<p>These grid sheets are to aid regular retrieval practice for GCSEs. Students have a grid of questions which vary in difficulty, and fill in their answers on the sheets. I find they then work best if you model writing answers on a visualiser but you could add answers as the files are editable. Only one example answer sheet is provided as I tend to just do them on the fly, the students like to see me working through strategies to answer. They deliberately have questions from previous topics to encourage retrieval of information and they also have some repeats of key facts. Would follow pathway in order for Edexcel Science but could easily be used for all exam boards.</p>

<p>These two resources introduce the idea of ions as atoms that have lost or gained electrons, then look at how dot and cross diagrams can be used to represent ions. The first sheet ‘exchanging the electrons’ uses drawings that the teacher provides of sodium and chloride ions and atoms of these elements so that students work out for themselves why ions are charged particles (the teacher will need to draw these on the board for students to refer to). The second sheet then allows students to practice drawing ‘dot and cross’ diagrams and is structured to initially provide support for students and them lead to them doing this electronically. It is formatted so it can be used on a computer with students pasting electrons into the right place, but can be easily used printed out and written on. These resources are designed to enable students to think logically and develop ideas rather than just being told information (I made them in the era before powerpoints!)</p>