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 fully-resourced lesson describes the differences between resolution and magnification, with reference to light and electron microscopy and the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the content of point 1.1 (d) of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
To promote engagement and focus throughout these 3 lessons in topic 1.1 (The microscope in cell studies), the PowerPoint includes an ongoing quiz competition and a score sheet is found within the resources to keep track of the cumulative scores. The quiz rounds found in this lesson will introduce the objective lens powers, the names of the parts of a light microscope and emphasise some of the other key terms such as resolution. The final round checks on their understanding of the different numbers that were mentioned in the lesson, namely the differing maximum magnifications and resolutions. Time is taken to explain the meaning of both of these microscopic terms so that students will understand their importance when looking at the cell structures in topic 1.2. By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to explain how a light microscope uses light to form an image and will understand how electrons transmitted through a specimen or across the surface will form an image with a TEM or a SEM respectively.
As detailed above, this lesson has been written to tie in with the previous lesson on measuring cells and units as well as the next lesson on calculating actual size.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the key steps in the blood clotting process, including the roles of thromboplastin, thrombin and fibrin. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover the content detailed in point 1.11 of the Edexcel A-level International specification but time has been taken to look at haemophilia as a sex-linked disease so that students are prepared for when this is covered in greater detail in topic 3.
The lesson begins with the introduction of clotting factors as integral parts of the blood clotting process and explains that factor III, thromboplastin, needs to recalled as well as the events that immediately precede and follows its release. Students will learn how damage to the lining and the exposure of collagen triggers the release of this factor and how a cascade of events then results. Quick quiz rounds and tasks are used to introduce the names of the other substances involved which are prothrombin, thrombin, fibrinogen and fibrin. In a link to the upcoming topic of proteins, students will understand how the insolubility of fibrin enables this mesh of fibres to trap platelets and red blood cells and to form the permanent clot. In the previous lessons, students described the events in atherosclerosis and a link is made to the role of blood clotting in CVD.
The final part of the lesson introduces haemophilia as a sex-linked disease and students are challenged to apply their knowledge to an unfamiliar situation as they have to write genotypes and determine phenotypes before explaining why men are more likely to suffer from this disease than women.
This is a fully-resourced lesson that covers the content of specification point 5.1.5 (l) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of the sliding filament model of muscular contraction. The wide range of activities included in the lesson will engage and motivate the students whilst the understanding and previous knowledge checks will not only allow them to assess their progress but also challenge them to make links to other Biology topics.
The lesson begins by using an idea from the quiz show POINTLESS to get them to recognise that myology is the study of muscles. This leads nicely into the next task, where they have to identify three further terms (from 12) which will also begin with myo and are the names of structures involved in the arrangement of skeletal muscle. Key terminology is used throughout the lesson so that students feel comfortable when they encounter this in questions. Students are introduced to the sarcomere and the bands and zones that are found within a myofibril so they can discover how most of these structures narrow but the A band, which is the length of the myosin filament, stays the same length between resting and contracted muscle. This has been designed to lead into a discussion point where they are encouraged to consider how the sarcomere can narrow but the lengths of the myofilaments can remain the same. The main task of the lesson involves the formation of a bullet point description of the sliding filament model where one event is the trigger for the next. Time is taken during this section to focus on the involvement of the calcium ions but also ATP and the idea of the sources of this molecule, including creatine phosphate, are discussed in more detail later in the lesson. The final part of the lesson involves students having to apply their knowledge by describing the effect on muscle contraction when a part of a structure is unable to function correctly.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the OCR A-level Biology course and ties in nicely with the other lessons on this particular topic such as neuromuscular junctions as well as the other uploaded lessons from module 5
This detailed and clear lesson describes and explains how the electron transport chain and the chemiosmotic theory are involved in the synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover the sixth part of point 5.2 of the AQA A-level Biology A specification and also looks at the role of the enzyme, ATP synthase.
The lesson begins with a discussion about the starting point of the reaction. In the previous stages, the starting molecule was the final product of the last stage but in this stage, it is the reduced coenzymes which release their hydrogen atoms. Moving forwards, the process of oxidative phosphorylation is covered in 7 steps and at each point, key facts are discussed and explored in detail to enable a deep understanding to be developed. Students will see how the proton gradient is created and that the flow of protons down the channel associated with ATP synthase results in a conformational change and the addition of phosphate groups to ADP. Understanding checks are included throughout the lesson to enable the students to assess their progress.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on glycolysis, the Link reaction and Krebs cycle and anaerobic respiration.
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 fully-resourced lesson has been written to cover the content of point 3.18 (sex-linked genetic disorders) as detailed in the Edexcel GCSE Biology specification. This resource consists of an engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet, which has been differentiated two ways so students who find the tasks difficult are given assistance to result in good outcomes. The lesson builds on the knowledge from earlier in the topic on monohybrid inheritance and sex determination to show students how to draw genetic diagrams to calculate offspring outcomes when the gene is carried on the sex chromosomes. Step by step guides are used to demonstrate how to write the genotypes and gametes in these disorders by including the sex chromosomes to show gender. The lesson focuses on red-green colour blindness and haemophilia and builds up to questions on a pedigree tree to challenge the students to apply their new knowledge.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students who are studying the Edexcel GCSE Biology course but is suitable for A-level students who are looking at these types of genetic disorders.
This detailed lesson explains how the process of transcription results in the production of the single-stranded nucleic acid, mRNA. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to specifically cover the third part of point 2.1.3 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also provides important information that students can use when being introduced to splicing and gene expression in module 6.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that most of the nuclear DNA in eukaryotes does not code for polypeptides. This allows the promoter region and terminator region to be introduced, along with the structural gene. Through the use of an engaging quiz competition, students will learn that the strand of DNA involved in transcription is known as the template strand and the other strand is the coding strand. Links to previous lessons on DNA and RNA structure are made throughout and students are continuously challenged on their prior knowledge as well as they current understanding of the lesson topic. Moving forwards, the actual process of transcription is covered in a 7 step bullet point description where the students are asked to complete each passage using the information previously provided. So that they are prepared for module 6, students will learn that the RNA strand formed at the end of transcription in eukaryotes is a primary transcript called pre-mRNA and then the details of splicing are explained. An exam-style question is used to check on their understanding before the final task of the lesson looks at the journey of mRNA to the ribosome for the next stage of translation.
This lesson has been written to challenge all abilities whilst ensuring that the most important details are fully explained.
This is a detailed, engaging and fully-resourced REVISION LESSON which allows students of all abilities to assess their understanding of the content in topic 6 (Nucleic acids and protein synthesis) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification. Considerable time has been taken to design the lesson to include a wide range of activities to motivate the students whilst they evaluate their knowledge of DNA, RNA and the roles of these nucleic acids in DNA replication and protein synthesis. Most of the tasks have been differentiated so that students of differing abilities can access the work and move forward as a result of the tasks at hand.
This lesson has been planned to cover as much of the specification as possible but the following sub-topics have received particular attention:
The structure of DNA
Phosphorylated nucleotides
DNA replication
Transcription and translation
Gene mutations and their affect on the primary structure of a polypeptide
The structure of RNA
In addition to a focus on the current topic, links are made throughout the lesson to other topics such as the journey of an extracellular protein following translation and the cell cycle.
If you like the quality of this revision lesson, please look at the other uploaded revision lessons for this specification
This lesson focuses on the main areas of the spinal cord but also introduces key nervous system structures to prepare students for upcoming topic 8 lessons. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been planned to cover the content of points (b & c) of topic 8 of A2 unit 3 of the WJEC A-level biology specification.
The lesson begins with a challenge, where students must use their knowledge of content from earlier topics to reveal 5 numbers that add up to 33. They will learn that this is the normal number of vertebrae in the human vertebral column and this leads into the recognition that these bones act to surround and protect the spinal cord. The meninges are introduced and then a quick quiz round is used to reveal the term, grey matter. Students will see that this is found in the centre of the spinal cord and is surrounded by an outer region of white matter. The idea of myelination is introduced, and initial details provided about the increased conductance speed in myelinated neurones because of saltatory conduction. Moving forwards, students will meet the terms dorsal and ventral and see on a diagram that nerves enter and leave the cord by these roots. The role of cerebrospinal fluid is explored and a series of exam-style questions are used to challenge their knowledge from topic 4 as well as their mathematical skills. The answers are embedded into the PowerPoint to allow the students to assess their progress.
The lesson finishes with the introduction of the cauda equina as the bundle of nerves at the distal end of the spinal cord.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the inheritance of genes that are carried on the X chromosome and includes a particular focus on haemophilia in humans. The detailed PowerPoint and associated differentiated resources have been designed to cover specification point 8.2 (v) as detailed in the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
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 and they will be challenged to find evidence to support this decision later in the lesson. 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
This detailed lesson describes the relationship between the structure, properties and roles of water for living organisms. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the details of specification point 2.1.2 (a) of the OCR A-level Biology A course and has been specifically designed to ensure that each role is illustrated using an example in prokaryotes or eukaryotes.
As this is the first lesson in the biological molecules sub-module (2.1.2), which is a topic that students tend to find difficult or potentially less engaging, the planning has centred around the inclusion of a wide variety of tasks to cover the content whilst maintaining motivation and engagement. These tasks include current understanding and prior knowledge checks, discussion points and quick quiz competitions to introduce key terms and values in a memorable way. The start of the lesson considers the structure of water molecules, focusing on the covalent and hydrogen bonds, and the dipole nature of this molecule. Time is taken to emphasise the importance of these bonds and this property for the numerous roles of water and then over the remainder of the lesson, the following properties are described and discussed and linked to real-life examples:
As a solvent to act as a transport medium in blood plasma
Molecules are attracted by cohesive forces to enable transport in the xylem
High latent heat of vaporisation for thermoregulation
High specific heat capacity for the maintenance of a stable environment
Peak density in the liquid form allowing ice to float
The final part of the lesson introduces condensation and hydrolysis reactions and students will learn that a clear understanding of these reactions is fundamental as they will reappear throughout the module in the synthesis and breakdown of biological molecules.
This lesson describes the organisation of the mammalian nervous system, focusing on the CNS and the numerous divisions and subdivisions of the PNS. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been planned to cover the content of points 9.4 (i) and (iv) of the Edexcel A-level biology B specification.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise 6 organ systems from their descriptions, with the final description relating to the nervous system. A prior knowledge check of the classification topic introduces the lesson topic as the structure of the mammalian nervous system and then the lesson moves through the different divisions, completing the diagram in the cover image as each one is explored. The brain, spinal cord, neurones and autonomic nervous system are described in depth in upcoming lessons, so this lesson has been designed to introduce key information and to challenge students to build on the details they have from GCSE studies!
This lesson describes the structure of a cholinergic synapse and outlines the role of these connections in the nervous system. The fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover the content of point (9) of topic 15.1 of the CIE A-level biology specification (for assessment in 2025-27). The majority of the lesson uses the cholinergic synapse as the example but other neurotransmitters are considered at the end of the lesson to provide the students with a wider view of this topic.
One of the tasks near the beginning of the lesson challenges students to identify 3 terms from a WALL of key terms that could follow synaptic, having been introduced to the synaptic cleft on the previous slide. Not only will this challenge their prior knowledge from lessons earlier in topic 15 but it will also lead to the discovery of four of the structures that are found in a synapse. Moving forwards, students are introduced to acetylcholine as the neurotransmitter involved at cholinergic synapses and they will start to add labels to the structures found in the pre-synaptic bulb. Time is taken to focus on certain structures such as the voltage gated channels as these types of channel were met previously when looking at the depolarisation of a neurone. There is plenty of challenge and discovery as students are pushed to explain why organelles like mitochondria would be found in large numbers in the bulb. With this process being a cascade of events, a bullet point format is used to ensure that the key content is taken in by the students and again key points like exocytosis and the action of acetylcholinesterase are discussed further. The final part of the lesson challenges the application aspect of the subject as students are introduced to unfamiliar situations in terms of synapses with new drugs like MDMA and are asked to work out and explain how these affect the nervous transmission.
Understanding checks and prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can not only assess their progress against the current topic but also see whether they can make links to earlier topics.
This REVISION lesson contains an engaging and detailed powerpoint (40 slides) and is fully-resourced with associated worksheets. The lesson uses a range of activities which include exam questions (with displayed answers), differentiated tasks and quiz competitions to engage students whilst they assess their knowledge of the content that is found within topic P8 (Energy - forces doing work) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification.
The following specification points are covered in this lesson:
Identify the different ways that the energy of a system can be changed
Describe how to measure the work done by a force and understand that energy transferred (joule, J) is equal to work done (joule, J)
Recall and use the equation to calculate work done
Describe and calculate the changes in energy involved when a system is changed by work done by forces
Recall and use the equation to calculate the change in gravitational potential energy
Recall and use the equation to calculate the amounts of energy associated with a moving object
Explain, using examples, how in all system changes energy is dissipated so that it is stored in less useful ways
Explain that mechanical processes become wasteful when they cause a rise in temperature so dissipating energy in heating the surroundings
Recall and use the equation to calculate efficiency
This lesson is suitable for use throughout the duration of the GCSE course, as an end of topic revision lesson or as a lesson in the lead up to mocks or the actual GCSE exams
This REVISION resource has been written with the aim of motivating the students whilst they are challenged on their knowledge of the content in Biology TOPIC 7 (Animal coordination, control and homeostasis) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification. The resource contains an engaging and detailed PowerPoint (73 slides) and accompanying worksheets, some of which are differentiated to provide extra scaffolding to students when it is required.
The wide range of activities have been designed to cover as much of topic 7 as possible but the following sub-topics have been given a particular focus:
The causes and treatments of diabetes type I and II
The control of blood glucose concentration through the release of insulin and glucagon
The importance of homeostasis
Calculating BMI
The hormones involved in the female menstrual cycle
The use of clomifene therapy and IVF in assisted reproductive therapy
Hormonal and barrier methods of contraception
The actions of adrenaline
There is a large emphasis on mathematical skills in the new specification and these are tested throughout the lesson.
This resource is suitable for use at the end of topic 7, in the lead up to mocks or in the preparation for the final GCSE exams.
This detailed and fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of the polysaccharides: glycogen, starch and cellulose. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 1.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and clear links are also made to the previous lessons in this topic where the monosaccharides and disaccharides were introduced.
By the end of this lesson, students should understand how key structural features like the 1 - 4 and 1 - 6 glycosidic bonds and the hydrogen bonds dictate whether the polysaccharide chain is branched or unbranched and also whether it spirals or not. Following the description of the structure of glycogen, students are challenged to design an exam question in the form of a comparison table so that it can be completed as the lesson progresses once they learn more about starch and cellulose. This includes a split in the starch section of the table so that the differing structures and properties of amylose and amylopectin can be considered. In the final part of the lesson, time is taken to focus on the formation of cellulose microfibrils and macrofibrils to explain how plant cells have the additional strength needed to support the whole plant.
Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated teaching time to complete
This resource contains a detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets, all of which have been designed to cover points 2.5 (a & b) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification. This specification point states that students should be able to apply their knowledge and understanding of sense organs responding to specific stimuli and the CNS and nerves forming the nervous system.
The lesson begins by introducing the term stimuli and then a quick quiz is used to get their competitive juices flowing as they have to react 1st to recognise the 5 different stimuli. Students will learn that sense organs are groups of receptor cells that respond to one or a few of these stimuli and they will form sentences to describe this role. Moving forwards, the link is made to the nervous system and how electrical impulses conducted on neurones allows communication between these receptors and the CNS and between the CNS and the effectors. At this point, students are challenged on their understanding of the functions of the structures in a nervous reaction as they have to put them into the correct order. They are given a quick and easy way to recognise the difference between a sensory and motor neurone on a diagram and how to use the function to show the direction of conduction. Time is taken to look at the role of a synapse in a reaction. The main task challenges the students to apply their knowledge to the example of a fly being flicked off the arm by forming a full description.
This lesson contains a wide range of activities which include quiz competitions to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way as well as understanding and prior knowledge checks so that students can assess their grasp of the critical content.
It has been written for students studying the WJEC GCSE Biology course but is also suitable for younger students looking at the nervous system or A-level students who need to recall the key details and structures
A concise lesson presentation (26 slides) that looks at how sexual reproduction leads to variation and considers the advantages and disadvantages of this form of reproduction. The lesson begins by getting the students to recognise that sexual reproduction needs two parents and therefore two gametes. Time is taken to ensure that students understand that these gametes are produced by meiosis and therefore contain the haploid number of chromosomes. Key terminology like haploid and zygote are used throughout the lesson.
This lesson is suitable for both KS3 and GCSE students
This lesson describes the stages of succession from colonisation to the formation of a climax community. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the content of point 5.15 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification.
This lesson uses a step-by-step method to guide the students through each stage of the process of succession, explaining each of the gradual, progressive changes that occur in a community over time. At each stage, time is taken to consider the organisms involved. There is a focus on lichens as examples of pioneer species and students will understand how colonisation by these organisms is critical to provide organic matter and to turn the bare ground into soil so it is habitable by other species. The island of Surtsey in Iceland is used as a real-world example and shows how different parts of an area can be at different stages of succession.
Understanding and prior knowledge checks are embedded into the PowerPoint (along with the answers) to allow students to assess their progress against the current topic and to encourage them to make links to previously-covered work.
