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.
All 7 of the lessons in this bundle are fully-resourced and have been designed to cover the content as detailed in topic 5.2 (Respiration) of the AQA A-Level Biology specification. The specification points that are covered within these lessons include:
Respiration produces ATP
Glycolysis as the first stage of aerobic and anaerobic respiration
The phosphorylation of glucose and the production and oxidation of triose phosphate
The production of lactate or ethanol in anaerobic conditions
The Link reaction
The oxidation-reduction reactions of the Krebs cycle
The synthesis of ATP by oxidative phosphorylation
The chemiosmotic theory
Lipids and proteins as respiratory substrates
The lessons have been written to include a wide range of activities and numerous understanding and prior knowledge checks so students can assess their progress against the current topic as well as be challenged to make links to other sub-topics within this topic and earlier topics
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons, download the anaerobic respiration and oxidative phosphorylation lessons as these have been uploaded for free
A thought-provoking lesson presentation (34 slides) that looks at each of the stages in the development of drugs and considers the potential issues that arise at each of the stages.
The lesson begins by ensuring that the students know the scientific definition of a drug and then they will be told how much is spent by the NHS alone each year on medicinal drugs so they can recognise the importance of this topic. Moving forwards, each stage in the development is considered in the appropriate detail. Students are challenged to consider some stages from both a scientific angle and a business angle so they can understand why certain animals are chosen for the testing. Key terms such as placebo and double blind trial are introduced and discussion time is written into the lesson so that insightful questions can be posed by all. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding.
This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with KS3 students who might be carrying out research or a project on the topic of drugs.
This fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover point 8.4 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification that states that students should know the structures and function of synapses in nerve impulse transmission. The majority of the lesson uses the cholinergic synapse as the example but other neurotransmitters are considered to provide the students with a wider view of this topic and to make links to specification point 8.15
The lesson begins by using a version of the WALL (as shown in the cover image) which asks the students to group 12 words into three groups of 4. Not only will this challenge their prior knowledge from topics earlier in this module but it will also lead to the discovery of four of the structures that are found in a synapse. Moving forwards, students are introduced to aectylcholine as the neurotransmitter involved at cholinergic synapses and they will start to add labels to the structures found in the pre-synaptic bulb. Time is taken to focus on certain structures such as the voltage gated channels as these types of channel were met previously when looking at the depolarisation of a neurone. There is plenty of challenge and discovery as students are pushed to explain why organelles like mitochondria would be found in large numbers in the bulb. With this process being a cascade of events, a bullet point format is used to ensure that the key content is taken in by the students and again key points like exocytosis and the action of acetylcholinesterase are discussed further. The final part of the lesson challenges the application aspect of the specification as students are introduced to unfamiliar situations in terms of synapses with new drugs like MDMA and are asked to work out and explain how these affect the nervous transmission.
Understanding checks and prior knowledge checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can not only assess their progress against the current topic but also see whether they can make links to earlier topics.
This fully-resourced lesson describes the key steps in the process of DNA replication, including the role of DNA polymerase. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.11 (i) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and this lesson also explains why this replication is known as semi-conservative in order to prepare the students for the following lesson on Meselson and Stahl’s experiment.
The main focus of this lesson is the role of DNA polymerase in the formation of the growing nucleotide strands but the students will also learn that the hydrogen bonds between nucleotide bases are broken by DNA helicase and that DNA ligase joins the nucleic acid fragments. Time is taken to explain key details, such as the assembly of strands in the 5’-to-3’ direction, so that the continuous manner in which the leading strand is synthesised can be compared against that of the lagging strand. The students are constantly challenged to make links to previous topics such as DNA structure and hydrolysis reactions through a range of exam questions and answers are displayed so that any misconceptions are quickly addressed. The main task of the lesson asks the students to use the information provided in the lesson to order the sequence of events in DNA replication before discussing how the presence of a conserved strand and a newly built strand in each new DNA molecule shows that it is semi-conservative.
This lesson describes how the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to amplify DNA. The concise PowerPoint has been primarily designed to cover the detail of specification point 6.4 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification but also makes continual links to the previous lesson on DNA profiling where the PCR is important as well as DNA structure.
A quick quiz competition is used to introduce the PCR abbreviation before students are encouraged to discuss with the aim of identifying the enzyme involved and to recall the action of this enzyme as covered in DNA replication in topic 2. Students will learn that this reaction involves cyclical heating and cooling to a range of temperatures so another quiz is used to introduce these values. The main part of the lesson describes the main steps in the PCR and the reasons for each temperature is discussed and explained. Links are constantly made to related topics such as DNA structure are students are challenged on their understanding through exam-style questions. Time is taken to examine the key points in detail, such as the fact that the DNA polymerase used is taken from an extremophile so that it is not denatured at the high temperature.
This lesson has been designed to cover the content as detailed in points 2.15, 2.16 and 2.17 (The eye as a sensory receptor and the correction of eye defects) of the Edexcel GCSE Biology specification. Consisting of a detailed and engaging PowerPoint (54 slides) and accompanying worksheets, the range of activities will motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in detail. Students will learn how the structures of the eye enable it to function as a sensory receptor, with a particular focus on the role of the cornea, lens, iris and the rod and cone cells in the retina. In addition, students will understand how eye defects such as short-sightedness and cataracts can cause problems for vision and can be corrected. Progress checks are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding of the content and any misconceptions can be addressed whilst quiz competitions are used to introduce new terms in a fun and memorable way.
This lesson has been written for GCSE-aged students who are studying the Edexcel GCSE Biology specification but can be used with younger students who have a real interest in this sensory receptor as well as older students who need to know the key details for their A level course.
This fully-resourced lesson looks at the details of glycolysis as the first stage of aerobic and anaerobic respiration and explains how the sequence of reactions results in glucose being converted to pyruvate. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying differentiated resources have been designed to cover the second part of point 5.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should know glycolysis as the phosphorylation of glucose and the production and subsequent oxidation of triose phosphate.
The lesson begins with the introduction of the name of the stage and then explains how the phosphorylation of the hexoses and the production of the ATP, coenzymes and pyruvate are the stages that need to be known for this specification. Time is taken to go through each of these stages and key points such as the use of ATP in phosphorylation are explained so that students can understand how this affects the net yield. A quick quiz competition is used to introduce NAD and the students will learn that the reduction of this coenzyme, which is followed by the transport of the protons and electrons to the cristae for the electron transport chain is critical for the overall production of ATP. Understanding checks, in a range of forms, are included throughout the lesson so that students can assess their progress and any misconceptions are immediately addressed.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lessons on anaerobic respiration and the different stages of aerobic respiration (the Link reaction, Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation)
An engaging lesson presentation (57 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within Topic 9 (Ecosystems and material cycles) of the EDEXCEL GCSE Combined Science specification
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Levels of organisation
Communities
Interdependence in a community
Determining the number of organisms in a given area
Recycling materials
Deforestation
Global warming
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Number CRAZY" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
This lesson has been written to cover the part of specification point 6.4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe how water and glucose are reabsorbed in the proximal convoluted tubule. It has specifically been designed to build on the knowledge gained in the previous lessons on the structure of the nephron and ultrafiltration.
The lesson begins by challenging the students to recall the substances that are found in the glomerular filtrate so that each of them can be considered over the course of the rest of the lesson. Moving forwards, the first of the numerous discussion points which are included in the lesson is used to get students to predict the component of the filtrate which won’t be found in the urine when they are presented with pie charts from each of these situations. Upon learning that glucose is 100% reabsorbed, along with most of the ions and some of the water, the rest of the lesson focuses on describing the relationship between the structure of the PCT and the function of selective reabsorption. Again, this section begins by encouraging the students to discuss and to predict which structures they would expect to find in a section of the kidney if the function is to reabsorb. They are given the chance to see the structure (as shown in the cover image) before each feature is broken down to explain its importance. Time is taken to look at the role of the cotransporter proteins to explain how this allows glucose, along with sodium ions, to be reabsorbed from the lumen of the PCT into the epithelial cells. The final part of the lesson focuses on urea and how the concentration of this substance increases along the tubule as a result of the reabsorption of some of the water.
This lesson has been designed for students studying on the AQA-A level Biology course and ties in nicely with the other lessons from 6.4.3 as well as the other uploaded lessons from topic 6
This lesson describes the meaning of ecological terms and explains how biotic and abiotic factors control the distribution of organisms in a habitat. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 5.11, 5.12 and 5.13 in unit 4 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology (Salters Nuffield) specification and therefore cover the biological definitions of ecosystem, community, population and habitat.
A quiz round called REVERSE Biology Bingo runs throughout the lesson and challenges students to recognise the following key terms from descriptions called out by the bingo caller:
community
ecosystem
abiotic factor
photosynthesis
respiratory substrate
biomass
calorimetry
distribution
niche
The ultimate aim of this quiz format is to support the students to understand that any sugars produced by photosynthesis that are not used as respiratory substrates are used to form biological molecules that form the biomass of a plant and that this can be estimated using calorimetry. Links are made to photosynthesis and net primary productivity as these will be met later in topic 5 as well as challenging their prior knowledge of adaptations, heterozygosity index classification and biological molecules. The final part of the lesson uses an exam-style question to get the students to recognise that biotic and abiotic factors control the distribution of organisms in a habitat and to recall the concept of niche.
This lesson describes the characteristic features of the three domains and explains why viruses are not included in this classification. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover points 18.2 (b) & 18.2 (d) of the CIE A-level Biology specification but also contains tasks that challenge the students on their knowledge of taxonomic hierarchy from this topic and the features of virus from topic 1.
The lesson begins with an introduction of the microbiologist Carl Woese and goes on to describe how he is most famous for his definition of the Archaea as a new domain of life. Students were introduced to domains and the other classification taxa in the last lesson, so their recall of this knowledge is continually tested and built upon as details are added. Students will discover the key differences between Archaea and Bacteria that led to the splitting of the prokaryotae kingdom and the addition of this higher classification rank and will understand that it wasn’t until 13 years after the discovery that it was adopted. Moving forwards, the rest of the lesson explains why viruses are not included in this classification and outlines how they are classified, according to the ICTV, through the type of nucleic acid they contain and whether this is single-stranded or double-stranded
This bundle contains 4 complete lessons, with each one fully-resourced and consisting of a variety of tasks. These tasks include exam-based questions, understanding and prior knowledge checks and quiz rounds which will engage the students whilst covering the content of topic 7.4 in detail.
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, you could download the conservation of habitats lesson as this has been uploaded for free
As the first topic to be taught at the start at the second year of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) course, topic 5 is very important and the content includes the key reaction of photosynthesis. All 10 lessons included in this bundle are highly detailed and have been filled with a wide variety of tasks which will engage and motivate the students whilst covering the following specification points:
Understand the terms ecosystem, community, population and habitat
The numbers and distribution of organisms in a habitat are controlled by biotic and abiotic factors
The concept of niche
The stages of succession from colonisation to climax community
The overall reaction of photosynthesis
The phosphorylation of ADP and the hydrolysis of ATP
The light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis
The light-independent reactions of photosynthesis
The products of the Calvin cycle
The structure of the chloroplasts and the role of this organelle in photosynthesis
Be able to calculate net primary productivity
Know the relationship between NPP, GPP and R
The effect of temperature on the rate of enzyme activity
Isolation reduces gene flow and leads to allopatric and sympatric speciation
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the light-independent reactions and isolation and speciation lessons as these have been uploaded for free
All 4 of the lessons that are included in this bundle are fully-resourced and contain a wide range of activities that will motivate and engage the students whilst covering the content as detailed in topic 4 of the CIE A-level Biology specification (Cell membranes and transport).
Exam-style questions which check on current and prior understanding, differentiated tasks, discussion points and quick quiz competitions cover the following specification points:
The fluid mosaic model of membrane structure
The roles of phospholipids, cholesterol, glycoproteins and proteins
The roles of channel and carrier proteins
Simple diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
Active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis
Osmosis and the effect of the movement of water on animal and plant cells
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, download the active transport lesson as this has been uploaded for free
This fully-resourced lesson describes how the eukaryotic cells of complex multicellular organisms become specialised for specific functions. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the 3rd part of point 2.1.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and also describes how these specialised cells are organised into tissues, organs and organ systems.
The start of the lesson focuses on the difference in the SA/V ratio of an amoeba and a human in order to begin to explain why the process of differentiation is critical for multicellular organisms. Students will discover that a zygote is a stem cell which can express all of the genes in its genome and divide by mitosis. Time is then taken to introduce gene expression as this will need to be understood in the later topics of the course. Moving forwards, the lesson uses the process of haematopoiesis from haematopoietic stem cells to demonstrate how the red blood cell and neutrophil differ significantly in structure despite arising from the same cell along the same cell lineage. A series of exam-style questions will not only challenge their knowledge of structure but also their ability to apply this knowledge to unfamiliar situations. These differences in cell structure is further exemplified by the epithelial cells of the respiratory tract and students will understand why the shape and arrangement of these cells differ in the trachea and alveoli in line with function. The link between specialised cells and tissues is made at this point of the lesson with these examples of epithelium and students will also see how tissues are grouped into organs and then into organ systems.
The remainder of the lesson focuses on specialised plant cells and the differing shapes and features of the palisade and spongy mesophyll cells and the guard cells are covered at length and in detail. Step by step guides will support the students so that they can recognise the importance of the structures and links are made to upcoming topics such as diffusion, active transport and osmosis so that students are prepared for these when covered in the future.
This lesson has been written to continually tie in with the previous two lessons in this specification point which are uploaded under the titles of the structure of eukaryotic animal and plant cells.
This lesson bundle contains 4 lessons which are highly detailed and engaging. Hours of planning has gone into these lessons to ensure that the wide range of activities cover the following specification points in AS unit 1, topic 2 (Cell structure and organisation) of the WJEC A-level Biology specification:
The structure and function of the organelles found in animal and plant eukaryotic cells
The structure of prokaryotic cells and viruses
The levels of organisation, including the aggregation of cells into tissues, tissues into organs, and organs into organ systems
As well as covering the detailed A-level content, the guided discussion points, differentiated tasks and quiz competitions will engage and motivate the students.
This bundle of 9 lesson PowerPoints and accompanying resources contain a wide variety of tasks which will engage and motivate the students whilst covering the details of topic 2.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. Cells and their structure are linked to all of the other 7 topics in this course so a clear understanding is critical to a student’s success.
The tasks which include exam-style questions (with displayed mark schemes), discussion points and quiz competitions will cover the following parts of topic 2.1:
The structure and function of the cell-surface membrane, nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondria, chloroplasts, Golgi apparatus, lysosomes, ribosomes, RER and SER, cell wall and cell vacuole
The specialised cells of complex, multicellular organisms
The structures of a typical prokaryotic cell
The differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
The structure of viruses
The principles and limitations of optical microscopes, transmission electron microscopes and scanning electron microscopes
Measuring the size of an object using an optical microscope
Using the magnification formula
The principles of cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, then download the eukaryotic animal cells, viruses and microscopes lessons as these have been uploaded for free
This lesson introduces the key inorganic ions that are involved in biological processes and includes cations and anions. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 2.1.2 § of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also makes links to topics in upcoming modules such as respiration, photosynthesis and neuronal communication.
The roles of the following ions are covered in this lesson:
phosphate
nitrate
chloride
hydroxide
hydrogencarbonate
hydrogen
ammonium
sodium
potassium
calcium
Extra time is taken during the lesson to describe how these ions are involved in the transport of carbon dioxide, the conduction of nervous impulses and blood clotting as well as other processes and a number of quiz competitions have been included to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way
The biological molecules topic is incredibly important, not just because it is found at the start of the course, but also because of its detailed content which must be well understood to promote success with the other 9 Edexcel A-level Biology B topics. Many hours of intricate planning has gone into the design of all of the 19 lessons that are included in this bundle to ensure that the content is covered in detail, understanding is constantly checked and misconceptions addressed and that engagement is high. This is achieved through the wide variety of tasks in the PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets which include exam-style questions with clear answers, discussion points, differentiated tasks and quick quiz competitions.
The following specification points are covered by the lessons within this bundle:
The differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides
The structure of glucose and ribose
The formation of disaccharides and polysaccharides from monosaccharides
The structure of starch, glycogen and cellulose
The synthesis of a triglyceride
The differences between saturated and unsaturated lipids
The relationship between the structure of lipids and their roles
The structure and properties of phospholipids
The structure of an amino acid
The formation of polypeptides and proteins
The role of ionic, hydrogen and disulphide bonding in proteins
The levels of protein structure
The structure of collagen and haemoglobin
The structure of DNA
The semi-conservative replication of DNA
A gene is a sequence of bases on DNA that codes for an amino acid sequence
The structure of mRNA
The structure of tRNA
The process of transcription
The process of translation
Base deletions, insertions and substitutions as gene mutations
The effect of point mutations on amino acid sequences
The structure of enzymes as globular proteins
The concept of specificity and the induced-fit hypothesis
Enzymes are catalysts that reduce activation energy
Understand how temperature affects enzyme activity
Enzymes catalyse a wide range of intracellular reactions as well as extracellular ones
The role of inorganic ions in plants
The importance of water for living organisms
Due to the detail included in these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of allocated A-level teaching time to complete.
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons then download the monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, glucose and ribose, triglycerides, structure of DNA and transcription lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
All of the 5 lessons in this bundle have been designed to include a range of activities that motivate, engage and ultimately challenge the students on their knowledge of the specification content that can be assessed on PAPER 1 of the Edexcel GCSE Combined Science course. The topics covered in this bundle are:
TOPIC 1: Key concepts in Biology
TOPIC 2: Cells and control
TOPIC 3: Genetics
TOPIC 4: Natural selection and genetic modification
TOPIC 5: Health, disease and the development of medicines
Helpful hints are provided throughout the lessons to support the students with exam technique and in structuring their answers and the mathematical elements of the course are constantly challenged. These lessons are suitable for use mid-topic to focus on a specific area, at the end of a topic or in the lead up to mocks or the actual PAPER 1 exam.
