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 describes the ultrastructure of a prokaryotic cell including the nucleoid, plasmid, 70S ribosomes and cell wall. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover specification point 2.1 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification but has been specifically designed to be taught after the lesson on the ultrastructure of eukaryotic cells, specification point 2.1 (v), so that comparisons can be drawn.
A clear understanding of terminology is important for A-level Biology so this lesson begins with a challenge, where the students have to come up with a 3-letter prefix that they believe will translate as before or in front of . This leads into the discovery of the meaning of prokaryote as before nucleus which acts to remind students that these types of cell lack this cell structure. Links to the previous lessons on the eukaryotic cells are made throughout the lesson and at this particular point, the students are asked to work out why the DNA would be described as naked and to state where it will be found in the cell. Moving forwards, the students will discover that these cells also lack membrane bound organelles and a quick quiz competition challenges them to identify the specific structure that is absent from just a single word. In addition to the naked DNA, students will learn that there are also ribosomes in the cytoplasm and will discover that these are smaller than those found in the cytoplasm of an eukaryotic cell (but the same size as those in chloroplasts and mitochondria). The remainder of the lesson focuses on the composition of the cell wall, the additional features of prokaryotic cells such as plasmids and there is also the introduction of binary fission as the mechanism by which these organisms reproduce so that students can recognise that prokaryotic cells do not contain centrioles
This fully-resourced lesson describes the effects of enzyme and substrate concentration on the rate of enzyme-catalysed reactions. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are the third in a series of 4 lessons which cover the details of point 3.2 (a) of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
The first part of the lesson describes how an increase in substrate concentration will affect the rate of reaction when a fixed concentration of enzyme is used. Time is taken to introduce limiting factors and students will be challenged to identify substrate concentration as the limiting factor before the maximum rate is attained and then they are given discussion time to identify the possible factors after this point. A series of exam-style questions are used throughout the lesson and the mark schemes are displayed to allow the students to assess their understanding and for any misconceptions to be immediately addressed. Moving forwards, the students have to use their knowledge of substrate concentration to construct a graph to represent the relationship between enzyme concentration and rate of reaction and they have to explain the different sections of the graph and identify the limiting factors.
The final section of the lesson describes how the availability of enzymes is controlled in living organisms. Students will come to recognise that this availability is the result of enzyme synthesis and enzyme degradation and a series of tasks will introduce the details of transcription and translation and therefore prepare them for the lessons in topic 6.
Please note that this lesson explains the Biology behind the effect of concentration on enzyme-catalysed reactions and not the methodology involved in carrying out such an investigation as this is covered in a core practical lesson.
This lesson describes how the hydrolysis of ATP supplies energy for biological processes and how the phosphorylation of ADP requires energy. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 5.2 in unit 4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and also describes how the ATP that is made in the light-dependent stage of photosynthesis, is needed in the light-independent stage.
The start of the lesson focuses on the structure of this energy currency and challenges the students to use their knowledge of nucleotides and specifically RNA nucleotides to recognise the components of ATP. As a result, they will learn that this molecule consists of adenine, ribose and three phosphate groups. In order to release the stored energy, ATP must be broken down and students will be given time to discuss which reaction will be involved as well as the products of this reaction. Time is taken to describe how the hydrolysis of ATP can be coupled to energy-requiring reactions within cells and the examples of skeletal muscle contraction are used as this is covered in greater detail in topic 7. The final part of the lesson considers how ATP is formed when ADP is phosphorylated and students will learn that this occurs in the mitochondria and chloroplast during aerobic respiration and photosynthesis respectively, so that it ties in with the upcoming lessons in topic 5 and 7.
This lesson describes the effects of pH on the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the second lesson in a series of 4 lessons which have been designed to cover the content of point 3.2 (a) of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
The lesson begins with a short discussion, where the students are challenged to identify how the stomach and the small intestine differ in terms of a particular condition and to explain why the conditions in these neighbouring digestive organs are so important. This introduces pepsin and trypsin and these protease enzymes play a key role throughout the lesson as they are good examples of how different extracellular enzymes have different optimum pH values (which are not necessarily 7.0). Moving forwards, students will discuss how the rate of an enzyme-controlled reaction will change if there are small or large changes in pH, and then time is taken to ensure that students can explain these changes with reference to tertiary structure bonds and the shape of the active site. Through the use of a quick quiz competition, the students will be reminded of the key term “buffer” and a series of questions are used to challenge their understanding of how these substances could be used in a practical investigation. They will also learn how buffers are found in blood plasma as well as in red blood cells in the form of haemoglobin. As there is a considerable proportion of marks for Maths in a Biology context questions in the A-level assessments, the remainder of the lesson challenges the students to use a given formula to calculate the pH of blood when given the hydrogen ion concentration and to calculate percentage decrease. These questions have been differentiated to give assistance to those that need the support
This lesson describes the structure of messenger and transfer RNA and compares this against the structure of DNA. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover points 1.4 (iv) and (v) as detailed in the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification which states that students should be able to describe the structure of the two forms of this nucleic acid. Students were introduced to the detailed structure of a nucleotide and DNA in the first lesson of topic 1.4, so this lesson is written to tie in with those and continuously challenge prior knowledge as well as the understanding of the current topic.
The lesson begins with the introduction of RNA as a member of the family of nucleic acids and this enables students to recognise that this polynuclotide shares a number of structural features that were previously seen in DNA. A quiz round called “A FAMILY AFFAIR” is used to challenge their knowledge of DNA to recognise those features that are also found on RNA such as the chain of linked nucleotides, pentose sugars, nitrogenous bases and phosphodiester bonds. The next task pushes them to consider features that have not been mentioned and therefore are differences as they answer a structured exam-style question on how RNA differs from DNA. Students will learn that RNA is shorter than DNA and this leads into the final part of the lesson where mRNA and tRNA are introduced and again they are challenged to use the new information explain the difference in size. Brief details of transcription and then translation are provided so that students are prepared for the upcoming lessons on protein synthesis
This fully-resourced lesson describes how carbon dioxide, light intensity and temperature limit the rate of photosynthesis. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.7 (viii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification
The lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the four previous lessons in this topic which covered the structure of the chloroplast, the light-dependent and light-independent stages and GALP as a raw material. Exam-style questions are included throughout the lesson and these require the students to explain why light intensity is important for both reactions as well as challenging them on their ability to describe how the relative concentrations of GP, GALP and RuBP would change as carbon dioxide concentration decreases. There are also links to previous topics such as enzymes when they are asked to explain why an increase in temperature above the optimum will limit the rate of photosynthesis. Step by step guides are included to support them to form some of the answers and mark schemes are always displayed so that they can quickly assess their understanding and address any misconceptions
This lesson describes how to use the magnification formula to calculate the actual sizes of specimens in a range of units. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 1.1 (e) of the CIE A-level Biology specification but can also be used as a revision tool on the content of the previous two lessons as prior knowledge checks are included along with current understanding checks.
The students are likely to have met the magnification formula at iGCSE so this lesson has been written to build on that knowledge and to support them with more difficult questions when they have to calculate actual size without directly being given the magnification. A step by step guide is used to walk the students through the methodology and useful tips are provided. The final quiz round of the competition that has run over the course of these 3 lessons will challenge them to convert between units so they are confident when challenged to present actual size in millimetres, micrometres or nanometres.
This lesson describes how monosaccharides are joined together during condensation reactions to form maltose, sucrose and lactose. The PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the third part of point 1.2 & 1.4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but also make links to the previous lesson on monosaccharides when considering the different components of these three disaccharides.
The first section of the lesson focuses on a prefix and a suffix so that the students can recognise that the names of the common disaccharides end in -ose. In line with this, a quick quiz round is used to introduce maltose, sucrose and lactose before students are challenged on their prior knowledge as they have to describe how condensation reactions and the formation of glycosidic bonds were involved in the synthesis of each one. The main task of the lesson again challenges the students to recall details of a previous lesson as they have to identify the monomers of each disaccharide when presented with the displayed formula. Time is taken to show how their knowledge of these simple sugars will be important in later topics such as digestion, translocation in the phloem and the Lac Operon in the control of gene expression. The lesson finishes with two exam-style questions where students have to demonstrate and apply their newly acquired knowledge and the mark schemes are included within the lesson PowerPoint so students can assess their understanding and address any misconceptions if they have arisen.
This lesson describes how an interaction of muscles, tendons, the skeleton and ligaments is needed for movement of the human body. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.9 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification and also includes descriptions of antagonistic muscle pairs, extensors and flexors.
At the start of the lesson, the prep room skeleton is used as the example to show that bones without muscles are bones that are unable to move (unaided). Moving forwards, the students will learn that skeletal muscles are attached to bones by bundles of collagen fibres known as tendons and as they covered the relationship between the structure and function of collagen in topic 2, a task is used that challenges their recall of these details. This will allow them to recognise that the ability of this fibrous protein to withstand tension is important for the transmission of the force from the muscle to pull on the moveable bone. A series of quick quiz competitions introduce the key terms of flexion and antagonistic and then an exam-style question challenges them to recognise the structures involved in extension at the elbow. The remainder of the lesson focuses on the role of ligaments and one final example of extension at the knee joint will demonstrate how the interaction of all of the structures met over the course of the lesson is needed for movement
This fully-resourced lesson has been written to support students to develop a clear understanding of 16 key genetic terms, including the 8 that are detailed in specification point 8.2 (i) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The 16 terms are genome, gene, chromosome, gene locus, homologous chromosomes, alleles, dominant, recessive, genotype, codominance, multiple alleles, autosomes, sex chromosomes, phenotype, homozygous and heterozygous.
As some of these terms were met at GCSE, this fully-resourced lesson has been designed to include a wide range of activities that build on this prior knowledge and provide clear explanations as to their meanings as well as numerous examples of their use in both questions and exemplary answers. The main task provides the students with an opportunity to apply their understanding by recognising a dominance hierarchy in a multiple alleles characteristic and then calculating a phenotypic ratio when given a completed genetic diagram. Other tasks include prior knowledge checks, discussion points to encourage students to consider the implementation of the genetic terms and quiz competitions to introduce new terms, maintain engagement and to act as an understanding check.
This engaging lesson describes how the structure and properties of phospholipids relate to their functions in cell membranes. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 1.2 (iv) as detailed in the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and includes regular references to the previous lesson on triglycerides to check on knowledge and understanding
The role of a phospholipid in a cell membrane provides the backbone to the whole lesson. A quick quiz round called family affair, challenges the students to use their knowledge of the structure of a triglyceride to identify the shared features in a phospholipid. This then allows the differences to be introduced, such as the presence of a phosphate group in place of the third fatty acid. Moving forwards, the students will learn that the two fatty acid tails are hydrophobic whilst the phosphate head is hydrophilic which leads into a key discussion point where the class has to consider how it is possible for the phospholipids to be arranged when both the inside and outside of a cell is an aqueous solution. The outcome of the discussion is the introduction of the bilayer which is critical for the lessons in topic 4 on the fluid mosaic model. The final part of the lesson explains how both facilitated diffusion and active transport mean that proteins are found floating in the cell membrane and this also helps to briefly prepare the students for upcoming topic 4 lessons.
This revision resource contains a concise yet informative PowerPoint (25 slides) and a worksheet that will enable the students to assess their understanding of the topic B4 (Enzymes) content of the CIE IGCSE Combined Science specification for examination in June and November 2020 and 2021. The range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions have been designed to cover as much content as possible but the following topics have received particular attention:
Enzymes as biological catalysts that speed up reactions
The binding of a substrate with the active site of an enzyme
The effect of a changing pH on the activity of an enzyme
The effect of a changing temperature on the activity of an enzyme
Denaturation
This lesson focuses on the nature of the genetic code in terms of being near universal, non-overlapping and degenerate and specifically focuses on this latter term to explain how a mutation may not result in a change to the sequence of amino acids. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 2.1.3 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and there are clear links to gene mutations which students will meet in module 6.
The lesson begins by introducing the terms near universal and non-overlapping in addition to degenerate. A quick quiz competition is used to generate the number 20 so that the students can learn that there are 20 proteinogenic amino acids in the genetic code. This leads into a challenge, where they have to use their prior knowledge of DNA to calculate the number of different DNA triplets (64) and the mismatch in number is then discussed and related back to the lesson topic. Moving forwards, base substitutions and base deletions are briefly introduced so that they can see how although one substitution can change the primary structure, another will change the codon but not the encoded amino acid. The lesson concludes with a brief look at the non-overlapping nature of the code so that the impact of a base deletion (or insertion) can be understood when covered in greater detail in module 6.
This lesson has been designed to cover the content set out in specification point 7.1 (The endocrine system) of topic 7 of the Edexcel 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 Edexcel courses but it is suitable for younger students who are looking at the different organ systems
This engaging lesson acts as an introduction to carbohydrates and describes the differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet have been designed to cover the first part of points 1.12 & 1.13 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and make clear links to the upcoming lessons in this sub-topic on these three main groups of carbohydrates.
The lesson begins with a made-up round of the quiz show POINTLESS, where students have to try to identify four answers to do with carbohydrates. In doing so, they will learn or recall that these molecules are made from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, that they are a source of energy which can sometimes be rightly or wrongly associated with obesity and that the names of the three main groups is derived from the Greek word sakkharon. A number of quick quiz rounds have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and the first round allows the students to meet some of common monosaccharides. Moving forwards, students will learn that a disaccharide is formed when two of these monomers are joined together and they are then challenged on their knowledge of condensation reactions which were originally encountered during the lesson on water. Students will understand how multiple reactions and multiple glycosidic bonds will result in the formation of a polysaccharide and glycogen and starch are introduced as well as amylose and amylopectin as components of this latter polymer. The final part of the lesson considers how hydrolysis reactions allow polysaccharides and disaccharides to be broken back down into monosaccharides.
This fully-resourced lesson describes how triglycerides are formed during condensation reactions and compares saturated and unsaturated lipids. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover the points 1.14 (i) & (ii) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and links are also made to related future topics such as the importance of the myelin sheath for the conduction of an electrical impulse.
The lesson begins with a focus on the basic structure and roles of lipids, including the elements that are found in this biological molecule and some of the places in living organisms where they are found. Moving forwards, the students are challenged to recall the structure of the carbohydrates from topics 1.12 & 1.13 so that the structure of a triglyceride can be introduced. Students will learn that this macromolecule is formed from one glycerol molecule and three fatty acids and have to use their understanding of condensation reactions to draw the final structure. Time is taken to look at the difference in structure and properties of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and students will be able to identify one from the other when presented with a molecular formula. The final part of the lesson explores how the various properties of a triglyceride mean that it has numerous roles in organisms including that of an energy store and source and as an insulator of heat and electricity.
This concise lesson describes the basic structure of an amino acid and introduces them as the monomers of polypeptides. The engaging PowerPoint has been designed to cover point 2.9 (i) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and has been specifically written to lead into the next lesson on dipeptides and polypeptides.
The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check, where the students have to use the 1st letters of 4 answers to uncover a key term. This 4-letter key term is gene and the lesson begins with this word because it is important for students to understand that these sequences of bases on DNA determine the specific sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide as detailed in specification point 2.8. Moving forwards, the students are given discussion time to work out that there are 64 different DNA triplets and will learn that these encode for the 20 amino acids that are common to all organisms. The main task of the lesson is an observational one, where students are given time to study the displayed formula of 4 amino acids. They are not allowed to draw anything during this time but will be challenged with 3 multiple choice questions at the end. This task has been designed to allow the students to visualise how the 20 amino acids share common features in an amine and an acid group. A quick quiz round introduces the R group and time is taken to explain how the structure of this side chain is the only structural difference, before cysteine is considered in greater detail due to the presence of sulfur atoms. Students are briefly introduced to disulfide bridges so they will recognise how particular bonds form between the R groups in the tertiary structure which is covered in the next lesson. The lesson concludes with one more quiz round called LINK TO THE FUTURE where the students will see the roles played by amino acids in the later part of the course such as translation and dipeptides.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the relationship between the molecular structure of a triglyceride and its functions in living organisms. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover specification point 2.2 (f) of the CIE International A-level Biology course and links are also made to related future topics such as the importance of the myelin sheath for the conduction of an electrical impulse and the use of lipids as a respiratory substrate.
The lesson begins with a focus on the basic structure and roles of lipids, including the elements that are found in this biological molecule and some of the places in living organisms where they are found. Moving forwards, the students are challenged to recall the structure of the carbohydrates from earlier in topic 2 so that the structure of a triglyceride can be introduced. Students will learn that this macromolecule is formed from one glycerol molecule and three fatty acids and have to use their understanding of condensation reactions to draw the final structure. Time is taken to look at the difference in structure and properties of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and students will be able to identify one from the other when presented with a molecular formula. The final part of the lesson explores how the various properties of a triglyceride mean that it has numerous roles in organisms including that of an energy store and source and as an insulator of heat and electricity.
