I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
I am a secondary science teacher from Plymouth, United Kingdom. I have a passion for designing interactive, engaging and well scaffolded resources that are inclusive for all pupils. I teach all years, from years 7-13. I teach KS3 Activate (Biology, Chemistry and Physics), AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy (Biology and Chemistry), AQA GCSE Biology, AQA GCSE Chemistry, and A Level Biology (OCR A).
This lesson is designed for a mixed ability year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum.
This lesson is focused on adolescence and puberty.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Define the key terms ‘adolescence’ and ‘puberty’
Describe the changes that occur to males and females during puberty, and compare and contrast them
Describe the basic role of sex hormones during puberty
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum.
This lesson is focused on “flowers and pollination”.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Label the reproductive organs in a flower
Identify which parts of a flower are male or female
Describe the function of each of the reproductive organs in a flower
Describe the adaptations of wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated flowers
Compare the structures of wind-pollinated and insect-pollinated flowers
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
This is a worksheet designed for a KS3 class studying the structure of a flower.
Students use the key word bank to identify and label the key reproductive organs in a flower (anther, carpel, filament, ovary, stamen, stigma, style).
Students will also describe the function of each reproductive organ. Students can select the correct function from the support box.
Includes an answer key.
These definitions are in line with the KS3 Activate curriculum.
This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum in science.
This lesson is focused on seed dispersal.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Name four different methods of seed dispersal
Describe how seeds are adapted for their dispersal method
Understand the correct order of processes that must occur from pollination and fertilisation, to seed dispersal and germination
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum in science.
This lesson is focused on fertilisation and germination in plants.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Describe the process of fertilisation in plants, including the formation of a pollen tube
Describe how fruits and seeds develop
Describe the process of germination
Name three conditions that are required for germination to occur
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
A full unit of work from the KS3 Activate ‘cells’ topic, designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This unit of work contains 7 full hour lessons.
The lessons should be delivered in this sequence:
Animal cells
Plant cells
Using a light microscope
Specialised animal cells
Specialised plant cells
Diffusion (movement of substances into and out of cells)
Unicellular organisms
Each of the lessons in this sequence are designed to be interactive and engaging.
Each of my lesson resources contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
A full unit of work from the KS3 Activate ‘reproduction’ topic (from Activate 1), designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This unit of work contains 10 full hour lessons.
These lessons are designed to be engaging and interactive, with frequent use of AFL as well as longer independent tasks. These should be suitable to be delivered by a teacher of any specialism.
All answers and given on the slides to independent tasks.
The lessons should be delivered in this sequence:
Puberty and adolescence
Male reproductive system
Female reproductive system
Fertilisation and implantation
Development of a foetus
Menstrual cycle
Contraception
Flowers and pollination
Fertilisation and germination (in plants)
Seed dispersal
Each of my lesson resources contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class.
This is the second lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Recall the solutions used to test for the presence of starch, protein, sugars and lipids in foods
Recall the colour of a positive result for each of these food tests
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class.
This is the second lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology.
This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism.
From this lesson, students should be able to:
Label the mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine and anus on a diagram of the digestive system
Describe the role of each of these organs in the digestive system
All of my lesson resources contain:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson
Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load
Teacher models
Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes
Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides
A plenary task
A science-themed Christmas quiz for secondary age students (11-16).
Quiz rounds include:
Multiple choice: Guess the silly animal name
Matching animals to their group names, e.g. a murder of crows, a pride of lions
Anagrams of scientific key words
Close up microscope images
‘The science of Christmas’ - science general knowledge with a Christmas theme
A topic on cell transport from the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
Lessons include:
Cell transport (diffusion, osmosis, active transport) with a specific focus on examples in root hair cells
Rate of diffusion, with a practical on how temperature affects the rate of diffusion
Calculating surface area to volume ratio
Gas exchange in fish gills
Gas exchange in alveoli
Active transport, with a specific focus on absorption of glucose across the small intestine
Required Practical on osmosis in potatoes
A review of the required practical on osmosis in potatoes
A lesson topic for KS3 Biologists on respiration, bones and muscles.
A revision lesson is included with a revision placemat worksheet.
A game of ‘grudge ball’ is also included.
Lesson topics include:
Aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Comparing aerobic with anaerobic respiration
The human skeleton
Bones and muscles
Antagonistic muscle pairs
Revision lesson
A full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a year 12 Biology class studying the OCR Biology A specification.
This lesson is from the unit 4.2.2 Classication and Evolution , from specification point g “the diferent types of adaptatons of organisms to their environment”
This resource contains:
A retrieval starter
Easy to deliver direct instruction slides on the types of adaptation
A video hook demonstrating each type of adaptation
Hand signal check for understanding
Checkpoint MCQs from exams
A reading comprehension task on adaptations in polar bears, with a guided student task
Easy to deliver direct instruction slides on convergent evolution
A case study on European / Maruspial moles
Exam questions
Guided self assessment
A PowerPoint presentation (1 hour) designed for a higher ability year 8 class.
Mainly focuses on the different adaptations of wind-pollinated vs. insect-pollinated flowers.
Resource also contains a differentiated reading comprehension task on fertilisation in flowers.
This resource contains:
5-in-5 style retrieval starter
Lesson hook
Class discussion on pollen grains
Embedded video on insect pollination
Direct instruction slides on insect pollination / wind pollination
A 5-question quiz as a CFU
An independent writing task comparing insect and wind pollination, with model paragraphs for self assessment
A reading comprehension task - differentiated (colour coded or not)
Comprehension questions based on reading task - differentiated (colour coded or not) - followed by answers.
A plenary task
This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus.
This lesson covers:
Extinction - what is it? What are the major causes of extinction?
Fossil evidence for extinction
Fossil formation - how are fossils formed?
This is a full 1 hour lesson and contains:
A 5-in-5 style retrieval starter
A careers link
A lesson hook
An embedded video
Exam questions with modeled answers
A simple board game for students to play (you will need dice)
Discussions
A variety of checkpoints (multiple choice, hand signals)
A plenary task
This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification.
This lesson covers:
What is variation?
What is the difference between continuous and discontinuous variation?
What are examples of continuous and discontinuous variation?
Which examples of variation are controlled by genetic or environmental factors?
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource which contains:
A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter
A lesson hook
Direct instruction slides (low cognitive load, dual coding)
Guided student discussions
Teacher models
Frequent checkpoints (quizzes, multiple choice hand signals)
A Venn diagram with answers
Written student responses
Modeled answers
A student group activity
A written plenary task
A game of ‘grudge ball’.
21 multiple choice questions (3 rounds) with answers. Contains rules slide.
This was designed for a KS3 class (top set year 8), but could be suitable for lower ability KS4.
Contains questions on:
Aerobic respiration
Anaerobic respiration
Fermentation
Tendons, ligaments and cartilage
Antagonistic muscles
The skeleton
Rules
There are 7 teams.
Every team starts with 6 points.
Each team takes in turns answering a multiple choice question.
A correct answer is worth 2 points.
A correct answer means a team member can try to land the ball in the basket.
A goal is worth 1 extra point.
A full 1 hour lesson resource based on the AQA GCSE Biology syllabus.
This lesson covers:
Labeling a light microscope
Setting up and using a light microscope
The definitions of magnification and resolution
This lesson includes a retrieval-style starter, a task labelling a microscope, direct instruction slides with minimal cognitive load, frequent checks for understanding such as hand signal quizzes, a guided practical activity with clear instructions, independent writing tasks with model answers, and a written plenary.
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks, with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task
This is a full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 11 class studying the AQA Biology syllabus. It comes with a full PowerPoint presentation and printouts.
The PowerPoint contains the following:
A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter
Lesson hook (embedded video from Operation Ouch)
Guided class discussions
Direct instruction slides (using dual coding, reduced cognitive load)
‘Check for understanding’ slides using hand signals, quizzes etc.
Independent tasks (exam questions), with answer slides
Challenge questions
A written plenary task based on an exam question
