This is a fully-resourced lesson that covers the details of specification point 5.1.2 (e) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the effects of kidney failure and its potential treatments. This lesson consists of an engaging PowerPoint (55 slides) and associated differentiated worksheets that look at the diagnosis of a number of different kidney-related conditions and the potential treatments for kidney failure. This lesson is designed to get the students to take on the numerous roles of a doctor who works in the renal ward which include testing, diagnosis and treatment. Having obtained measurements by GFR and results by taking urine samples, hey are challenged to use their knowledge of the function of the kidney to study urine samples (and the accompanying GP’s notes) to diagnose one of four conditions. They then have to write a letter to the patient to explain how they made this diagnosis, again focusing on their knowledge of the structure and functions of the Bowman’s capsule and PCT. The rest of the lesson focuses on haemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and kidney transplant. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding and there are a number of homework activities included in the lesson. This lesson is designed for A-level students who are studying the OCR A-level Biology specification and ties in nicely with the other uploaded lessons on this organ which include the structure and function of the nephron, ultrafiltration, selective reabsorption and osmoregulation.

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 6.3.1 (Ecosystems) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The topics tested within this lesson include: Ecosystems Transfer of biomass Recycling within ecosystems Succession Studying ecosystems 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 (63 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 the Biology unit B7 (Ecology) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification unit B4.7). The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Communities Abiotic factors Biotic factors Levels of organisation 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

A fully-resourced lesson which has been designed for GCSE students and includes an engaging lesson presentation and associated worksheets. This lesson looks at the three limiting factors of photosynthesis, focusing on the graphs that they produce and ensures that students can explain why temperature is a factor. This lesson begins by introducing the students to the definition of a limiting factor. They are challenged to recognise that it would be photosynthesis which is limited by carbon dioxide concentration and light intensity. The third factor, temperature, is not introduced until later in the lesson so that students are given thinking time to consider what it might be. Having been presented with two sets of data, students are asked to draw sketch graphs to represent the trend. The limiting factors on the light intensity graph are taught to the students so they can use this when working out the limiting factors on the carbon dioxide graph. The remainder of the lesson focuses on temperature and more specifically why a change in this factor would cause a change in the rate of photosynthesis because of enzymes. The student’s knowledge of that topic is tested alongside. Progress checks have been written into the lesson at regular intervals so that students can constantly assess their understanding.

This is a fully-resourced revision lesson that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick differentiated tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the content found within Topic 5 (On the wild side) of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification. The sub-topics and specification points that are tested within the lesson include: Be able to describe how to carry out a study on the ecology of a habitat Understand the stages of succession Understand the overall reaction of photosynthesis Understand the structure of chloroplasts in relation to their role in photosynthesis Understand the relationship between NPP, GPP and respiration Understand the effect of temperature on enzyme activity and its impact on plants and animals and microorganisms Know how the temperature coefficient Q10 quantifies the rate of an enzyme-catalysed reaction Understand how knowledge of the carbon cycle can be applied to methods to reduce atmopsheric levels of carbon dioxide A number of the tasks have been differentiated to allow all abilities of student to access the work and there is a big emphasis on the mathematical skills that can be tested in this topic. Students will be engaged through the numerous quiz rounds such as “Can you DEPEND on your knowledge” and “From NUMBERS 2 LETTERS” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which require their further attention during general revision or during the lead up to the actual A-level terminal exams

This fully-resourced lesson explores the contributions of the chromosome mutations that arise during meiosis to genetic variation. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed and written to cover the part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe how mutations in the numbers of chromosomes can arise spontaneously and significantly contribute to evolution. Over the course of the lesson, students will encounter a number of chromosome mutations but the main focus is chromosome non-disjunction and they will learn that this can result in Down, Turner’s and Klinefelter’s syndromes. Students are guided through a description of the formation of gametes and zygotes with abnormal numbers of chromosomes before being challenged to describe the formation of a zygote with Turner’s syndrome. The key aspects of meiosis, which are taught in a future lesson, are introduced and related to the lead up to the change in chromosome number. Inversion, translocation, duplication and deletion are also introduced and links are made to other topics such as regulatory sequences and gene expression.

This fully-resourced lesson describes the non-specific responses of the body to infection and includes details of phagocytosis, inflammation and interferon release. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover the content of point 6.7 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A specification but topics including antigen-presentation are also introduced to prepare students for upcoming lessons on the immune response (6.8 & 6.9). 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 engaging lesson looks at the structure of the quaternary protein, haemoglobin, and describes its role with red blood cells in the transport of oxygen. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover the first part of point 3.4.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and explains how the cooperative nature of binding results in a loading of each molecule with 4 oxygen molecules and describes how it is unloaded at the respiring cells too. The lesson begins with a version of the quiz show Pointless to introduce haemotology as the study of the blood conditions. Students are told that haemoglobin has a quaternary structure and are challenged to use their prior knowledge of biological molecules to determine what this means for the protein. They will learn that each of the 4 polypeptide chains contains a haem group with an iron ion attached and that it is this group which has a high affinity for oxygen. Time is taken to discuss how this protein must be able to load (and unload) oxygen as well as transport the molecules to the respiring tissues. Students will plot the oxyhaemoglobin dissociation curve and the S-shaped curve is used to encourage discussions about the ease with which haemoglobin loads each molecule. Students will learn that a conformational change upon binding of the first oxygen leads to it being easier to bind future oxygens and that this is known as cooperative binding. This lesson has been written to tie in with the other uploaded lesson on the Bohr effect.

An engaging lesson presentation (68 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 the Biology topic B4 (Bioenergetics) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification unit B4.4). The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Photosynthesis reaction Rate of photosynthesis Uses of glucose from photosynthesis Aerobic respiration Anaerobic respiration Response to exercise Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “Take a STEP back” and “Shine a LIGHT on the errors” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention

This lesson looks at the two stages of protein synthesis, transcription and translation, and focuses on the key details that students need to understand this potentially difficult topic. The lesson presentation has been deliberately written in a concise way to encourage the students to summarise the two stages and pick out the key points which will enable them to form longer answers when necessary. The lesson begins by introducing the students to RNA, and a quick check is done to see how much they can recall about the other nucleic acid, DNA. Moving forwards, students are challenged to study the structure of DNA and RNA in SPOT THE DIFFERENCE before being challenged to explain why RNA is necessary in this process. Time is taken to look at important sections such as complimentary base pairing and the identification of amino acids from the codon. A number of quick competitions have been written into the lesson to maintain engagement and the progress checks are regular so that students assess their understanding and any misconceptions can be quickly identified and addressed. This lesson has been written for GCSE students but should a teacher want to teach an introduction lesson on protein synthesis before going into more detail at a later date, then this would be suitable.

An engaging lesson presentation (64 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 Biology) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point 4.1). The topics that are tested within the lesson include: Eukaryotes and prokaryotes Animal and plant cells Microscopy Chromosomes The cell cycle including mitosis Stem cells Diffusion Osmosis Active transport Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “SPOT the CELL” and “Take the Hotseat” whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need 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.

This resource contains an engaging and detailed lesson PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets which cover the content of both the Core and Supplement sections of topic 14.2 (Sense organs) as detailed in the CIE IGCSE Biology specification. Understanding checks are included at regular points throughout the lesson to allow the students to self-assess their progress and quiz competitions like SAY WHAT YOU SEE and LOOK into these WORDS introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way. The following content is covered across this resource: The function of the cornea, retina, lens, optic nerve and iris Identifying these structures and the pupil, fovea and blind spot on a diagram The roles of the rods and cones in the retina and their distribution Explain the pupil reflex in terms of the antagonistic action of the muscles in the iris Accommodation to view near and distant objects Sense organs and the stimuli to which they respond This lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students who are studying the CIE IGCSE Biology course but is suitable for both younger and older students who are studying this organ

This fully-resourced lesson challenges the students to use fully labelled genetic diagrams to interpret the results of monohybrid and dihybrid crosses as detailed in topic 7.1 (Inheritance) of the AQA A-level Biology specification. Step-by-step guides are used to demonstrate how diagrams for the inheritance of one and two genes should be constructed and a focus is given to the areas where students commonly make mistakes, such as in writing out the gametes. The main task of each section of the lesson provides an opportunity for the students to apply their understanding by calculating phenotypic ratios. All of the questions have fully-explained mark schemes and students can assess their progress and address any misconceptions immediately. Key genetic terminology is used throughout the lesson and mirrors that used in actual exam questions.