This concise lesson presentation and accompanying worksheet have been designed to cover the content of point 2.5 (h) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification which states that students should understand the need to keep blood glucose levels within a constant range. Homeostasis is a running theme throughout the 2.5 topic so this lesson builds on knowledge from earlier topics to ensure that there is a deep understanding. The lesson begins by introducing glucose and a quiz competition will lead to the range 4 - 7, so that students can recognise that this is the set range within which this molecule’s concentration must be kept. Time is taken to look at some of the health problems that are associated with an increase in concentration above this upper limit and the general Biological knowledge of the students is tested with some questions. Moving forwards, the main task of the lesson involves a step by step guide through the stages in the response to a high blood glucose concentration and shows the students how the release of insulin leads to the uptake of glucose from the blood and a conversion to glycogen by the liver and muscle cells. The summary task at the end challenges the students to bring all of the information together to write a detailed description of this response and this activity is differentiated to aid those students who need extra assistance. This lesson has been designed for students studying the WJEC GCSE Biology course but could be used with A-level students who are beginning this topic and need to recall the key details.

This fully-resourced lesson has been designed to cover the content found in specification point 2.5 (f) of the WJEC GCSE Biology specification which states that students should understand why animals need to regulate the conditions inside their bodies. This resource contains an engaging and detailed PowerPoint (45 slides) and accompanying worksheets The lesson begins by challenging the student’s literacy skills as they are asked to recognise the key term, optimum, from 6 of its’ synonyms. Moving forwards, a range of quiz competitions are used to introduce the term homeostasis and to provide a definition for this key process. Students are given a newspaper article about water and blood glucose so they can recognise 2 conditions which are controlled in the human body. The next part of the lesson looks at the importance of maintaining the levels of water and glucose by considering the medical problems that could arise if they move away from the optimum levels. Students will learn that body temperature is also controlled and links are made to earlier knowledge as they have to explain why an increase in temperature above the set point would be an issue because of the denaturation of enzymes. The rest of the lesson looks at the three parts that are included in all control systems before a final quiz round introduces the receptors, coordination centre and effectors in the control of body temperature. As stated at the top, this lesson has been designed for GCSE-aged students who are studying the WJEC GCSE Biology course, but it can be used with A-level students who need to go back over the key points before looking at the process in more detail

This lesson describes and explains the changes in membrane potential of neurones, focusing on resting potential, depolarisation and repolarisation. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been planned to cover the content of point (6) of topic 15.1 of the CIE A-level Biology specification. Hyperpolarisation and the refractory period are not covered in this lesson, but during a lesson titled “The refractory period” which covers specification point (8). This topic is commonly assessed in the terminal exams so a lot of time has been taken to design this resource to include a wide range of activities that motivate the students whilst ensuring that the content is covered in the depth of detail that will allow them to have a deep understanding. Interspersed within the activities are understanding checks and prior knowledge checks to enable the students to not only assess their progress against the current topic but also to challenge themselves on the links to earlier topics such as methods of movements across cell membranes. There are also several quiz competitions which introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and discussion points to encourage the students to consider why a particular process or mechanism occurs. Over the course of the lesson, the students will learn and discover how the movement of ions across the membrane causes the membrane potential to change. They will see how the resting potential is maintained through the use of the sodium/potassium pump and potassium ion leakage. There is a real focus on depolarisation to allow students to understand how generator potentials can combine and if the resulting depolarisation then exceeds the threshold potential, a full depolarisation will occur. At this point in the lesson students will discover how the all or nothing response explains that action potentials have the same magnitude and that instead a stronger stimulus is linked to an increase in the frequency of the transmission. The rest of the lesson challenges the students to apply their knowledge to understand repolarisation.

This lesson focuses on the use and explanation of key genetic terms which will support students in their understanding of the topic 16 (inherited change) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification. In this topic, students are expected to use genetic diagrams to solve problems and this is only possible with a clear understanding of the genetic terminology that will be used in related exam questions. As some of these terms were met at GCSE, this fully-resourced lesson has been designed to include a wide range of activities that build on this prior knowledge and provide clear explanations as to their meanings as well as numerous examples of their use in both questions and exemplary answers. The main task provides the students with an opportunity to apply their understanding by recognising a dominance hierarchy in a multiple alleles characteristic and then calculating a phenotypic ratio when given a completed genetic diagram. Other tasks include prior knowledge checks, discussion points to encourage students to consider the implementation of the genetic terms and quiz competitions to introduce new terms, maintain engagement and act as an understanding check. The 16 terms are genome, gene, chromosome, gene locus, homologous chromosomes, alleles, dominant, recessive, genotype, codominance, multiple alleles, autosomes, sex chromosomes, phenotype, homozygous and heterozygous

This lesson focuses on the degenerate nature of the genetic code and explains how a mutation may not result in a change to the sequence of amino acids. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover the first part of point 4.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and it makes links to the upcoming lesson on gene mutations. The lesson begins by introducing the terms near universal and non-overlapping in addition to degenerate. A quick quiz competition is used to generate the number 20 so that the students can learn that there are 20 proteinogenic amino acids in the genetic code. This leads into a challenge, where they have to use their prior knowledge of DNA to calculate the number of different DNA triplets (64) and the mismatch in number is then discussed and related back to the lesson topic. Moving forwards, base substitutions and base deletions are briefly introduced so that they can see how although one substitution can change the primary structure, another will change the codon but not the encoded amino acid. The lesson concludes with a brief look at the non-overlapping nature of the code so that the impact of a base deletion (or insertion) can be understood when covered in greater detail in topic 8. This lesson has been specifically designed to tie in with the other lessons from topic 4.3 on gene mutations, chromosome mutations and meiosis.

This fully-resourced lesson looks at the external and internal structure of the mammalian heart and explains how the differences in the thickness of the chamber walls is related to function. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 8.2 (a) and (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification As this topic was covered at GCSE, the lesson has been planned to build on this prior knowledge whilst adding the key details which will enable students to provide A-level standard answers. The primary focus is the identification of the different structures of the heart but it also challenges their ability to recognise the important relationship to function. As detailed in specification point (b), time is taken to ensure that students can explain why the atrial walls are thinner than the ventricle walls and why the right ventricle has a thinner wall than the left ventricle. Opportunities are taken throughout the lesson to link this topic to the others found in topics 8.1 and 8.2 including those which have already been covered like circulatory systems as well as those which are upcoming such as the cardiac cycle. There is also an application question where students have to explain why a hole in the ventricular septum would need to be repaired if it doesn’t naturally close over time.

This detailed lesson explains how observable features at a microscopic level can be used to classify living organisms into one of the five kingdoms. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.2.2 © (i) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the features of the animalia, plantae, fungi, protoctista and prokaryotae kingdoms. This lesson begins with a knowledge recall as students have to recognise that prior to 1990, kingdom was the highest taxa in the classification hierarchy. Moving forwards, they will recall the names of the five kingdoms and immediately be challenged to split them so that the prokaryotae kingdom is left on its own. An opportunity is taken at this point to check on their prior knowledge of the structure of a bacterial cell from module 2.1.1. These prior knowledge checks are found throughout the lesson (along with current understanding checks) as students are also tested on their knowledge of the structure and function of cellulose. This is found in the section of the lesson where the main constituent of the wall can be used to distinguish between plantae, fungi and prokaryotae. Quick quiz competitions, such as YOU DO THE MATH and SAY WHAT YOU SEE are used to introduce key values and words in a fun and memorable way. The final part of the lesson looks at the protoctista kingdom and students will come to understand how these organisms tend to share a lot of animal or plant-like features. Both of the accompanying resources have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work and this lesson has been written to tie in with the previously uploaded lesson on taxonomic hierarchy and the binomial naming system (4.2.2 a & b).

This lesson describes the classification of species into the taxonomic hierarchy and cover point 18.2 (a) of the CIE A-level Biology specification. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to show students how the domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species are used in modern-day classification. The lesson begins by with a knowledge recall as students have to use the provided information about a mule to explain why a horse and donkey are considered to be members of different species. Moving forwards, students will learn that species is the lowest taxon in the modern-day classification hierarchy. The first of a number of rounds of a competition is used to engage the students whilst they learn the names of the 7 other taxa and the horse and the donkey from the earlier example are used to complete the hierarchy. Students are told that a binomial naming system is used in Biology to provide a universal name for each species and the final task of the lesson challenges them to apply their knowledge by completing a hierarchy for a modern-day human, by spotting the correct name for an unfamiliar organism

This detailed lesson explains how the process of transcription results in the production of mRNA, either directly from DNA in prokaryotes or following splicing in eukaryotes. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to specifically cover the second part of point 4.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification but also provides important information that students can use when being introduced to gene expression in topic 8. The lesson begins by challenging the students to recall 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. They 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 lesson focuses on the structure of RNA and specifically the similarities and differences between this nucleic acid and DNA. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover the second part of point 6.1 (b) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should be able to describe the structure of this nucleic acid. Students were introduced to the detailed structure of a nucleotide and DNA in previous lessons, so this lesson is written to tie in with those and continuously challenge prior knowledge as well as the understanding of the current topic. The lesson begins with the introduction of RNA as a member of the family of nucleic acids and this enables students to recognise that this polynuclotide shares a number of structural features that were previously seen in DNA. A quiz round called “A FAMILY AFFAIR” is used to challenge their knowledge of DNA to recognise those features that are also found on RNA such as the chain of linked nucleotides, pentose sugars, nitrogenous bases and phosphodiester bonds. The next task pushes them to consider features that have not been mentioned and therefore are differences as they answer a structured exam-style question on how RNA differs from DNA. Students will learn that RNA is shorter than DNA and this leads into the final part of the lesson where mRNA and tRNA are introduced and again they are challenged to use the new information explain the difference in size. Brief details of transcription and then translation are provided so that students are prepared for the upcoming lessons on protein synthesis

This fully-resourced lesson looks at the structure of genes and explores their role as a base sequence on DNA that codes for the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover point 6.2 (a) of the CIE International A-level Biology specification which states that students should understand how a gene codes for a polypeptide. The lesson begins with a prior knowledge check as the students have to recognise the key term chromosome from a description involving DNA and histones. This allows genes, as sections of a chromosome, to be introduced and the first of a number of quiz rounds is then used to get the students to meet the term locus so that they can understand how each gene has a specific location on a chromosome. Whenever possible, opportunities are taken to make links to the other parts of the CIE specification and this is utilised here as students are reminded that alternative versions of a gene (alleles) can be found at the locus. Moving forwards, students will learn that 3 DNA bases is a triplet and that each triplet codes for a specific amino acid. At this point, the genetic code is introduced and students are challenged to explain how the code contains 64 different triplets. By comparing this number against the number of different amino acids in proteins, students will see how each amino acid is encoded for by more than one triplet and how this explains the degenerate nature of the genetic code which forms a link to an upcoming lesson on gene mutations.

This detailed lesson describes the role of the mRNA, tRNA, amino acids and the ribosome during the second stage of protein synthesis - translation. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover the third part of point 4.2 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and ties in with the previous lessons in this topic on RNA and transcription. Translation is a topic which is often poorly understood and so this lesson has been written to enable the students to understand how to answer the different types of questions by knowing and including the key details of the structures involved. The lesson begins by challenging the students to consider why it is so important that the amino acids are assembled in the correct order during the formation of the chain. Moving forwards, a quick quiz round called “LOST IN TRANSLATION” is used to check on their prior knowledge of the mRNA strand, the tRNA molecules, the genetic code and the ribosomes. The next task involves a very detailed description of translation that has been divided into 14 statements which the students have to put into the correct order. By giving them a passage that consists of this considerable detail, they can pick out the important parts to use in the next task where they have to answer shorter questions worth between 3 and 4 marks. These types of questions are common in the assessments and by building up through the lesson, their confidence to answer this type should increase. The final two tasks of the lesson involve another quiz, where the teams compete to transcribe and translate in the quickest time before using all that they have learnt to answer some questions which involve the genetic code and the mRNA codon table.

A fully-resourced lesson, which explores how changes to the sequence of bases on DNA may or may not alter protein structure. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 8.1 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and it builds on the knowledge gained during topic 4 when gene mutations were first introduced. A quiz runs throughout the lesson where students compete to recognise key terms from their definitions and the lesson begins with an edition of this round as they are challenged to recognise the definition for primary structure. Other terms that arise during the lesson relate to the different gene mutations, the genetic code and mutagenic agents. The focus of the lesson is to support students in their explanations of how a particular mutation can result in a change in the primary structure as well as being able to explain why a substitution mutation may not. In this way, their understanding of the degenerate and non-overlapping nature of the genetic code will be tested and any misconceptions can be addressed. The main section of the lesson covers substitution, deletion and addition mutations before translocation, inversion and duplication mutations are introduced. Links are made to the latter parts of topic 8 so students can understand how the change in the sequence of bases may disrupt gene expression. The final part of the lesson looks at a range of mutagenic agents that can increase the rate of mutation.

This fully-resourced lesson describes how the mechanisms of root pressure and transpiration pull move water upwards in the xylem to the leaves. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying, differentiated resources have primarily been designed to cover the second part of point 7.2 [c] of the CIE International A-level Biology specification but also cover 7.2 [b] as the cohesion-tension theory and adhesion are described and explained. This lesson has been written to follow on from the end of the previous lesson, which finished with the description of the transport of the water and mineral ions from the endodermis to the xylem. Students are immediately challenged to use this knowledge to understand root pressure and the movement by mass flow down the pressure gradient. Moving forwards, time is taken to study the details of transpiration pull and the interaction between cohesion, tension and adhesion in capillary action is explained. Understanding is constantly checked through a range of tasks and prior knowledge checks are also written into the lesson to challenge the students to make links to previously covered topics such as the structure of the transport tissues. The final part of the lesson considers the journey of water through the leaf and ultimately out of the stomata in transpiration. A step by step guide using questions to discuss and answer as a class is used to support the students before the final task challenges them to summarise this movement through the leaf.

This lesson describes the active loading of sucrose at the source and movement by mass flow to the sink down the hydrostatic pressure gradient. Both the detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 7.2 (g, h & i) as detailed in the CIE International A-level Biology 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 7.1 (d) where the structure of the phloem tissue was initially introduced and the students are continually challenged on their 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 plant structure is one or the other (or both)

This engaging lesson describes the relationship between the structure and properties of a phopholipid and explains the link to its role in membranes. The PowerPoint has been designed to cover the second part of point 1.3 of the AQA A-level Biology specification and includes constant references to the previous lesson on triglycerides. The role of a phospholipid in a cell membrane provides the backbone to the whole lesson. A quick quiz round called FAMILY AFFAIR, challenges the students to use their knowledge of the structure of a triglyceride to identify the shared features in a phospholipid. This then allows the differences to be introduced, such as the presence of a phosphate group in place of the third fatty acid. Moving forwards, the students will learn that the two fatty acid tails are hydrophobic whilst the phosphate head is hydrophilic which leads into a key discussion point where the class has to consider how it is possible for the phospholipids to be arranged when both the inside and outside of a cell is an aqueous solution. The outcome of the discussion is the introduction of the bilayer which is critical for the lesson in topic 2 on the fluid mosaic model. The final part of the lesson explains how both facilitated diffusion and active transport mean that proteins are found floating in the cell membrane and this also helps to briefly prepare the students for upcoming topic 2 lessons.