A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 6.1.2 (Patterns of inheritance) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Genetic variation Monogenic inheritance Dihybrid inheritance Multiple alleles Sex linkage Codominance Epistasis Using the chi-squared test Discontinuous and continuous variation The Hardy Weinberg principle Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 5.1.5 (Plant and animal responses) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Investigating tropisms The mammalian nervous system The brain Reflex actions Controlling heart rate Muscle Muscle contraction Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

A fully resourced revision lesson which uses a range of exam questions (with explained answers), quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module 3 (Exchange and transport) of the OCR A-level Biology specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Exchange surfaces Mammalian gaseous exchange system Tissues in the gaseous exchange system Transport in animals Blood vessels Exchange at the capillaries ECG Transport of oxygen Transport in plants Transport tissues Movement of water through plants Transpiration Translocation Student will enjoy the range of tasks and quiz rounds whilst crucially being able to recognise any areas which require further attention

An engaging lesson presentation and associated worksheet that looks at the use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections and the raises the issue of the potential over-use of these substances. The lesson begins by getting the students to recognise the difference between three key terms that begin with anti (antibiotics, antivirals, antiseptics). Students will be introduced to the idea that antibiotics are specific to a small range of bacteria and therefore the correct one has to be selected before being prescribed. Moving forwards, students will meet the idea of the zone of inhibition and will understand how the size of this zone can be used as an indicator to the effectiveness of the treatment. Students are shown how to calculate the size of the zone and then are tested on their ability to apply this mathemetical knowledge. Finally, time is taken to look at the links to the topic of natural selection to explain how some bacteria are resistant to certain antibiotics. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but could be used as an introduction with A-level Biology students who are about to begin the topic of immunity.

A fully-resourced lesson which guides students through using genetic trees to work out the genotypes of unknown individuals and also how to work out whether a condition is caused by a dominant or a recessive allele. This lesson includes a detailed lesson presentation (24 slides) and a series of differentiated questions to allow the students to try to apply their new-found knowledge. The lesson begins by challenging students to recall the meaning of the key terms, genotype and phenotype. Time is taken initially to explain how genetic trees can be used in questions. Lots of useful hints are given throughout the lesson, such as filling in the genotypes for those that you already know like the affected in a recessive condition. Moving forwards, a worked example is used to talk the students through a question. Students are then given the opportunity to try a question and this has been differentiated so those who need extra assistance can still access the work. The remainder of the lesson shows the students how they can use the tree to work out whether the condition is caused by a dominant or recessive allele and again a progress check is used so students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for both GCSE and A-level students.

A concise, engaging lesson presentation (22 slides) which looks at the different responses of the body as a result of adrenaline release. In line with the actions of adrenaline, the lesson begins with a range of quiz competitions to introduce key terms and responses to the students. Once the students know that it causes both the breathing and heart rate to increase, they are challenged to complete a passage which brings this information together to explain how the increased respiration rate is related to the fight or flight tag line. Moving forwards, students will be introduced to the meaning of the term vasodilation and then asked to consider which organs will need extra blood flow during times of stress and conversely, which tissues can have blood directed away from them. The lesson finishes by looking at how a negative feedback loop is used as the final control to ensure that energy resources are not wasted during times when there is no stress.

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.

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at the structure of the human heart and its associated vessels and ensures that students know the journey which blood takes through this organ. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (25 slides), a diagram to label and a worksheet to summarise the journey. The lesson begins with a bit of fun as students see the script to part of an episode from Friends. Students will recognise the alternative definition of the heart and ultimately recall that the function of this organ is to pump blood around the body. Moving forwards, the main task of the lesson involves labelling the four chambers and the blood vessels which bring blood towards and away from the heart. Students are given useful hints along the way to enable them to discover the answers rather than simply being given a finished diagram. Time is taken to look at the valves and discuss their function so that students can understand this role when they encounter them in veins. The lesson concludes with one final task that challenges the students to detail the journey of blood through the heart. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson to allow the students to check on their understanding. As always, the lesson finishes with a slide containing advanced terminology so that students who have aspirations to take A-level Biology can extend and deepen their knowledge

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how decomposers are involved with the process of decay. The lesson includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation (31 slides) and an associated differentiated worksheets. The lesson begins by displaying the definitions for decomposers and detritivores and challenging students to use their bingo cards to see if they can work out the words which are being described. Students will learn how these two types of organisms work together to break down matter. Moving forwards, a worked example is used to guide students through how to calculate the rate of decay from a range of different data types. Students will be challenged to act like a travel agent for decomposers to come up with the different conditions that they require. Finally, they have to bring all of the new-found knowledge together to answer a range of summary questions. These questions are differentiated two ways so that differing abilities can access the work. 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 (14 - 16 year olds in the UK)

An engaging lesson presentation (31 slides) and associated worksheet that looks at animal and plant cells as eukaryotic cells. The lesson focuses on the organelles which are found inside these two cells and ensures that students understand the difference between the cells as well as briefly looking at the difference to prokaryotic cells at the end of the lesson. There is a lot of key terminology involved in this topic, so a range of tasks including fun quiz competitions are used to introduce these terms in an engaging manner. The lesson is student based, with the emphasis on them to identify the functions of the different organelles as well as recognising which ones are found in both cells or just plant cells. Discussions are encouraged during the lesson with leading questions, such as questioning whether a red blood cell isn’t actually an eukaryotic cell because of the lack of nucleus. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals during the lesson so that students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with KS3 students who are looking to extend their knowledge beyond the basics that they will be taught at this level.

An engaging and detailed lesson presentation (31 slides) that looks at how nitrogen is cycled and focuses on the different bacteria who play key roles in this cycle. The lesson begins by exploring why nitrogen is so critical for living organisms for the synthesis of DNA and proteins. Students are introduced to nitrogen-fixing bacteria to start and challenged to use their knowledge of interdependence to state the type of ecological relationship that is formed between them and the leguminous plant that they live on. Each stage of the cycle is complimented by a diagram highlighting that part so students are able to visualise how the cycle comes together. Time is taken to ensure that students recognise that any non-leguminous plants can only absorb nitrogen when it is nitrates form from the soil. Moving forwards, students will meet decomposers and nitrifying bacteria and again be shown where their function fits into the cycle. As the final part of the learning, students are challenged to consider what else is needed in order for this to be a cycle and will meet the denitrifying bacteria as a result. Progress checks, in a range of forms, have been written into this lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be immediately addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students, but could be used with A-level students who want to have a recap before extending their knowledge further.

A detailed lesson presentation and associated question worksheet which uses a step by step guide and numerous worked examples to show students how to draw genetic crosses to calculate offspring percentages. Before students are able to draw genetic diagrams, they need to understand and be able to use genetic terminology so this is the focus for the start of the lesson. Time is taken to go over the meaning of dominant and recessive alleles, genotypes and phenotypes. Moving forwards, students will be challenged to link genotypes to phenotypes for both dominant and recessive disorders and common misconceptions such as carriers in recessive disorders are explained. Finally, a 5 step guide is used to walk students through drawing genetic diagrams. Students are then given a chance to apply their new-found knowledge to questions about the inheritance of cystic fibrosis and polydactyly. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can assess their understanding. This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but is perfectly suitable for A-level students who are studying the topic of monogenic inheritance

An engaging lesson presentation (70 slides) which covers a range of communicable diseases which are caused by each of the four pathogens and discusses how the spread of these diseases can be prevented. The lesson begins by challenging the students to make the link between communicable diseases and pathogens and ensures that they are comfortable with protoctists as this is a pathogen that a lot of them will not have met or at least known the name for. Moving forwards, a focus is given to each pathogen, looking at why they are so effective at causing disease and also looks at examples of diseases that they cause. A range of quiz competitions are used to introduce key terms and maintain engagement. The remainder of the lesson focuses on how the spread of these communicable diseases can be prevented and attempts are made to link to other topics such as contraception. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be immediately addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students (14 - 16 year olds in the UK) but can be used with both younger and older students.

An engaging lesson presentation (34), accompanied by a summary worksheet, which together explore the factors which change the rate of transpiration and focuses on the explanation behind each factor. The lesson begins by introducing the term, transpiration, and linking this to the structure of a leaf to ensure that students know that water is lost as water vapour out of the stomata. Students are provided with an analogy of plants being like clothes on a washing line to challenge them to come up with some of the factors involved. Time is taken to look specifically at humidity as this is a factor which is commonly misunderstood. Moving forwards, students are challenged to draw sketch graphs to predict whether increasing each of these factors will increase the rate of transpiration or decrease it. A series of questions to lead to answers is used to show the students how to explain the effect of increasing the light intensity. The remainder of the lesson looks at a potometer and how it can be used to calculate the rate. The mathematical skills of the students are challenged during a range of tasks and then linked back to the Science so they can recognise which features of plants will help to reduce water loss. Progress checks are written into this lesson at regular intervals to allow students to assess their understanding and a number of quick competitions act to maintain engagement. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but is suitable for A-level students who are studying the plants topic

A fully-resourced lesson which looks at how auxins are involved in the response to the stimuli and gravity. The lesson includes an engaging lesson presentation (29 slides) and associated worksheets which have been differentiated. The lesson begins by challenging students to consider the different stimuli that a plant will respond to. There is focus throughout the lesson on the use of key terminology and students will start immediately by meeting the different types of tropisms. A quick competition is used to introduce the students to auxins and the key details of these chemicals are discussed. They will see how they are produced in the tips of shoots and roots and cause cell elongation in the shoots. A summary task is used to get the students to explain how a plant grow towards a light source. The next task challenges the students to apply their knowledge as a range of experimental data is shown to them and they have to predict how the plant would respond and explain - this task has been differentiated two ways so those students who need extra assistance can access the learning. The final part of the lesson looks at gravitropism and all of the learning is brought together to explain how the shoots grow away and the roots towards. This lesson has been written for GCSE students.

This lesson has been written for GCSE students with a focus on the key processes and reactions involved in the carbon cycle as well as discussions centering around how the levels of carbon dioxide alter during the day and over longer periods of time. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to introduce key terms or to challenge students to recognise key reactions that they will have already met in their Biology lessons. As each stage of the cycle is encountered, time is taken to discuss the potential impacts and the organisms involved. The remainder of the lesson looks at carbon dioxide levels. Initially, students are challenged to explain why the levels would change during the course of a day. Students are already likely to be aware that carbon dioxide levels have increased over the last 100/200 years but not necessarily how much. Time is taken to focus on the mathematical skills which could be challenged on this topic and the percentage change equation is shown to the students so they can quantify their answers. As a class, deforestation and its effect on the carbon cycle and atmospheric levels are discussed so that students can mirror this in a homework task about combustion of fossil fuels. Progress checks are written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students are constantly assessing their understanding.

A fully-resourced lesson which explores the photosynthesis reaction, focusing on where it takes place and the reactants and products of this chemical reaction. This lesson includes an engaging and detailed lesson presentation (45 slides), a summary task and a crossword which is used throughout the lesson. Students will already have a fair knowledge of this topic from KS3 so this lesson has been written to take that knowledge and push it forward. Key details are added throughout the lesson such as how the reactants enter the plant by osmosis and diffusion and also how water travels from the roots to the leaves in the xylem vessel. An engaging competition runs during the lesson called “LIGHT up the crossword” and this enables the key terms of the topic to be stored in one place. There are two main written tasks during the lesson which challenge the students to summarise the reaction using all that they have learnt and also to state the different uses of glucose. The lesson has been linked to related topics with understanding checks written in at regular intervals so this knowledge can be assessed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but could be used with higher ability KS3 students who want to learn more than they currently know

This lesson describes the active loading of assimilates like sucrose at the source and the translocation along the phloem to the sink. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 3.1.3 (f) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recognise the key term translocation when it is partially revealed and then the rest of the lesson focuses on getting them to understand how this process involves the mass flow of assimilates down the hydrostatic pressure gradient from the source to the sink. It has been written to tie in with 3.1.3 (b) where the structure of the phloem tissue was initially introduced and the students are continually challenged on this prior knowledge. A step-by-step guide is used to describe how sucrose is loaded into the phloem at the source by the companion cells. Time is taken to discuss key details such as the proton pumping to create the proton gradient and the subsequent movement back into the cells by facilitated diffusion using co-transporter proteins. Students will learn that the hydrostatic pressure at the source is high, due to the presence of the water and sucrose as cell sap, and that this difference when compared to the lower pressure at the sink leads to the movement along the phloem. A number of quick quiz rounds are included in the lesson to maintain engagement and to introduce key terms and the lesson concludes with a game of SOURCE or SINK as students have to identify whether a particular plant structure is one or the other (or both)