This activity allows students to indicate their perceptions on a particular question. The question might be a debate e.g. ‘Should we build more nuclear power stations?’, ‘Is cloning a good idea?’ or ‘Should social media be banned?’. To use the cards, print and laminate the cards. Lay the cards out along a line and ask the students to stand near the card that represents how strongly they agree (not on the card due to risk of slipping). Then ask them to justify their reasoning. This works really well when carried out before and after a debate. Designed for use in science, these also have use in other subjects such as Citizenship, PSHE and RE. Inspired by an activity at the NCT.

The key words primary and secondary pollutants with meanings for display purposes. Please remember if laminating to use matt finish laminates to avoid reflection that renders the display unreadable.

This activity involves looking at reliability of information found on the internet and encourages students to evaluate this critically in light of the discovery of new information. Students really do engage with the activity and find it a useful learning experience. An activity sheet and guidance sheet are included. Please note that the resource points to two external websites which I acknowledge as external sources of information and as such cannot be held responsible for the content of these websites. It is recommended that these are checked fully before use.

This resource is an was originally designed for instant engagement, to be on display on entry to the room. The students are given a period of time (say 3 minutes) to rank order the sources of information. This works well in groups with mini-whiteboards. The teacher then asks students to indicate whether each source was in the top 3, middle 3 or bottom 3 – e.g. by show of hands. This supports a discussion on reliability and disagreement between groups provides chance for cognitive conflict and students explaining their reasoning. It was originally designed as a starter to LSS activity 3.1

This resource is a short powerpoint show and a pdf of the first slide. The idea is that learners read the URLs for a series of websites and decide whether they are trustworthy. They could put them into one of say three categories (e.g. High, Medium. Low).This is great for stimulating debate amongst learners, especially if the task is completed as a group. It is very effective when learners are asked to explain their reasoning. The powerpoint show can then be used to develop understanding further.

This is a small collection of key words related to data handling. They are designed as a display tool. Remember if laminating to use matt laminates for wall displays to avoid reflection problems. Key words: range, mean, true value, average, real difference.

This resource is a collection of 6 slightly different see-saw balances that can be used with learners to help them develop the skills to weigh up an argument. The idea is that students will list reasons on both side of an argument (e.g. Should we have Nuclear Power?). They then use this to help make a decision. The scoring column on some sheets allows learners to score each argument out of a maximum of say 3. Add the scores on each side to see which has the stronger argument. This also includes phrases to support a more detailed conclusion. This was inspired by 21st Century Science.

This is a pdf showing some key words for polymerisation, including the meaning of the words. They are suitable for printing onto A4 (or scaling up to A3) for display purposes. Remember if laminating them for wall display to ensure that non-reflective laminates are used where possible to ensure maximum readability. Keywords: monomer, polymer, polymerisation

This is a short standalone activity linked with the topic of climate change, global warming and icecap melting. It is intended to develop higher-order thinking skills and understanding of data. It aims to provide an opportunity for cognitive conflict and discussion. There are two ways this task can be attempted: Allow the students to work through the first two set of tasks sequentially. Hand out only the sheet with a triangle in the top right of the page. When this is completed, hand out only the sheet with the square. Finally, when this is completed give out the third and final sheet with questions 4 onwards. Alternatively… One half of class is given the first sheet, marked with a triangle. The other half is given the ones marked with a square. Pupils work on their own sheets independently. After a few minutes, pupils who have completed different sheets pair up. They compare their sheets and answer the questions on the third sheet together. When this was tested, pupils responded well to the tricky questions.

This is a powerpoint show and pdf giving the reactions taking place and constituents of Bunsen burner flames of three different colours. Right click the web link to download the powerpoint show.

Keywords: ionic, ions, electron, shell, energy level, orbitals, rings, periodic table. This resource contains an animated powerpoint show and two sheets. These can be used as a revision tool or as an independent learning resource to help students explore and spot patterns in ion formation in the periodic table. Please note that there is a similar resource showing the electron arrangement for the first 20 elements Right click the web links to download the powerpoint shows.

This resource contains a worksheet and answer sheet for showing the electron arrangements of the first 20 elements. A premium resource is also available that shows an animated PowerPoint slideshow and has a variety of different sheets with various levels of scaffolding to support learners. This can be found here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-12957111

Keywords: Carbon cycle, photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, combustion. An activity sheet and guidance sheet (with answers highlighted) in which students extract information from a text and then use this to identify the processes in the carbon cycle and ultimately construct a diagram from these. These can then be compared to one published in a textbook to allow students to make corrections. This works exceptionally well as a peer assessed activity.

Keywords: metal, reactivity, extraction A short activity (starter?) to encourage higher order thinking and identify relationship between reactivity of metals and their date of first extraction. Please note that this was originally published a number of years ago as part of the North Yorkshire Success for All project of which I was part and had the pleasure of working with an excellent team of teachers on resource development. Included is the original briefing sheet and a powerpoint slideshow

Keywords: structure, bonding, electron, energy levels, shells, orbitals, rings, periodic table, patterns. Notes: This is a revision summary sheet that has questions about structure and bonding relating to electron arrangements and ion formation. Please note that this resource was originally designed for unit C4 of OCR 21st Century Science, but is applicable to other specifications. It includes an answer sheet. An editable premium version is available at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/-13142395

Keywords: bonding, model, electrons, ionic, covalent. Notes: This engaging activity makes use of very affordable and easily available ball pool balls to support whole class teaching and group work. It models what happens to the electrons during ionic and covalent bonding. Please note that this was originally published a number of years ago as part of the North Yorkshire Success for All project of which I was part and had the pleasure of working with an excellent team of teachers on resource development. Right click the web links to download the powerpoint shows.