exams (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but is suitable for younger students too.
A fully-resourced lesson that looks at a number of the allotropes of carbon which need to be known for GCSE Science. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (40 slides) and associated worksheets. The lesson begins by recalling the definition of an allotrope. Students are then introduced to graphene and will understand how this is related to graphite and know the properties of these two materials that are shared. Time is taken to ensure that students can explain why graphene is able to conduct electricity. Moving forwards, students will meet the family of allotropes known as the fullerenes and will see some important details about a few of these.
This lesson has been written for students studying GCSE (14 - 16 year olds in the UK).
A fully-resourced lesson that looks at the meaning of thinking, braking and stopping distances and focuses on the factors that would cause each of them to increase. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (45 slides) and an associated worksheet for the calculations. The lesson begins by introducing the term stopping distance and then challenging students to recognise that both the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time and under the braking force will contribute to this. Students are constantly challenged to think about the factors that would cause either the thinking or braking distance to increase and to be able to explain why scientifically. Moving forwards, the mathematical element that is associated with this topic is explored as students are shown how to calculate the braking distance at different speeds as well as convert between speeds in miles per hour and metres per second. There is also a set homework included as part of the lesson. There are regular progress checks written into the lesson so that students can assess their understanding.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with those at KS3.
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 (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.
A quick and fun lesson which goes through the accurate addition of state symbols to balanced symbol equations. The aim of this lesson is to give students quick and easy ways to recognise the state of matter of a reactant or product whilst being engaged trough the format of the lesson.
A number of quick quiz competitions are used in the lesson, either to introduce a new term of to act as a fun understanding check. First of all, students will use their Chemistry knowledge to come up with the fourth symbol, aq, which is commonly forgotten. Moving forwards, a worked example is used to guide the students through adding the state symbols. A visual of the experiment is shown in a video but could be done as a demonstration to help the students further. Finally, the students are challenged to apply their new-found knowledge and write a fully balanced symbol equation with state symbols. An assistance sheet is available for those who need a little push.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students
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.
A fully-resourced lesson that looks at the reaction of an acid with a metal or a metal carbonate and guides students through writing word and symbol equations to represent these reactions. This lesson includes a lesson presentation (39 slides) and differentiated worksheets.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to spot a pattern when naming the salts that are produced from these reactions. Students are shown how the second word of the salt’s name depends upon the particular acid involved in the reaction and are given opportunities to watch this in worked examples before applying their knowledge to a question. Students will also meet the general formula for the reaction of an acid with a metal carbonate. Moving forwards, a step by step guide is used to show the students how to write fully balanced symbol equations. Time is taken to specifically show them how to write accurate chemical formulae, including those which involve a bracket as is common in this topic. The final task challenges the students to bring all of this information together to write word and symbol equations for three reactions. This worksheet is differentiated two ways so students who require some assistance can still access the work.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK)
This lesson has been designed to explore the range of energy sources which are used on Earth and specifically looks at why an increase in the use of renewable sources is critical for the future. The student’s scientific understanding is challenged at each step of the lesson but there is also a mathematical element running throughout. The lesson begins by challenging the students to predict which energy sources contributed the greatest % when presented with a pie chart. Students cover this topic in other subjects like Geography, so the lesson aims to build on this and consolidate the essential understanding. A range of renewable sources are discussed and key terms such as carbon-neutral taken on further.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but parts could be used with younger students who are looking at
A concise, fast-paced lesson that looks at the orbits of both natural and artifical satellites. The lesson has been written to build on the student’s knowledge of space from KS3 and add key details such as the gravitational pull between the different celestial objects. Students will learn how the speed of the orbiting object and the gravitational pull ensure that the object remains in orbit and consider what would happen should the speed change. Students are briefly introduced to a number of orbits of artificial satellites as well as the uses.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students
An engaging lesson presentation that looks at how the amplitude and frequency of a sound wave can change. The lesson uses a range of sounds from recordings and challenges the students to draw the sound waves that would have been produced. In order to understand this topic, it is essential that the key terminology is understood and can be used in the correct context. Therefore, the start of the lesson focuses on wavelength and frequency and then longitudinal and challenges the students to recognise that these could all be related to sound waves. Moving forwards, students will hear a recording and then read a music “critique” that uses the key terminology so that can link the sounds to the change in shape of the waves. The final part of the lesson involves them drawing how the different sound waves would change from the control one.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students.
A fast-paced lesson where the main focus is the description of motion with reference to the forces involved. The lesson begins by introducing the term, terminal velocity, and then through consideration of examples in the English language, students will understand that this is the top velocity. The example of a skydiver is used and whilst the story of the dive is told, students are challenged to draw a sketch graph to show the different stages of this journey. An exemplary answer is used to visualise how the motion should be described. Related topics like free body diagrams and resultant forces are brought into the answer in an attempt to demonstrate how they are all interlinked. The next task asks the students to try to describe the remaining parts of the graph and they can assess against displayed mark schemes. The final part of the lesson looks at the two terminal velocities that they were during the skydive and explains that the increased surface area after the parachute was opened led to the second velocity being lower. The last task challenges the students to use this knowledge to answer a difficult exam question. It has been differentiated so those students who need extra assistance can still access the learning.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students.
A fully-resourced lesson that includes a detailed and engaging lesson presentation (33 slides) and question worksheets which are diifferentiated. Together these resources guide students through the tricky topic of the conservation of energy by transfers between energy stores which can often be poorly understood. This lesson has been written for GCSE students, but the law can be taught from an earlier age so this would be suitable for higher ability KS3 lessons.
The lesson begins by introducing the key term, energy stores. The understanding of this term is critical for this topic and other lessons on energy transfers and therefore some time is taken to ensure that this key points are embedded into the lesson. Students will learn that stores can be calculated due to the fact that they have an equation associated with them and some of these need to be recalled (or applied) at GCSE. Therefore, the first part of the lesson involves two engaging competitions where students are challenged to recall part of an energy store equation or to recognise which energy store an equation is associated with. Students are given the information about the remaining energy stores, such as chemical and electrostatic. Moving forwards, the main part of the lesson explores the law of the conservation of energy and shows students how they need to be able to apply this law to calculation questions. Students are shown how to answer an example question involving the transfer of energy from a gravity store to a kinetic energy store. A lot of important discussion points come up in this calculation, such as resistive forces and the dissipation of energy, so these are given the attention they need. Students are then challenged to apply their knowledge to a calculation question on their own - this task has been differentiated two ways so that all students can access the learning. The final slide of the lesson looks at the different ways that energy can be transferred between stores but those are covered in detail in separate lessons.
A fully-resourced lesson which includes a detailed and engaging lesson presentation (36 slides) and an assistance worksheet for those students who feel that they need extra assistance with the final description. This lesson looks at how body temperature is controlled in humans through a homeostatic mechanism and includes details of a negative feedback loop.
The lesson begins with a three pronged task where students have to use the clues to come up with the word homeostasis and the number 37 and then see if they can make the link in the human body. Time is taken to ensure that students recognise why maintaining the temperature around this set-point is so crucial in terms of the effectiveness of enzymes in reactions. There is a real focus on key terminology throughout such as thermoreceptors and hypothalamus and guidance is given on how to use these terms accurately. Discussion points and progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students are encouraged to challenge the Biology whilst being able to assess their understanding. They are shown how to write a detailed description of the response to an increase in temperature so they are able to form their own description of the response to a fall in temperature.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable for older students studying thermoregulation at A-level and want to revisit the knowledge.