A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This lesson discusses the roles of non-governmental organisations such as WWF and CITES in local and global conservation. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 18.3 (g) of the CIE A-level Biology specification but as this is a lesson near to the end of topic 18, a number of tasks have been included to test the students on their understanding of 18.1, 18.2 and 18.3.
Many hours of research have gone into the planning of this lesson to ensure that a range of interesting biological examples are included, with the aim of fully engaging the students in the material to increase its relevance. The students will learn that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was first agreed in 1973 and that 35000 species are currently found in appendix I, II or III. Time is taken to go through the meaning of each appendix and then the following animal and plant species are used to explain the finer details of the agreement and to demonstrate how the conservation of these species has been affected:
Tree pangolin, eastern black rhino for CITES appendix I
Darwin’s orchid for CITES appendix II
Four-horned antelope for CITES appendix III
Exam-style questions are used to check on their understanding of the current topic as well as to challenge their knowledge of previously-covered topics such as the functions of keratin, when considering the structure of the rhino horn. Each of these questions has its own markscheme which is embedded in the PowerPoint and this allows the students to constantly assess their progress.
The second half of the lesson focuses on the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and again some examples of conservation projects which have been funded by this international organisation are considered. The implementation of wildlife corridors in east Africa to promote migration and interbreeding is discussed and the measures in place to protect the Dinaric region are also described.
As detailed at the top, this lesson can be used for revision of some of the content of topic 18 whilst teaching the content of specification point 18.3 (g)
This lesson evaluates the methods used by zoos and seed banks in the conservation of endangered species and their genetic diversity. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover point 4.21 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification but as this is potentially the last lesson in this topic, lots of questions and activities have been included that will challenge the students on their knowledge and understanding of topic 4 (Plant structure and function, Biodiversity and Conservation).
Hours of research went into the planning of this lesson to source interesting examples and although the main focus of the lesson is the zoo and seed banks as ex situ conservation methods, the lesson begins with a consideration of the importance of the in situ methods that are used in the Lake Télé Community reserve in the Republic of Congo and the marine conservation zone in the waters surrounding Tristan da Cunha. Students will learn how this form of active management conserves habitats and species in their natural environment, with the aim of minimising human impact whilst maintaining biodiversity.
To enrich their understanding of ex situ conservation, the well-known examples of ZSL London zoo, Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project in Wakehurst are used. Students will understand how conserving animal species outside of their natural habitat allows for human intervention that ensures the animals are fed and given medical assistance when needed as well as reproductive assistance to increase the likelihood of the successful breeding of endangered species. An emphasis is placed on the desire to reintroduce the species into the wild and the example of some initial successes with the mountain chicken frog in Dominica and Montserrat is discussed. As stated in the specification point, these methods must be evaluated and therefore the issues are also considered and there is a focus on the susceptibility of captive populations to diseases as a result of their limited genetic diversity. The final part of the lesson considers how seed banks can be used to ensure that plant species, which may contain the molecules for medicine development, avoid extinction, and how the plants can be bred asexually to increase plant populations quickly.
Due to the extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the tasks and content included in the lesson and as explained above, it can also be used as revision of topic 4 content
This lesson evaluates the methods used by zoos and seed banks in the conservation of endangered species. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been primarily designed to cover point 4.16 of the Pearson Edexcel A-level Biology A (Salters Nuffield) specification but as this is potentially the last lesson in this topic, lots of questions and activities have been included that will challenge the students on their knowledge of topic 4 (Biodiversity and Natural Resources).
Hours of research went into the planning of this lesson to source interesting examples to increase the relevance of the biological content and although the main focus of the lesson is the two ex situ conservation methods, the lesson begins with a consideration of the importance of the in situ methods that are used in the Lake Télé Community reserve in the Republic of Congo and the marine conservation zone in the waters surrounding Tristan da Cunha. Students will learn how this form of active management conserves habitats and species in their natural environment, with the aim of minimising human impact whilst maintaining biodiversity.
To enrich their understanding of ex situ conservation, the well-known examples of ZSL London zoo, Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project in Wakehurst are used. Students will understand how conserving animal species outside of their natural habitat allows for human intervention that ensures the animals are fed and given medical assistance when needed as well as reproductive assistance to increase the likelihood of the successful breeding of endangered species. An emphasis is placed on the desire to reintroduce the species into the wild and the example of some initial successes with the mountain chicken frog in Dominica and Montserrat is discussed. As stated in the specification point, these methods must be evaluated and therefore the issues are also considered and there is a focus on the susceptibility of captive populations to diseases as a result of their limited genetic diversity. The final part of the lesson considers how seed banks can be used to ensure that plant species, which may contain the molecules for medicine development, avoid extinction, and how the plants can be bred asexually to increase plant populations quickly.
Due to the extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the tasks and content included in the lesson and as explained above, it can also be used as revision of topic 4 content
This lesson describes how energy is transferred between trophic levels using the terms net and gross primary productivity and calculates the efficiency of this transfer. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 10.2 (i) and (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and the content of the lesson also accounts for the loss of energy between different levels and describes the farming practices that act to reduce these losses.
Due to the fact that the productivity of plants is dependent on photosynthesis, a series of exam-style questions have been written into the lesson which challenge the students to explain how the structure of the leaf as well as the light-dependent and light-independent reactions are linked to GPP. All of the exam questions have mark schemes that are included in the PowerPoint to allow students to immediately assess their understanding. A number of quick quiz competitions as well as guided discussion points are used to introduce the formulae that calculate NPP and N and to recognise the meaning of the components. Once again, this is immediately followed with an opportunity to apply their understanding to selected questions and the students will have to calculate the efficiency of energy transfer.
The remainder of the lesson focuses on the ways that energy is lost at each trophic level and the biology behind the following farming practices are discussed:
raising herbivores to reduce the number of trophic levels in a food chain
intensely rearing animals to reduce respiratory losses in human food chains
the use of fungicides, insecticides and herbicides
the addition of artificial fertilisers
The ethical issues raised by these practices are also considered and alternative methods discussed such as the addition of natural predators and the use of organic fertilisers like manure
This lesson describes the inheritance of two non-interacting unlinked genes and guides students through the calculation of phenotypic ratios. The PowerPoint and the accompanying question sheet (which is differentiated) have been designed to cover point 8.2 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
As the previous lesson described the construction of genetic crosses and pedigree diagrams, students are aware of the methods involved in writing genotypes and gametes for the inheritance of a single gene. Therefore, the start of this lesson builds on this understanding to ensure that students recognise that genotypes contain 4 alleles and gametes contain 2 alleles when two genes are inherited. The students are taken through the steps of a worked example to demonstrate the key steps in the calculation of a phenotypic ratio before 2 exam-style questions challenge them to apply their newly-acquired knowledge. Mark schemes are displayed within the PowerPoint to allow students to assess their progress. The phenotypic ratio generated as the answer to the final question is 9:3:3:1 and time is taken to explain that this is the expected ratio when two heterozygotes for two genes are crossed which they may be expected to use when meeting the chi squared test in an upcoming lesson
This lesson describes how to analyse data using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The PowerPoint and accompanying exam-style question are part of the second lesson in a series of 2 lessons which have been designed to cover point 10.1 (vi) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The first lesson in this series described how to analyse data using the standard deviation and the t-test
As with the previous lesson, a step by step guide is used to walk the students through the use of the formula to generate the rank coefficient and to determine whether there is a positive correlation, no correlation or a negative correlation. The students are also reminded of the null hypothesis and will be shown how to accept or reject this hypothesis and to determine significance. The students will work through an example with the class and then are given the opportunity to apply their newly-acquired knowledge to an exam-style question. The mark scheme is displayed on the PowerPoint so they can assess their understanding
This lesson describes how the standard deviation and the t-test are used to analyse data. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the first lesson in a series of 2 lessons that have been designed to cover point 10.1 (vi) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification. The next lesson, which uses skills covered in this lesson and has also been uploaded, describes how to analyse data using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient
A step by step guide walks the students through each stage of the calculation of the standard deviation and gets them to complete a worked example with the class before applying their knowledge to another set of data. This data looks at the birth weights of humans on one day in the UK and this is used again later in the lesson to compare against the birth weights of babies in South Asia when using the student’s t-test. The null hypothesis is re-introduced, as it will encountered when considering the chi squared test in topic 8, and students will learn to accept or reject this based upon a comparison of their value against one taken from the table based on the degrees of freedom.
This lesson describes the effect that treaties such as CITES have had on global diversity. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 10.4 (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification but has been planned to constantly challenge them on their knowledge of topic 3.3 (biodiversity) as a local conservation agreement is also considered
Many hours of research have gone into the planning of this lesson to ensure that a range of interesting biological examples are included, with the aim of fully engaging the students in the material to increase its relevance. The students will learn that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was first agreed in 1973 and that 35000 species are currently found in appendix I, II or III. Time is taken to go through the meaning of each appendix and then the following animal and plant species are used to explain the finer details of the agreement:
Tree pangolin, eastern black rhino for CITES appendix I
Darwin’s orchid for CITES appendix II
Four-horned antelope for CITES appendix III
Exam-style questions are used to check on their understanding of the current topic as well as to challenge their knowledge of previously-covered topics such as the functions of keratin, when considering the structure of the rhino horn. Each of these questions has its own markscheme which is embedded in the PowerPoint and this allows the students to constantly assess their progress.
The final part of the lesson considers the Countryside Stewardship Scheme as a local conservation agreements and discusses the reasons behind some of the key points. Students are told that farmers, woodland owners, foresters and land managers can apply for funding for a range of options including hedgerow management, low input grassland, buffer strips, management plans and soil protection options. The importance of the hedgerows for multiple species is discussed, and again a real-life example is used with bats to increase the likelihood of retention. The last task challenges them to use their overall knowledge of biodiversity to explain why buffer strips consisting of multiple types of vegetation are used and to explain why these could help when a farmer is using continuous monoculture.
The biodiversity topic may not be every students’ favourite, but questions relating to this module 4 topic are very common in the OCR terminal exams, meaning it can be an area where a lot of marks are unfortunately lost. With this in mind, hours of research and planning has gone into each of the 6 lessons that are included in this bundle to ensure that the slides and accompanying worksheets contain interesting and relevant biological examples that will catch the attention of the students and ultimately increase the likelihood of the retention of the detailed A-level content. There are also regular understanding checks in the form of exam-style questions with accompanying mark schemes to allow the students to assess their progress.
The following specification points in module 4.2.1 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification are covered in this bundle:
How biodiversity may be considered at different levels
Random sampling and non-random sampling (opportunistic, stratified, systematic)
How to measure species richness and species evenness
The use and interpretation of Simpson’s Index of Diversity
How genetic biodiversity may be assessed, including calculations
The ecological, economic and aesthetic reasons for maintaining biodiversity
In situ and ex situ methods of maintaining biodiversity
International and local conservation agreements made to protects species and habitats
The “reasons for maintaining biodiversity” lesson has been uploaded for free so if you download this, you will be able to recognise the quality of lesson that can be found in this bundle
This lesson describes the international and local conservation agreements that are made to protect species and habitats. The detailed PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover point 4.2.1 (i) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification and includes details of CITES, CBD and CSS.
Many hours of research have gone into the planning of this lesson to ensure that a range of interesting biological examples are included, with the aim of fully engaging the students in the material to increase its relevance. Beginning with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the students will learn that this was first agreed in 1973 and that 35000 species are currently found in appendix I, II or III. Time is taken to go through the meaning of each appendix and then the following animal and plant species are used to explain the finer details of the agreement:
Tree pangolin, eastern black rhino for CITES appendix I
Darwin’s orchid for CITES appendix II
Four-horned antelope for CITES appendix III
Exam-style questions are used to check on their understanding of the current topic as well as to challenge their knowledge of previously-covered topics such as the functions of keratin, when considering the structure of the rhino horn. Each of these questions has its own markscheme which is embedded in the PowerPoint and this allows the students to constantly assess their progress.
Moving forwards, the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity is introduced and students will understand that this is a key document regarding sustainable development.
The final part of the lesson considers local conservation agreements, focusing on the Countryside Stewardship Scheme and its replacement, the Environmental Stewardship Scheme. Students are told that farmers, woodland owners, foresters and land managers can apply for funding for a range of options including hedgerow management, low input grassland, buffer strips, management plans and soil protection options. The importance of the hedgerows for multiple species is discussed, and again a real-life example is used with bats to increase the likelihood of retention. The last task challenges them to use their overall knowledge of module 4.2.1 (biodiversity) to explain why buffer strips consisting of multiple types of vegetation are used and to explain why these could help when a farmer is using continuous monoculture.
Hours of research and planning has gone into each and every one of the 9 lessons that are included in this lesson bundle that covers topic 18 of the CIE A-level Biology course . Conscious that some students do not fully engage in the topics of biodiversity, classsification and conservation, the lessons have been designed to contain a wide range of tasks which will motivate the students whilst the content of the following specification points are covered:
18.1: Biodiversity
Define the terms species, ecosystem and niche
Explain that biodiversity can be considered at three different levels
Explain the importance of random sampling in determining the biodiversity of an area
Use suitable methods to assess the distribution and abundance of organisms in a local area
Use Spearman’s rank correlation to analyse the relationship between the distribution and abundance of species and abiotic or biotic factors
Use Simpson’s Index of diversity
18.2: Classification
Describe the classification of species into the 8 taxonomic divisions
Outline the characteristic features of the three domains
Outline the characteristic features of the kingdoms
Explain why viruses are not included in the three domain classification and outline how they are classified
18.3: Conservation
The reasons for the need to maintain biodiversity
Discuss methods of protecting endangered species
The role of non-governmental organisations like the WWF and CITES in local and global conservation
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the Spearman’s rank correlation, features of the kingdoms and WWF, CITES and conservation lesson as these have been uploaded for free
This lesson describes the meaning of the term stem cell and the differences between totipotent, pluripotent and multipotent stem cells. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover points 7.3 (i) and (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification meaning that this lesson also contains discussion periods about the potential opportunities to use stem cells from embryos in medicine.
The lesson begins with a knowledge recall of the structure of eukaryotic cells and the students have to use the first letters of each of the four answers to reveal the key term, stem cell. Time is then taken to consider the meaning of cellular differentiation, and this leads into the key idea that not all stem cells are equal when it comes to the number of cell types that they have the potential to differentiate into. A quick quiz round introduces the five degrees of potency, and then the students are challenged to use their understanding of terminology to place totipotency, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency and unipotency in the correct places on the potency continuum. Although the latter two do not have to be specifically known based on the content of specification point 7.3 (i), an understanding of their meaning was deemed helpful when planning the lesson as it should assist with the retention of knowledge about totipotency, pluripotency and multipotency. These three highest degrees of potency are the main focus of the lesson, and key details are emphasised such as the ability of totipotent cells to differentiate into any extra-embroyonic cell, which the pluripotent cells are unable to do. The morula, and inner cell mass and trophoblast of the blastocyst are used to demonstrate these differences in potency. The final part of the lesson discusses the decisions that the scientific community have to make about the use of pluripotent embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and also multipotent foetal stem cells
As there is a heavy mathematical content in the current A-level Biology exams, a Maths in a Biology context question is included in the lesson (when introducing the morula) to ensure that students continue to be prepared for the numerous calculations that they will have to tackle in the terminal exams. This resource has been differentiated two ways to allow students of differing abilities to access the work
This lesson describes the reasons for the need to maintain biodiversity, which include those which are ecological, economic and aesthetic. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 18.3 (b) of the CIE A-level Biology specification.
Many hours of research have gone into the planning of the lesson so that interesting examples are included to increase the relevance of the multitude of reasons to maintain biodiversity. These include the gray wolves and beavers of Yellowstone National Park and the Za boabab in the Madagascar rainforests as examples of keystone species. Students will learn that these species have a disproportionate effect on their environment relative to their abundance and exam-style questions and guided discussion periods are used to challenge them to explain their effect on other species in the habitat. The CIE exams have a heavy mathematical content and this is reflected in this lesson as students are challenged to complete a range of calculations to manipulate data to support their biological-based answers. All of the exam questions that are included throughout the lesson have mark schemes embedded into the PowerPoint to allow the students to assess their progress. Moving fowards, the economic ans aesthetic reasons to maintain biodiversity are considered, and there is a focus on the soil depletion that occurs when a continuous monoculture is used. The 1 Billion tree scheme that began in New Zealand in 2018 is introduced and the reasons that some groups of people are objecting to what they consider to be a pine monoculture are discussed. Students will recognise that the clear felling of the trees dramatically changes the landscape and that the increased runoff that results can have catastrophic affects for both aquatic life and for humans with floods.
A number of quiz competitions are included in the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and some of the worksheets have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work
This lesson describes and discusses the different methods of protecting endangered species. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been designed to cover point 18.3 [c] of the CIE A-level Biology specification and the methods described include zoos, botanic gardens, national parks, marine conservation zones and seed banks
Hours of research has gone into the planning of this lesson to source interesting examples that increase the relevance of the biological content concerning in situ conservation, and these include the Lizard National Nature Reserve in Cornwall, the Lake Télé Community reserve in the Republic of Congo and the marine conservation zone in the waters surrounding Tristan da Cunha. Students will learn how this form of active management conserves habitats and species in their natural environment, with the aim of minimising human impact whilst maintaining biodiversity. The main issues surrounding this method are discussed, including the fact that the impact of this conservation may not be significant if the population has lost much of its genetic diversity and that despite the management, the conditions that caused the species to become endangered may still be present. A number of quick quiz competitions are interspersed throughout the lesson to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and one of these challenges them to use their knowledge of famous scientists to reveal the surname, Fossey. Dian Fossey was an American conservationist and her years of study of the mountain gorillas is briefly discussed along with the issue that wildlife reserves can draw poachers and tourists to the area, potentially disturbing the natural habitat.
To enrich their understanding of ex situ conservation, the better known examples of ZSL London zoo, Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project in Wakehurst are used. Students will understand how conserving animal species outside of their natural habitat enables human intervention that ensures the animals are fed and given medical assistance when needed as well as reproductive assistance to increase the likelihood of the successful breeding of endangered species. As with the in situ method, the disadvantages are also discussed and there is a focus on the susceptibility of captive populations to diseases as a result of their limited genetic diversity. The final part of the lesson considers how seed banks can be used to ensure that plant species avoid extinction and how the plants can be bred asexually to increase plant populations quickly.
Due to the extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the tasks and content that is included in the lesson.
All of the 4 lessons contained within this bundle are filled with engaging tasks that will motivate the students whilst covering the biological content of the following specification points in topic 3.3 (Biodiversity) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification:
Know that biodiversity can be assessed within a habitat at the species level using a formula to calculate an index of diversity
Know that biodiversity can be assessed within a species at the genetic level by looking at the variety of alleles in the gene pool of a population
Understand the ethical and economic reasons for the maintenance of biodiversity
Understand the principles of ex situ and in situ conservation, and the issues surrounding each method
The tasks found within the lesson PowerPoints and the accompanying worksheets include exam-style questions with detailed mark schemes, guided discussion periods and quick quiz competitions to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the assessing biodiversity lesson as this has been uploaded for free
This lesson describes the principles of ex situ conservation and discusses the advantages and issues surrounding this method. The PowerPoint and accompanying worksheet are part of the second lesson in a series of 2 which have been designed to cover the content of point 3.3 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and it closely ties in with the previous lesson on in situ conservation.
To enrich their understanding of ex situ conservation, the well-known examples of ZSL London zoo, Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project in Wakehurst are used. Students will understand how conserving animal species outside of their natural habitat enables human intervention that ensures the animals are fed and given medical assistance when needed as well as reproductive assistance to increase the likelihood of the successful breeding of endangered species. As with the in situ method in the previous lesson, the issues are also discussed and there is a focus on the susceptibility of captive populations to diseases as a result of their limited genetic diversity. The final part of the lesson considers how seed banks can be used to ensure that plant species avoid extinction and how the plants can be bred asexually to increase plant populations quickly.
This lesson describes the in situ and ex situ methods of maintaining biodiversity, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages associated with both. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets have been primarily designed to cover point 4.2.1 (h) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification but the lesson has been carefully planned to enable links to be made to some related topics which are found later in the course such as classification, evolution through natural selection and the Founder effect.
Hours of research has gone into the planning of this lesson to source interesting examples that increase the relevance of the biological content concerning in situ conservation, and these include the Lizard National Nature Reserve in Cornwall, the Lake Télé Community reserve in the Republic of Congo and the marine conservation zone in the waters surrounding Tristan da Cunha. Students will learn how this form of active management conserves habitats and species in their natural environment, with the aim of minimising human impact whilst maintaining biodiversity. The main issues surrounding this method are discussed, including the fact that the impact of this conservation may not be significant if the population has lost much of its genetic diversity and that despite the management, the conditions that caused the species to become endangered may still be present. A number of quick quiz competitions are interspersed throughout the lesson to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and one of these challenges them to use their knowledge of famous scientists to reveal the surname, Fossey. Dian Fossey was an American conservationist and her years of study of the mountain gorillas is briefly discussed along with the issue that wildlife reserves can draw poachers and tourists to the area, potentially disturbing the natural habitat.
To enrich their understanding of ex situ conservation, the better known examples of ZSL London zoo, Kew Gardens and the Millennium Seed Bank Project in Wakehurst are used. Students will understand how conserving animal species outside of their natural habitat enables human intervention that ensures the animals are fed and given medical assistance when needed as well as reproductive assistance to increase the likelihood of the successful breeding of endangered species. As with the in situ method, the disadvantages are also discussed and there is a focus on the susceptibility of captive populations to diseases as a result of their limited genetic diversity. The final part of the lesson considers how seed banks can be used to ensure that plant species avoid extinction and how the plants can be bred asexually to increase plant populations quickly.
Due to the extensiveness of this lesson, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2/3 hours of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the tasks and content that is included in the lesson.
This lesson explains how to calculate the net primary productivity by subtracting a plant’s respiratory losses from the gross primary productivity. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover points 5.9 (i) and (ii) of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification.
Due to the fact that the productivity of plants is dependent on photosynthesis, a series of exam-style questions have been written into the lesson which challenge the students to explain how the structure of the leaf as well as the light-dependent and light-independent reactions are linked to GPP. All of the exam questions have displayed mark schemes which are included in the PowerPoint to allow students to immediately assess their understanding. A number of quick quiz competitions as well as guided discussion points are used to introduce the formulae to calculate NPP and N and to recognise the meaning of the components. Once again, this is immediately followed by the opportunity to apply their understanding to selected questions
This lesson describes the ethical and economic reasons for the maintenance of biodiversity. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying worksheets are filled with real-life biological examples and have been designed to cover point 3.3 (ii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
Many hours of research have gone into the planning of the lesson so that interesting examples are included to increase the relevance of the multitude of reasons to maintain biodiversity. These include the gray wolves and beavers of Yellowstone National Park and the Za boabab in the Madagascar rainforests as examples of keystone species. Students will learn that these species have a disproportionate effect on their environment relative to their abundance and exam-style questions and guided discussion periods are used to challenge them to explain their effect on other species in the habitat. The latest A-level Biology exams have a heavy mathematical content and this is reflected in this lesson as students are challenged to complete a range of calculations to manipulate data to support their biological-based answers. All of the exam questions that are included throughout the lesson have mark schemes embedded into the PowerPoint to allow the students to assess their progress. Moving fowards, the economic ans aesthetic reasons to maintain biodiversity are considered, and there is a focus on the soil depletion that occurs when a continuous monoculture is used. The 1 Billion tree scheme that began in New Zealand in 2018 is introduced and the reasons that some groups of people are objecting to what they consider to be a pine monoculture are discussed. Students will recognise that the clear felling of the trees dramatically changes the landscape and that the increased runoff that results can have catastrophic affects for both aquatic life and for humans with floods.
A number of quiz competitions are included in the lesson to introduce key terms in a fun and memorable way and some of the worksheets have been differentiated to allow students of differing abilities to access the work
This lesson describes the principles of in situ conservation and considers the benefits as well as the issues that surround this method. The PowerPoint and accompanying resources are part of the first lesson in a series of 2 which have been designed to cover the content of point 3.3 (iii) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
Hours of research have gone into the planning of this lesson to source interesting examples to increase the relevance of the biological content, and these include the Lizard National Nature Reserve in Cornwall, the Lake Télé Community reserve in the Republic of Congo and the marine conservation zone in the waters surrounding Tristan da Cunha. Students will learn how this form of active management conserves habitats and species in their natural environment, with the aim of minimising human impact whilst maintaining biodiversity. The main issues surrounding this method are discussed, including the fact that the impact of this conservation may not be significant if the population has lost much of its genetic diversity and that despite the management, the conditions that caused the species to become endangered may still be present. A number of quick quiz competitions are interspersed throughout the lesson to introduce key terms and values in a fun and memorable way and one of these challenges them to use their knowledge of famous scientists to reveal the surname, Fossey. Dian Fossey was an American conservationist and her years of study of the mountain gorillas is briefly discussed along with the final issue that wildlife reserves can draw poachers and tourists to the area, potentially disturbing the natural habitat.
