NEW (2016) A-Level Biology - Starch, Cellulose & Glycogen

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA AS-level Biology course, particularly the ‘Biological Molecules’ module.

For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA A-level Biology course please visit my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience

A-Level lesson format: I teach in more of a lecture style compared to GCSE. In the majority of my A-level lessons the beginning portion of the lesson is mainly teacher-led, where students are expected to take notes onto a handout/in their books. This is then mixed in with student-led activities, as well as questions and exam prep.

You will find some of my slides have blank spaces for you to add more detail/descriptions/explanations. If you look at the ‘Notes’ section underneath each of these slides, you will find additional content which you can add in as you teach!

This lesson begins with a brief introduction to the three main polysaccharides that students need to know about at A-level Biology level - starch, glycogen and cellulose. Students will then complete a ‘Prior Knowledge’ quiz so you can gain an understanding of their depth of knowledge around this topic area, this task can be self-assessed using the mark scheme once complete. I would also probably collect in the quizzes, so I can ascertain the level different students are working at.

Students will now divide into 6 groups, each group will study either starch, glycogen or cellulose. Students will be given an information poster on either of these polysaccharides, and will need to answer a set of questions (provided on the PowerPoint slide). Once complete, students will then share their answers with a group which studied a different polysaccharide, and will need to complete a summary table to assess the similarities and differences between all three. This task can be self-assessed using the mark scheme provided.

Lastly, students will need to learn the test for starch - the steps as well as the colours shown for a negative/positive result. They can take notes on this test in their books.

The plenary task requires students to write a twitter message to demonstrate what they have learned today, including #keywords.

All resources are included. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)