This fully-resourced lesson looks at the structures of the sensory, relay and motor neurones and explains how the presence of a myelin sheath increases the speed of conduction of an impulse. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.1 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification which states that students should be able to apply their understanding of the structures and functions of sensory, relay and motor neurones as well as the differences between myelinated and unmyelinated neurones. This lesson also covers 8.2 (i) as the students will be able to see how conduction along a motor neurone stimulates effectors to respond to a stimulus. The PowerPoint has been designed to contain a wide range of activities that are interspersed between understanding and prior knowledge checks that allow the students to assess their progress on the current topics as well as challenge their ability to make links to topics from earlier in the modules. Quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE are used to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way. The students will be able to compare these neurones based on their function but also distinguish between them based on their structural features. Time is taken to look at the importance of the myelin sheath for the sensory and motor neurones. Students will be introduced to the need for the entry of ions to cause depolarisation and will learn that this is only possible at the nodes of Ranvier when there is a myelin sheath. Key terminology such as saltatory conduction is introduced and explained. The final task involves a comparison between the three neurones to check that the students have understood the structures and functions of the neurones. Throughout the lesson, links are made to related topics such the organisation of the nervous system and students will be given additional knowledge such as the differences between somatic and autonomic motor neurones.

This lesson describes the importance of homeostasis using negative feedback control and also describes the meaning of positive feedback. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to the content with point 9.1 of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and explains how this feedback control maintains systems within narrow limits but has also been planned to provide important details for upcoming topics such as osmoregulation, thermoregulation and the depolarisation of a neurone. The normal ranges for blood glucose concentration, blood pH and body temperature are introduced at the start of the lesson to allow students to recognise that these aspects have to be maintained within narrow limits. A series of exam-style questions then challenge their recall of knowledge from topics 1-8 to explain why it’s important that each of these aspects is maintained within these limits. The students were introduced to homeostasis at GCSE, so this process is revisited and discussed, to ensure that students are able to recall that this is the maintenance of a state of dynamic equilibrium. A quick quiz competition is used to reveal negative feedback as a key term and students will learn how this form of control reverses the original change and biological examples are used to emphasise the importance of this system for restoring levels to the limits (and the optimum). The remainder of the lesson explains how positive feedback differs from negative feedback as it increases the original change and the role of oxytocin in birth and the movement of sodium ions into a neurone are used to exemplify the action of this control system.

This lesson has been designed to cover the content of specification point 4.1.1.1 (Eukaryotes and prokaryotes) of the AQA GCSE Biology and Combined Science course. The understanding of this topic is fundamental to a lot of the later topics on the course so time has been taken to ensure that the key details are covered whilst engagement levels are kept high through the range of activities. The lesson begins by asking students to copy a diagram of a bacterial cell from memory before challenging them to recognise anything that is missing so they can discover the lack of the nucleus. Students are introduced to the idea of a prokaryotic cell before important questions are answered such as the fact that the cell still has DNA despite the absence of the nucleus. Key terms such as plasmid are introduced to the students through the use of quiz competitions in an effort to increase the likelihood of these words being remembered. Moving forwards, eukaryotic cells are considered and the common features of both of the cells are discussed and recalled. Finally, students are asked to compare both types of cells in terms of their size before being challenged on a range of mathematical skills in which they have to convert between the units of centimetres, millimetres, micrometres and nanometres.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of adrenaline in the fight or flight response. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.14 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification At the start of the lesson, the students have to use the knowledge acquired in the most recent lessons on the function of the heart to reveal the key term medulla and this leads into the description of the structure of the adrenal glands in terms of this inner region. The main part of the lesson focuses on the range of physiological responses of the organs to the release of adrenaline. Beginning with glycogenolysis, the need for adrenaline to bind to adrenergic receptors is described, including the activation of cyclic AMP. A quiz competition is used to introduce other responses including lipolysis, vasodilation, bronchodilation and an increase in stroke volume. Links to previous topics are made throughout the lesson and students are challenged on their knowledge of heart structure, triglycerides and polysaccharides.

This is a fully-resourced lesson which uses exam-style questions, quiz competitions, quick tasks and discussion points to challenge students on their understanding of topics B5 - B7, that will assessed on PAPER 2. It has been specifically designed for students on the AQA GCSE Combined Science course who will be taking the FOUNDATION TIER examinations but is also suitable for students taking the higher tier who need to ensure that the fundamentals are known and understood. The lesson has been written to take place at a health clinics day at the local hospital so that the following sub-topics could be covered: Control of blood glucose concentration Diabetes type I and II The endocrine system The menstrual cycle Roles of the female and male reproductive hormones Sexual and asexual reproduction Meiosis and gametes Sex determination Contraception Evolution of antibiotic-resistant bacteria Genetic terminology Inheritance of genetic disorders The central nervous system A reflex arc Classification systems and the binomial naming system Structural adaptations Carbon cycle and climate change In order to maintain challenge whilst ensuring that all abilities can access the questions, the majority of the tasks have been differentiated and students can ask for extra support when they are unable to begin a question. Step-by-step guides have also been written into the lesson to walk students through some of the more difficult concepts such as genetic diagrams and interpreting the results and evolution by natural selection. Due to the extensiveness of this revision lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 3 teaching hours to complete the tasks and therefore this can be used at different points throughout the course as well as acting as a final revision before the PAPER 2 exam.

This lesson describes the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis as reduction of carbon dioxide using the products of the light-dependent reactions. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.8 (i) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters-Nuffield) specification and therefore describes carbon fixation in the Calvin cycle and the roles of GP, GALP, RuBP and RUBISCO). The lesson begins with an existing knowledge check where the students are challenged to recall the names of structures, substances and reactions from the light-dependent stage in order to reveal the abbreviations of the main 3 substances in the light-independent stage. This immediately introduces RuBP, GP and GALP and students are then shown how these substances fit into the cycle. The main section of the lesson focuses on the three phases of the Calvin cycle and time is taken to explore the key details of each phase and includes: The role of RUBISCO in carbon fixation The role of the products of the light-dependent stage, ATP and reduced NADP, in the reduction of GP to GALP The use of the majority of the GALP in the regeneration of RuBP A step-by-step guide, with selected questions for the class to consider together, is used to show how 6 turns of the cycle are needed to form the GALP that will then be used to synthesise 1 molecule of glucose. A series of exam-style questions are included at appropriate points of the lesson and this will introduce limiting factors as well as testing their ability to answer questions about this stage when presented with an unfamiliar scientific investigation. The mark schemes are included in the PowerPoint so students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions are immediately addressed. This lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the previous lessons on the structure of a chloroplast and the light-dependent reactions as well as the upcoming lesson on the products of the light-independent reactions.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the roles of antigens, antibodies, B cells and T cells in the body’s immune response. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover specification points 6.8 & 6.9 as detailed in the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification and includes descriptions of the involvement of plasma (effector) cells and macrophages as antigen-presenting cells. In the previous lesson on the non-specific responses, the students were introduced to macrophages and dendritic cells as antigen-presenting cells and the start of this lesson challenges their recall and understanding of this process. Time is taken to discuss how the contact between these cells and lymphocytes is critical for the initiation of the body’s (specific) immune response. Moving forwards, a quick quiz competition is used to introduce the names of the different T cells that result from differentiation. Their specific roles are described including an emphasis on the importance of the release of cytokines in cell signalling to activate other immune system cells. T memory cells are also introduced so that students can understand their role in immunological memory and active immunity as described in an upcoming lesson covering point 6.12. The next part of the lesson focuses on the B cells and describes how clonal selection and clonal expansion results in the formation of memory B cells and effector cells. A series of understanding and application questions are then used to introduce the structure of antibodies and to explain how the complementary shape of the variable region allows the antigen-antibody complex to be formed. The lesson concludes by emphasising that the pathogen will be overcome as a result of the combination of the actions of phagocytes, T killer cells and the antibodies released by the effector cells.

This lesson describes the principles of homeostasis and the differences between negative feedback and positive feedback. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 5.1.1 [c] of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and explains how this feedback control maintains systems within narrow limits but has also been planned to provide important details for upcoming topics such as osmoregulation, thermoregulation and the depolarisation of a neurone. The normal ranges for blood glucose concentration, blood pH and body temperature are introduced at the start of the lesson to allow students to recognise that these aspects have to be maintained within narrow limits. A series of exam-style questions then challenge their recall of knowledge from topics 1-8 to explain why it’s important that each of these aspects is maintained within these limits. The students were introduced to homeostasis at GCSE, so this process is revisited and discussed, to ensure that students are able to recall that this is the maintenance of a state of dynamic equilibrium. A quick quiz competition is used to reveal negative feedback as a key term and students will learn how this form of control reverses the original change and biological examples are used to emphasise the importance of this system for restoring levels to the limits (and the optimum). The remainder of the lesson explains how positive feedback differs from negative feedback as it increases the original change and the role of oxytocin in birth and the movement of sodium ions into a neurone are used to exemplify the action of this control system.

This fully-resourced lesson describes how genes can be switched on and off by DNA transcription factors, including hormones. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 7.16 as detailed in the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification but also links to topic 3 when the lac operon was described in relation to differential gene expression. This is one of the more difficult concepts in this A-level course and therefore key points are reiterated throughout this lesson to increase the likelihood of student understanding and to support them when trying to make links to actual biological examples in living organisms. There is a clear connection to transcription and translation as covered in topic 2, so the lesson begins by reminding students that in addition to the structural gene in a transcription unit, there is the promotor region where RNA polymerase binds. Students are introduced to the idea of transcription factors and will understand how these molecules can activate or repress transcription by enabling or preventing the binding of the enzyme. At this point, students are challenged on their current understanding with a series of questions about DELLA proteins so they can see how these molecules prevent the binding of RNA polymerase. Their remainder of the lesson looks at the ER receptor and students will learn that this factor is normally inactive due to an inhibitor being attached. This will then introduce oestrogen as the hormone which binds to the receptor, causing the inhibitor to be released and activating the factor. The main task then challenges them to order statements containing the detailed events that follow the binding of oestrogen. The lesson in topic 3 on gene expression which describes the lac operon has also been uploaded for free.

This lesson describes the non-specific responses of the body to infection which include inflammation, lysozyme action, interferon and phagocytosis. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover the content of point 6.8 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but key details such as antigen-presentation are also introduced to prepare students for upcoming lessons on the immune response (6.9 & 6.10). At the start of the lesson, the students are challenged to recall that cytosis is a suffix associated with transport mechanisms and this introduces phagocytosis as a form of endocytosis which takes in pathogens and foreign particles. This emphasis on key terminology runs throughout the course of the lesson and students are encouraged to consider how the start or end of a word can be used to determine meaning. The process of phagocytosis is then split into 5 key steps and time is taken to discuss the role of opsonins as well as the fusion of lysosomes and the release of lysozymes. A series of application questions are used to challenge the students on their ability to make links to related topics including an understanding of how the hydrolysis of the peptidoglycan wall of a bacteria results in lysis. Students will be able to distinguish between neutrophils and monocytes from a diagram and at this point, the role of macrophages and dendritic cells as antigen-presenting cells is described so that it can be used in the next lesson. The importance of cell signalling for an effective immune response is discussed and the rest of the lesson focuses on the release of two chemicals - interferons and histamine. During the interferon section, references are made to a previous lesson on HIV structure and action so students can understand how the release of these signalling proteins helps neighbouring cells to heighten their anti-viral defences. A step by step guide is used to describe the release of histamine in the inflammatory response and the final task challenges students to use this support to form a detailed answer regarding the steps in inflammation.

This lesson describes the detailed structure of a skeletal muscle fibre and the structural and physiological differences between fast and slow twitch fibres. The engaging PowerPoint and acccompanying resources have been designed to cover points 7.10 (i) & (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification. The start of the lesson uses an identification key to emphasise that skeletal muscle differs from cardiac and smooth muscle due to its voluntary nature. It is important that key terminology is recognised so once myology has been revealed as the study of muscles, key structural terms like myofibril, myofilament and myosin can be introduced. Moving forwards, students will be shown the striated appearance of this muscle so they can recognise that some areas appear dark where both myofilaments are found and others as light as they only contain actin or myosin. A quiz competition is used to introduce the A band, I band and H zone and students then have to use the information given to label a diagram of the myofibril. This part of the lesson has been specifically planned to prepare the students for the upcoming lesson which describes the contraction of skeletal muscles by the sliding filament mechanism The rest of the lesson focuses on the structural and physiological differences between fast and slow twitch fibres and the following characteristics are covered: Reliance on the aerobic or anaerobic pathways to generate ATP Resistance to fatigue mitochondrial density capillary density myoglobin content (and colour) fibre diameter phosphocreatine content glycogen content A wide variety of tasks are used to cover this content and include knowledge recall and application of knowledge exam-style questions with fully-displayed mark schemes as well as quick quiz competitions to maintain motivation and engagement.

This fully-resourced lesson describes how the cells of multicellular organisms are specialised for particular functions and organised into tissues, organs and organ systems. The detailed and engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 2.1.6 (h, i, j and k) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and also describes how stem cells differentiate, including the production of erythrocytes (red blood cells) and neutrophils. 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 the vascular tissues so that students are prepared for these when covered in the future.

This concise lesson has been written to cover specification point 5.1.1 (d) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to apply an understanding of the behavioural responses in temperature control in ectotherms. The main aim when designing the lesson was to support students in making sensible and accurate decisions when challenged to explain why these types of organisms have chosen to carry out a particular response. A wide range of animals are used so students are engaged in the content matter and are prepared for the unfamiliar situations that they will encounter in the final exam. Time is also taken to compare ectotherms against endotherms so that students can recognise the advantages and disadvantages of ectothermy. This lesson has been written for A-level students studying on the OCR A-level Biology A course. Lessons on temperature control in endotherms and the principles of homeostasis and cell signalling, which are also in module 5.1.1, are also available so please download those too as they will allow students to make connections between one lesson, the previous and the next.

This detailed lesson describes how urea is formed in the liver by deamination and then removed from the bloodstream by ultrafiltration at the kidney. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 9.9 (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The first part of the lesson describes how deamination and the ornithine cycle forms urea. Although the students are not required to know the details of the cycle, it is important that they are aware of how the product of deamination, ammonia, is converted into urea (and why). Moving forwards, the rest of the lesson has been written to allow the students to discover ultrafiltration as a particular function and to be able to explain how the mechanisms found in the glomerulus and the Bowman’s capsule control the movement of small molecules out of the blood plasma. Key terminology is used throughout and students will learn how the combination of the capillary endothelium and the podocytes creates filtration slits that allow glucose, water, urea and ions through into the Bowman’s capsule but ensure that blood cells and plasma proteins remain in the bloodstream. A number of quiz competitions are used to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way whilst understanding and prior knowledge checks allow the students to assess their understanding of the current topic and to challenge themselves to make links to earlier topics. The final task of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge by recognising substances found in a urine sample that shouldn’t be present and to explain why this would cause a problem

An engaging lesson presentation (65 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 unit B1 (Cell-level systems) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Biology specification The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Plant and animal cells Bacterial cells Light and electron microscopy DNA Transcription and translation Enzymes Photosynthesis Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Shine a LIGHT on any errors" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This lesson describes how the products of the light-independent reactions of photosynthesis are used by plants, animals and other organisms. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover point 5.4 (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification concerning the uses of GP and GALP but as the lesson makes continual references to biological molecules, it can act as a revision tool for a lot of the content of topic 1 and 2. The previous lesson described the light-independent reactions and this lesson builds on that understanding to demonstrate how the intermediates of the cycle, GP and GALP, are used. The start of the lesson challenges the students to identify two errors in a diagram of the cycle so that they can recall that most of the GALP molecules are used in the regeneration of ribulose bisphosphate. A quiz version of Pointless runs throughout the lesson and this is used to challenge the students to recall a biological molecule from its description. Once each molecule has been revealed, time is taken to go through the details of the formation and synthesis of this molecule from GALP or from GP in the case of fatty and amino acids. The following molecules are considered in detail during this lesson: glucose (and fructose and galactose) sucrose starch and cellulose glycerol and fatty acids amino acids nucleic acids A range of activities are used to challenge their prior knowledge of these molecules and mark schemes are always displayed for the exam-style questions to allow the students to assess their understanding. As detailed above, this lesson has been specifically written to tie in with the earlier lessons in this topic on the structure of the chloroplast and the light-dependent and light-independent reactions of photosynthesis

This fully-resourced lesson describes how light and electron microscopy can be used to observe cells and cell structures. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the content of points 2.1.1 (a) & (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and also describes the difference between magnification and resolution As this is likely to be one of the very first lessons that students cover in their A-level studies, it’s important to maintain motivation from the off whilst covering the detailed and important content of microscope studies. In line with this, all of the lessons in module 2.1.1 (cell structure) have an ongoing quiz competition where points can be won in rounds that introduced key terms and values. A quiz scoresheet is included within the resources so that the teacher can keep track of the scores over the 7 lessons in the module and the winning team can be revealed at the end of the last lesson. In this lesson, the quiz rounds are interspersed between a range of tasks which cover the following content: The use of the light microscope to observe cells The total magnification as a product of the power of the eyepiece and objective lens An introduction to the importance of staining The difference between magnification and resolution The use of the TEM The use of the SEM Due to the detail included in this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the content

This fully-resourced lesson describes the differences between resolution and magnification, with reference to light and electron microscopy and the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the content of point 1.1 (d) of the CIE A-level Biology specification. To promote engagement and focus throughout these 3 lessons in topic 1.1 (The microscope in cell studies), the PowerPoint includes an ongoing quiz competition and a score sheet is found within the resources to keep track of the cumulative scores. The quiz rounds found in this lesson will introduce the objective lens powers, the names of the parts of a light microscope and emphasise some of the other key terms such as resolution. The final round checks on their understanding of the different numbers that were mentioned in the lesson, namely the differing maximum magnifications and resolutions. Time is taken to explain the meaning of both of these microscopic terms so that students will understand their importance when looking at the cell structures in topic 1.2. By the end of the lesson, the students will be able to explain how a light microscope uses light to form an image and will understand how electrons transmitted through a specimen or across the surface will form an image with a TEM or a SEM respectively. As detailed above, this lesson has been written to tie in with the previous lesson on measuring cells and units as well as the next lesson on calculating actual size.

This detailed lesson explains how the process of transcription results in the production of the single-stranded nucleic acid, mRNA. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to specifically cover the third part of point 2.1.3 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but also provides important information that students can use when being introduced to splicing and gene expression in module 6. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise that most of the nuclear DNA in eukaryotes does not code for polypeptides. This allows the promoter region and terminator region to be introduced, along with the structural gene. Through the use of an engaging quiz competition, students will learn that the strand of DNA involved in transcription is known as the template strand and the other strand is the coding strand. Links to previous lessons on DNA and RNA structure are made throughout and students are continuously challenged on their prior knowledge as well as they current understanding of the lesson topic. Moving forwards, the actual process of transcription is covered in a 7 step bullet point description where the students are asked to complete each passage using the information previously provided. So that they are prepared for module 6, students will learn that the RNA strand formed at the end of transcription in eukaryotes is a primary transcript called pre-mRNA and then the details of splicing are explained. An exam-style question is used to check on their understanding before the final task of the lesson looks at the journey of mRNA to the ribosome for the next stage of translation. This lesson has been written to challenge all abilities whilst ensuring that the most important details are fully explained.

This fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover the specification point about co-dominance (and blood groups) as detailed in the supplement section of topic 17 (inheritance) of the CIE IGCSE Biology specification. As specified in this point, students will learn how this inheritance of the ABO blood group system demonstrates co-dominance (and also multiple alleles). A potentially difficult topic, time has been taken to include guidance sections where students are walked through the interpretation of the different genotypes to find out the phenotypes as well as constructing genetic diagrams and calculating blood groups from pedigree trees. There is a real focus on genetic terminology such as allele, locus, genotype and phenotype so that the understanding is deep and students can use this if they choose to further their studies at A-level. This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students studying the CIE IGCSE Biology course but is also suitable for older students who are learning about codominance and multiple alleles at A-level