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 has been designed to cover the specification point 3.21B (understanding the term co-dominance) as detailed in topic 3 (Reproduction and inheritance) of the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE Biology specification. The lesson uses the inheritance of the ABO blood group system to demonstrate co-dominance. A potentially difficult topic, time has been taken to include guidance sections where students are walked through the interpretation of the different genotypes to find out the phenotypes as well as supporting them through the construction of genetic diagrams and working out the blood groups from pedigree trees. There is a real focus on genetic terminology such as allele, locus, genotype and phenotype so that the understanding is deep and students can use this if they choose to further their studies at A-level.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students studying the Pearson Edexcel IGCSE Biology course but is also suitable for older students who are learning about codominance (and multiple alleles) at A-level
This fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover specification points 2.2 (a and b) about chromosomes and their role in mitosis as detailed in topic 2.2 (Cell division and stem cells) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification. The wide range of activities will engage and motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. In order for a deep understanding to be achieved, the other stages of the cell cycle (interphase and cytokinesis) are discussed so that students can recognise how th events that happen before and after this form of cell division results in genetically identical cells. A selection of summary questions will challenge the students on their understanding and ability to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations with questions about organisms other than humans. The lesson finishes by looking at the functions of mitosis in living organisms.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students studying the WJEC GCSE Biology course but is also suitable for older students who are learning about mitosis and the cell cycle at A-level and need to go back over the key points
The engaging Powerpoint and accompanying worksheet which come as part of this lesson resource have been designed to cover specification point 5.2.4 (Control of body temperature) as detailed in the AQA GCSE Biology specification. A wide range of activities which include Biology and Maths tasks and quiz competitions are interspersed with understanding and prior knowledge checks so that students are engaged and motivated whilst learning the key content in a memorable way and checking their progress. Students will learn that the body temperature is maintained at 37 degrees celsuis by a homeostatic control system called thermoregulation and will be challenged to recall the topic of enzymes to explain why this is so important. Time is taken to look at the responses brought about the effectors such as vasodilation and shivering and students will recognise how these lead a decrease or increase in body temperature back to the set point. Links are also made between the Sciences so that there is a deeper understanding of exactly why sweating cools the body down.
This lesson has been designed for students studying the AQA GCSE Biology course but is suitable for older students who are studying Biology at A-level and need to recall the key details of thermoregulation.
This resource contains a concise, engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets which together cover the content of specification point 7.3 (Thyroxine and the control of metabolic rate as an example of negative feedback) as found on the Edexcel GCSE Biology & Combined Science higher tier specifications. Over the course of the lesson, students will learn about the effects of the release of thyroxine, how this release is regulated by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus and also will understand how this control is an example of negative feedback. Due to the obvious connection to the previously learned endocrine system topic, regular opportunities are taken to check on this prior knowledge and these work well with the understanding checks which allow the students to assess their progress. A quiz competition called FROM NUMBERS 2 LETTERS is used to introduce the key abbreviations in a fun and memorable way, whilst the key details of the content is always at the forefront of the design of the lesson.
This lesson has been written for students studying the higher tier of the Edexcel GCSE Biology or Combined Science courses but it is also suitable for use with A-level students who need to recall the key details of these two hormones
This lesson has been designed to cover the content set out in specification point 5.3.1 (Human endocrine system) of topic 5 of the AQA GCSE Biology & Combined Science courses. A wide range of activities have been written into the lesson with the aim of engaging and motivating the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. These activities include a number of quiz competitions which will challenge the students to identify an endocrine organ when presented with three organs as well as introducing them to the names of some of the hormones released by the pituitary gland.
The following content is covered in this lesson:
Hormones as chemicals which have a slow but long lasting effect on target organs
The location of the pituitary, adrenal and thyroid glands in the human body
The location of the pancreas, ovaries and testes in the human body
The hormones which are secreted by the endocrine glands
The effects of the hormones on their target organs
This lesson has been written for GCSE-aged students who are studying on the AQA courses but is suitable for younger students who are looking at the different organ systems
This lesson has been designed to cover the content as detailed in points 7.9 & 7.10 (The importance of homeostasis) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology specification. Consisting of a detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets, the range of activities will motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. Students will learn how a constant internal environment is maintained by homeostasis before being introduced to some of the factors which are regulated by these systems. Time is taken to look into osmoregulation and thermoregulation in more detail, so that students can explain that maintenance of the body temperature at the set-point allows enzymes to function at their maximum rate. 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 SAY WHAT YOU SEE 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 specification but can be used with older students who need to recall the idea of homeostasis before taking it to greater depths in their studies.
This lesson describes the role of plant hormones in stomatal closure, leaf loss in deciduous plants and seed germination. The extensive and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been planned to cover the content of point b of module 5.1.5 of the OCR A-level biology A specification.
The start of the lesson challenges the students to identify three leaf cells in the list of 11 leaf structures. This introduces guard cells and then the opening between them, the stomatal aperture. Time is taken to go through the process by which the apertures are opened to allow carbon dioxide to diffuse into the leaf for photosynthesis. This provides students with an insight into the movement of potassium ions and water when they are challenged about the closure of these openings in response to water stress. Students will meet abscisic acid and understand how this acts as the first messenger, before calcium ions act as the second messenger to trigger events on the inside of the guard cells.
Moving forwards, the role of ethene and auxins in leaf loss and gibberellins in seed germination are described and explained. Multiple opportunities are taken to challenge students on their prior knowledge as well as their current understanding and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint.
This lesson is extensive and it is estimated that it will take 2-3 hours of teaching time to go through all of the tasks and content.
This lesson explains why the conduction of an impulse along myelinated neurones is faster than along unmyelinated neurones. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover point (7) of topic 15.1 of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
A wide range of activities are included in this lesson 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.
Over the course of the lesson, students consider the structure of the myelin sheath and specifically how the electrical insulation is not complete all the way along. This leaves gaps, known as the nodes of Ranvier, which allow the entry and exit of ions. Saltatory conduction can be poorly explained by a lot of 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 detailed lesson has been intricately planned to support student revision in the build up to their PAPER 2 mocks or final assessment. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge of topics 1 - 4, 7 & 8 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level biology A specification, allowing them to recognise those areas which require further attention before the examinations.
Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. There are quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other.
The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson:
Allopatric and sympatric speciation
Saltatory conduction
The structure of neurones
Depolarisation and the initiation of an action potential
Hardy-Weinberg principle
Genetic terminology
Sex linkage and autosomal linkage
Aerobic respiration
The lower yield of ATP from anaerobic respiration
The sliding filament model of muscle contraction
The ultrastructure of skeletal muscle
Slow and fast twitch muscle fibres
The control of heart rate
The functions of the different parts of the brain
Calculating cardiac output
Gene expression as demonstrated by the lac operon
The events of atherosclerosis
Epigenetics
This is an extensive lesson with many tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use sections to focus on a specific topic.
This lesson will support students with their revision in the build up to the AQA A-level biology PAPER 1 mocks or final assessments. The lesson includes a wide variety of tasks and activities which will engage and motivate students whilst challenging their knowledge and understanding of the content of topics 1 - 4, allowing them to identify any gaps so they can be addressed before the assessments. These tasks include exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. Several of these questions challenge their mathematical skills, to prepare them for the volume of marks that will be assigned to this aspect of the course. There are also quick quiz rounds and guided discussion periods to allow students to support each other, and some of the accompanying resources have been differentiated to allow access to the content for all.
The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson:
The nature of the genetic code
Classification hierarchy
The structure of proteins
Cardiac output
The roles of enzymes in DNA replication
The events of meiosis which contribute to genetic variation
The relationship between structure and function in plant polysaccharides
The structure and function of organelles
Cell fractionation
Calculating the size of an object under an optical microscope
Using the image = actual x magnification formula
Types of immunity
Understanding whether data is significantly different or not
The role of macrophages in the immune response
The evolution of antibiotic resistance
The lesson finishes with a round of BLOCKBUSTERS, where students are challenged to recognise 17 key terms from across topics 1 - 4, which weren’t directly covered by the earlier part of the lesson.
If you are happy with the quality of this revision lesson, a lesson challenging content from topics 5 - 8 for PAPER 2 has also been uploaded.
This fully-resourced lesson explores what happens to lactate after a period of anaerobic respiration as detailed in point 7.7 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification. Students will learn how pyruvate is converted to lactate using reduced NAD and that the reoxidation of the coenzyme allows glycolysis to continue.
The lesson begins with a focus on the coenzyme, NAD, and students are challenged to recall details of its role in the oxidation of triose phosphate. Students will learn that oxidative phosphorylation in aerobic respiration allows these coenzymes to be reoxidised but that another metabolic pathway has to operate when there is no oxygen. Time is taken to go through the lactate fermentation pathway and students are encouraged to discuss the conversions before applying their knowledge to complete the diagram and passages about the pathway. Students are introduced to the oxygen debt and will learn how the volume consumed after vigorous exercise is used to catabolise lactic acid and to restore the body’s stores to normal levels.
This detailed and engaging lesson will support students with their revision in the build up to their PAPER 1 & 2 mocks or final assessments. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge of topics 1 - 11 of the CIE A-level biology specification (for assessment in 2025 - 27), allowing them to identify any areas which require further attention before the examinations.
Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. There are quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other.
The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson:
The nature of the genetic code
The structure of haemoglobin and collagen
Fibrous and globular proteins
The roles of the heart valves in the cardiac cycle
The changes in the quantity of DNA through the mitotic cell cycle
The role of DNA polymerase and DNA ligase in DNA replication
The behaviour of chromosomes during prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase
The importance of mitosis for living organisms
The bonds formed during translation
The structure of starch and cellulose
The ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells
Calculating the size of an object under an optical microscope
Using the image = actual x magnification formula
The role of APCs and T helper cells in the immune response
Pathogens which cause infectious diseases
Many of the tasks have been differentiated to maintain challenge whilst providing access to all.
This is an extensive lesson with multiple tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use small sections in shorter lessons to focus on a specific topic.
This detailed and engaging lesson supports students with their revision in the build up to their PAPER 2 mocks or final assessment. The wide range of tasks and activities will challenge students on their knowledge and understanding of the content of topics 1 - 4 and 8 - 10 of the Edexcel A-level biology B specification, allowing them to identify those areas which require further attention before the examinations.
Included in the range of tasks are exam-style questions and understanding checks and all answers are embedded into the PowerPoint. As shown in the cover image, there are several quiz rounds to maintain engagement and to encourage healthy competition, as well as guided discussion periods to provide opportunities for students to support each other.
The following content is directly covered by this revision lesson:
Directional, disruptive and stabilising selection
Saltatory conduction
The structure of neurones
Depolarisation and the initiation of an action potential
Hardy-Weinberg principle
The Founder effect and population bottlenecks
Genetic terminology
Codominance
Sex linkage and autosomal linkage
Chi squared test
Myoglobin vs haemoglobin
Succession
The sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the ANS
The control of heart rate
The functions of the different parts of the brain
This is an extensive lesson with many tasks so it is estimated that it will take over 3 hours of teaching time if covered in full, but teachers may choose to use sections to focus on a specific topic.
If the students find this lesson useful, there is also a PAPER 1 REVISION lesson uploaded which challenges the content of topics 1 - 7.
An engaging lesson presentation (45 slides) that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit P6 (Waves) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point P6.6).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Longitudinal and transverse waves
Properties of waves
Types of EM waves
Properties and applications of EM waves
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Tell EM the word” and “Take the HOTSEAT” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This bundle of 6 engaging and motivating lesson presentations and associated worksheets uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to test the students on their knowledge of the key topics of the Chemistry modules of OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The knowledge of the following modules can be assessed using these lessons:
C1: Particles
C2: Elements, compounds and mixtures
C3: Chemical reactions
C4: Predicting and identifying reactions and products
C5: Monitoring and controlling chemical reactions
C6: Global challenges
A fully resourced lesson presentation (60 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit C2 (Elements, compounds and mixtures) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification.
Relative formula mass
Empirical formula
Pure and impure substances
Filtration and crystallisation
Distillation
Chromatography
Electronic structure
Forming ions
Simple molecules
Giant covalent structures
Carbon
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Take the HOTSEAT” and “SEPARATE the fact from the fiction” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
An engaging lesson presentation (48 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within unit C1 (Particles) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Introducing particles
Chemical and physical changes
Atomic structure
Isotopes
Developing the atomic model
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “SPOT the SCIENTIST” and “Order, Order” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
A detailed and engaging lesson presentation (74 slides) which consists of a series of exam questions, quick tasks and competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within Module 2. All of the exam questions have displayed mark schemes with explanations so that students can recognise errors and misconceptions and address them. Students will thoroughly enjoy the numerous competitions which include "Name the 007 bonds" and "Biology catchphrase".
This is a detailed, engaging and fully-resourced REVISION LESSON which allows students of all abilities to assess their understanding of the content in module 2.1.3 (Nucleotides and nucleic acids) of the OCR A-level Biology A 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 module and for this specification
This bundle contains 6 fully-resourced and detailed revision lessons that have been designed to cover the content of module 2 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which concerns Foundations in Biology. The wide range of activities included in each lesson will engage the students whilst they assess their knowledge of the specification content. Most of the tasks are differentiated to allow differing abilities to access the work and be challenged.
These are the modules covered:
2.1.1: Cell structure
2.1.2: Biological molecules
2.1.3: Nucleic acids
2.1.4: Enzymes
2.1.5: Biological membranes
2.1.6: Cell division, cell diversity and cellular organisation
Each of these lessons uses exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and engaging quiz competitions to allow the students to recognise which areas of the specification need further attention
If you want to see the quality of the lessons before purchasing then the 2.1.2 and 2.1.6 revision lessons are free resources to download