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 4 lessons covers all of the content in the sub-topic B1.3 (Transport in cells) of the AQA Trilogy GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Diffusion
Examples of diffusion in organisms
Factors that affect the rate of diffusion
SA:V ratio and the need for exchange surfaces
Osmosis
Active transport
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 6 lessons covers all of the content in the sub-topic B2.1 (Supplying the cell) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Explain how substances are transported into and out of cells through diffusion, osmosis and active transport
Describe the process of mitosis in growth, including the cell cycle
Explain the importance of cell differentiation
Describe the production of specialised cells
Recall that stem cells are present in embryonic and adult animals and in meristems in plants
Describe the functions of stem cells
Describe the difference between embryonic and adult stem cells
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the sub-topics found within Topic C5 (Separate chemistry 1) of the Edexcel GCSE Chemistry specification.
The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include:
Recall the typical properties of the transition metals
Explain why converting pure metals into alloys often increases the strength of the product
Calculate the concentration of solutions in mol per decimetre cubed
Know the apparatus involved in an acid-alkali titration
Carry out simple titration calculations
Recall and calculate the atom economy
Describe the molar volume, at RTP, and use to calculate the volumes of gases
Recall how a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell is used to produce a voltage and water is the only product
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of fuel cells
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual GCSE terminal exams
This bundle of 7 engaging and motivating lesson presentations and associated worksheets have been designed to encourage students to assess their knowledge of the content in all 7 Chemistry topics of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification.
The lessons use a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to cover the content in C1 (Key concepts in chemistry), C2 (States of matter and mixtures), C3 (Chemical change), C4 (Extracting metals and equilibria), C6 (Groups in the Periodic Table), C7 (Rates of Reaction and energy changes and C8 (Fuels and Earth Science)
This bundle of 12 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic C3 (Physical chemistry) of the Edexcel iGCSE Chemistry specification. The sub-topics and specification points covered within these lessons include:
[a] Energetics
Know that chemical reactions can be endothermic or exothermic reactions
Calculate the heat energy change using the expression involving specific heat capacity
Draw energy level diagrams to represent endothermic and exothermic reactions
Use bond energies to calculate the enthalpy change
[b] Rates of reaction
Describe experiments to investigate the effect of changing surface area, concentration, temperature and the addition of a catalyst on the rate of reaction
Describe and explain the effects of changing surface area, concentration and temperature on a rate of reaction with reference to the collision theory
Know the definition of a catalyst and understand how it reduces the activation energy of a chemical reaction
Draw and explain reaction profile diagrams
[c] Reversible reactions and equilibria
Know that some reactions are reversible
Know the characteristics of a reaction at dynamic equilibrium
Know the effect of changing either the temperature of pressure on the position of the equilibrium
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the sub-topics found within Topic C6 (Groups in the Periodic table) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification.
The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include:
Describe the reactions of lithium, sodium and potassium with water
Describe the pattern of reactivity in the alkali metals and explain this pattern in terms of electronic configurations
Describe the reactions of the halogens to form metal halides
Explain the reactivity of the halogens in terms of electronic configurations
Explain why the noble gases are chemically inert
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual GCSE terminal exams
This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content found within Physics Topic 1 (Key concepts in Physics) of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science specification. Topic 1 is common to both Paper 5 and 6 and therefore will be tested in both of these exams.
The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include:
Recall and use the SI units for the physical quantities
Recall and use multiples and sub-multiples of units, including giga, mega, kilo, centi, milli, micro and nano
Be able to convert between different units, including hours to seconds
Use significant figures and standard form where appropriate
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual GCSE terminal exams
This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content found within Module 5.1.3 (Neuronal communication) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification.
The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include:
The structure and function of sensory, motor and relay neurones
The generation and transmission of nerve impulses in mammals
The structure and roles of synapses in neurotransmission
Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds such as “Communicate the word” and “Only CONNECT” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual A-level terminal exams
This bundle contains 6 detailed revision lessons which will engage and motivate the students whilst they are challenged on their knowledge of the content found in topics 6 - 10 of the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification. These are the topics which can be assessed on PAPER 2.
Each of the lessons has been written to contain a wide range of activities, including exam questions and quiz competitions, which will enable the students to recognise those areas which require their further attention.
The following topics are covered in this bundle:
Topic 6: The rate and extent of chemical change
Topic 7: Organic chemistry
Topic 8: Chemical analysis
Topic 9: Chemistry of the atmosphere
Topic 10: Using resources
The bundle also contains a PAPER 2 revision lesson which covers all of the topics within 1 lesson and shows students how questions can make links between the different topics.
This is a fully-resourced lesson which covers the detail of point 5.1.3 (b) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to apply their understanding of the structures and functions of sensory, relay and motor neurones as well as the differences between myelinated and unmyelinated neurones. The PowerPoint has been designed to contain a wide range of activities that are interspersed between understanding and prior knowledge checks that allow the students to assess their progress on the current topics as well as challenge their ability to make links to topics from earlier in the modules. Quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE are used to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way.
The students will be able to compare these neurones based on their function but also distinguish between them based on their structural features. Time is taken to look at the importance of the myelin sheath for the sensory and motor neurones. Students will be introduced to the need for the entry of ions to cause depolarisation and will learn that this is only possible at the nodes of Ranvier when there is a myelin sheath. Key terminology such as saltatory conduction is introduced and explained. The final task involves a comparison between the three neurones to check that the students have understood the structures and functions of the neurones.
Throughout the lesson, links are made to the upcoming topic of the organisation of the nervous system (5.1.5) and students will be given additional knowledge such as the differences between somatic and autonomic motor neurones.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the OCR A-level Biology A course.
Each of the 8 lessons in this bundle have been written to include a wide range of activities that will engage and motivate the students whilst giving them regular oppotunities to assess their understanding of the current topic as well as checking on their knowledge of any previously linked topics.
Each lesson has been written for students studying the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science course and the following specification points are covered by the lessons in this bundle:
7.1: Endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete
7.3: The control of metabolic rate by thyroxine as an example of negative feedback
7.4 & 7.5: The stages and the interactions of the hormones in the menstrual cycle
7.6 & 7.7: Barrier and hormonal contraception, the menstrual cycle and preventing pregnancy
7.8: The use of hormones in Assisted Reproductive Technology
7.9: The importance of homeostasis
7.13 & 7.14: The control of blood glucose concentration by the release of insulin and glucagon
7.15 & 7.16: The causes and control of diabetes type I and II
Each lesson contains a detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets, most of which are differentiated to enable students of different abilities to access the work.
This lesson has been designed to cover the content of the 1st part of specification point 6.1.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should know the basic structure of a Pacinian corpuscle and be able to use its function as a representation of sensory receptors. By the end of the lesson students will understand that sensory receptors respond to specific stimuli and how a generator potential is established.
The lesson begins by using a quiz to get the students to recognise the range of stimuli which can be detected by receptors. This leads into a task where the students have to form 4 sentences to detail the stimuli which are detected by certain receptors and the energy conversion that happen as a result. Students will be introduced to the idea of a transducer and learn that receptors always convert to electrical energy which is the generator potential. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the Pacinian corpuscle and how this responds to pressure on the skin. The involvement of sodium and potassium ions is introduced so discussions on how the membrane potential changes from resting potential in the establishment of a generator potential are encouraged.
This lesson has been written for students studying on the AQA A-level Biology course and ties in nicely with other uploaded lessons which cover the content of topic 6
This engaging lesson covers the detail of the 2nd part of specification point 6.2.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to explain temporal and spatial summation as well as understand inhibition by inhibitory synapses. This is a topic which is generally poorly understood by students or brushed over so considerable time has been taken to design the activities to motivate the students so that the content is memorable whilst still being covered in detail. Links are continually made to earlier topics in this module such as synapses and generator potentials but also to topics covered in the previous year and still to be covered.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise a description of generator potential and they will then discover that this is also known as an EPSP. Students will recall that a small depolarisation may not lead to the opening of the voltage gated channels and therefore the full depolarisation which is needed for the initiation of an action potential and will discuss how this problem could be overcome. Lots of discussion points like this are included in the lesson to encourage the students to challenge and debate why a particular process of mechanism occurs. Students will therefore learn that EPSPs can be combined and this is known as summation. A quiz round is used to introduce temporal and spatial summation. Moving forwards, students are presented with a number of examples where they have to decide why type of summation is involved. Again, the lesson has been written to include real-life examples such as chronic pain conditions so the chances of the content sticking is increased. The final part of the lesson introduces IPSPs and the effect of these on summation and action potentials is discussed.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the AQA A-level Biology course and ties in well with the other uploaded lessons from topic 6 which include cholinergic synapses and neuromuscular junctions, sensory receptors and nerve impulses
This is a highly detailed and engaging lesson that covers the detail of the 2nd part of specification point 6.2.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the establishment of resting potential, the changes in membrane potential that lead to depolarisation and the importance of the refractory period. This topic is commonly assessed in the terminal exams so a lot of time has been taken to design this resource to include a wide range of activities that motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in the depth of detail that will allow them to have a real understanding. Interspersed within the activities are understanding checks and prior knowledge checks to enable the students to not only assess their progress against the current topic but also to challenge themselves on the links to earlier topics such as methods of movements across cell membranes and saltatory conduction. There are also a number of quiz competitions which are used to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and discussion points to encourage the students to consider why a particular process or mechanism occurs.
Over the course of the lesson, the students will learn and discover how the movement of ions across the membrane causes the membrane potential to change. They will see how the resting potential is maintained through the use of the sodium/potassium pump and potassium ion leakage. There is a real focus on depolarisation to allow students to understand how generator potentials can combine and if the resulting depolarisation then exceeds the threshold potential, a full depolarisation will occur. At this point in the lesson students will discover how the all or nothing response explains that action potentials have the same magnitude and that instead a stronger stimulus is linked to an increase in the frequency of the transmission. The rest of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge to explain how repolarisation and hyperpolarisation result and to suggest advantages of the refractory period for nerve cells.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the AQA A-level Biology course and ties in nicely with other uploaded lessons on mammalian sensory receptors and the structures and functions of the neurones.
This engaging lesson covers the detail of the 2nd part of specification point 5.1.3 (d) of the OCR A-level Biology specification which states that students should demonstrate and apply an understanding of the importance of synapses in summation and control, including inhibitory and excitatory synapses. This is a topic which is generally poorly understood by students or brushed over so considerable time has been taken to design the activities to motivate the students so that the content is memorable whilst still being covered in detail. Links are continually made to earlier topics in this module such as synapses and generator potentials but also to topics covered in the previous year and still to be covered.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise a description of generator potential and they will then discover that this is also known as an EPSP. Students will recall that a small depolarisation may not lead to the opening of the voltage gated channels and therefore the full depolarisation which is needed for the initiation of an action potential and will discuss how this problem could be overcome. Lots of discussion points like this are included in the lesson to encourage the students to challenge and debate why a particular process of mechanism occurs. Students will therefore learn that EPSPs can be combined and this is known as summation. A quiz round is used to introduce temporal and spatial summation. Moving forwards, students are presented with a number of examples where they have to decide why type of summation is involved. Again, the lesson has been written to include real-life examples such as chronic pain conditions so the chances of the content sticking is increased. The final part of the lesson introduces IPSPs and the effect of these on summation and action potentials is discussed.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the OCR A-level Biology course and ties in well with the other uploaded lessons from module 5.1.3 on sensory receptors, neurones, nerve impulses and cholinergic synapses
This is a fully-resourced lesson which covers the detail of specification point 15.1 (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the structure of a sensory and a motor neurone. The PowerPoint has been designed to contain a wide range of activities that are interspersed between understanding and prior knowledge checks that allow the students to assess their progress on the current topics as well as challenge their ability to make links to topics from earlier in the modules. Quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE are used to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way.
The students will be able to compare these neurones based on their function but also distinguish between them based on their structural features. Time is taken to look at the importance of the myelin sheath that is present in both neurones. Students will be introduced to the need for the entry of ions to cause depolarisation and will learn that this is only possible at the nodes of Ranvier when there is a myelin sheath. Key terminology such as saltatory conduction is introduced and explained and the lesson concludes with the introduction of the different types of motor neurones based on the type of muscle which they innervate.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the CIE International A-level Biology course and ties in well with the other uploaded lessons which cover the content of topic 15.1 (Control and coordination in mammals) .
This concise, fully-resourced lesson covers the content of specification point 15.1 (i) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the roles of the neuromuscular junction, transverse tubules and sarcoplasmic reticulum in the stimulation of the contraction of striated muscle. Due to a number of similarities between these structures and cholinergic synapses, this lesson uses prior knowledge of these connections between neurones to build a good understanding of the junctions. Students will discover that the events that occur at an axon tip mirror those which happen at the pre-synaptic bulb and this is then developed to look at the differences in terms of the events once the acetylcholine has bound to its receptor sites. There is a focus on the structure of the sarcolemma and time is taken to explain how the action potential is passed from this membrane to the transverse tubules in order to stimulate the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. As a result, this lesson ties in nicely with the following lesson on the contraction of skeletal muscle and students will be able to link the binding to troponin in that lesson to the release of these ions from this lesson.
Both of the main tasks of the lesson have been differentiated so that students of all abilities can access the work and make progress.
This lesson has been designed for those students studying on the CIE International A-level Biology course and ties in well with the other uploaded lessons on topic 15.1 (Control and coordination in mammals)
This detailed lesson has been planned to cover the content of specification point 14.1 (e) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the gross structure of the kidney and the detailed structure of the nephron. The lesson was designed at the same time as the other lessons in this topic on ultrafiltration, selective reabsorption and osmoregulation so that a common theme runs throughout and students can build their knowledge up gradually and develop a deep understanding of this organ.
Students will come to recognise the renal cortex and renal medulla as the two regions of the kidney and learn the parts of the nephron which are found in each of these regions. Time is taken to look at the vascular supply of this organ and specifically to explain how the renal artery divides into the afferent arterioles which carry blood towards the glomerulus and the efferent arterioles which carry the blood away. The main task of the lesson challenges the students to relate structure to function. Having been introduced to the names of each of the parts of the nephron, they have to use the details of the structures found at these parts to match the function. For example, they have to make the connection between the microvilli in the PCT as a sign that this part is involved in selective reabsorption.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the CIE International A-level Biology course
This detailed lesson has been written to cover the 1st part of specification point 14.1 (f) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe how the process of ultrafiltration is involved with the formation of urine. The aim of the design was to give the students the opportunity to discover this particular function and to be able to explain how the mechanisms found in the glomerulus and the Bowman’s capsule control the movement of small molecules out of the blood plasma. Key terminology is used throughout and students will learn how the combination of the capillary endothelium and the podocytes creates filtration slits that allow glucose, water, urea and ions through into the Bowman’s capsule but ensure that blood cells and plasma proteins remain in the bloodstream. A number of quiz competitions are used to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way whilst understanding and prior knowledge checks allow the students to assess their understanding of the current topic and to challenge themselves to make links to earlier topics. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge by recognising substances found in a urine sample that shouldn’t be present and to explain why this would cause a problem
This lesson has been written for students studying on the CIE International A-level Biology course and ties in closely with the other kidney lessons on the structure of the nephron, selective reabsorption and osmoregulation