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.
The detailed content, exam-style questions, guided discussion points and quiz competitions that are found in each of the 16 paid lessons that are included in this bundle (as well as the 5 free lessons which are named at the bottom) cover the following specification points in module 4 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification:
Module 4.1.1
The different types of pathogen that can cause communicable diseases in plants and animals
The means of transmission of animal and plant communicable pathogens
The primary non-specific defences against pathogens in animals
The structure and mode of action of phagocytes
The structure, different roles and modes of action of B and T lymphocytes in the specific immune response
The primary and secondary immune responses
The structure and general functions of antibodies
An outline of the action of opsonins, agglutinins and anti-toxins
The differences between active and passive immunity, and between natural and artificial immunity
Autoimmune diseases
The principles of vaccination
Module 4.2.1
How biodiversity can be considered at different levels
The random and non-random sampling strategies that are carried out to measure the biodiversity of a habitat
How to measure species richness and species evenness
The use and interpretation of Simpson’s Index of Diversity
How genetic biodiversity may be assessed
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 protect species and habitats
4.2.2
The biological classification of species
The binomial system of naming species and the advantage of such a system
The features used to classify organisms into the five kingdoms
The evidence that has led to new classification systems
The different types of variation
Using the standard deviation to measure the spread of a set of data
Using the Student’s t-test to compare means of data values of two populations
Using the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient to consider the relationship of the data
The different types of adaptations to their environment
The mechanism by which natural selection can affect the characteristics of a population over time
How evolution in some species has an impact on human populations
If you would like to get an idea of the quality of the lessons that are included in this bundle, then download the following five OCR A lessons which have been uploaded for free:
Immunity & vaccinations
Reasons for maintaining biodiversity
Taxonomic hierarchy and the binomial naming system
Adaptations and natural selection
Transmission of animal and plant pathogens
This bundle of 20 fully-resourced lessons have been designed to allow students who are studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science course to assess their understanding of the topics found within the following units of the specification:
B1: Cell Biology
B2: Organisation
B4: Bioenergetics
B5: Homeostasis and response
B6: Inheritance, variation and evolution
B7: Ecology
C1: Atomic structure and the periodic table
C2: Bonding, structure and properties of matter
C3: Quantitative chemistry
C4: Chemical changes
C5: Energy changes
C6: The rate and extent of chemical change
C7: Organic chemistry
C8: Chemical analysis
C9: Chemistry of the atmosphere
P1: Energy
P2: Electricity
P4: Atomic structure
P5: Forces
P6: Waves
These lessons use a range of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and quiz competitions to engage and motivate the students
This bundle of 18 lessons uses a range of exam questions, tasks, activities and quiz competitions to engage students whilst they assess their knowledge of the topics in modules B1-6, C1-6 and P1-6 of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. All of the lessons are fully resourced to take away that worry about how to get students to effectively revise in the lead up to assessments.
This bundle of 14 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic P5 (Forces) of the AQA Trilogy GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Contact and non-contact forces
Weight, mass and gravity
Resultant forces
Work done
Investigating springs
Speed and velocity
Acceleration
Distance and velocity-time graphs
Terminal velocity
Stopping distances
Reaction times
Momentum
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 19 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic C2 (Elements, compounds and mixtures) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Chemistry specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Relative formula mass
Empirical formula
Pure and impure substances
Filtration and crystallisation
Distillation
Chromatography
Metals and non metals
Electronic structure
Forming ions
Ionic compounds
Simple molecules
Giant covalent structures
Polymer molecules
Metallic bonding
Allotropes of carbon
Graphene and the fullerenes
Changing state
Nanoparticles
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 18 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic C2 (Elements, compounds and mixtures) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Elements
Electron configurations
Compounds
Chemical formula of ionic compounds
Ionic compounds
Covalent substances
Simple molecules
Polymers
Metallic bonding
Diamond and graphite
Graphene and the fullerenes
Changing states
Pure and impure substances
Distillation
Filtration and crystallisation
Chromatography
Interpreting chromatograms
Relative formula masses
Empirical formula
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 14 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic P2 (Forces) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Speed and velocity
Acceleration
Distance and velocity-time graphs
Contact and non-contact forces
Free body diagrams
Resultant forces
Terminal velocity
Momentum
Conservation of momentum
Mass, weight and gravitational field strength
Gravitational potential and kinetic energy
Work done and power
Hooke’s Law
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding. It is estimated that this bundle would cover over 6 week’s worth of lessons.
This bundle contains 17 fully-resourced and detailed lessons that have been designed to cover the content of topic 7 of the AQA A-level Biology specification which concerns genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems. The wide range of activities included in each lesson will engage the students whilst the detailed content is covered and the understanding and previous knowledge checks allow them to assess their progress on the current topic as well as challenging them to make links to other related topics. Most of the tasks are differentiated to allow differing abilities to access the work and be challenged.
The following sub-topics are covered in this bundle of lessons:
The use of genetic terminology
The inheritance of one or two genes in monohybrid and dihybrid crosses
Codominant and multiple alleles
The inheritance of sex-linked characteristics
Autosomal linkage
Epistasis as a gene interaction
The use of the chi-squared test
Species exist as one or more populations
The concepts of gene pool and allele frequency
Calculating allele frequencies using the Hardy-Weinberg principle
Causes of phenotypic variation
Stabilising, directional and disruptive selection
Genetic drift
Allopatric and sympatric speciation
Species, populations, communities and ecosystems
Factors affecting the populations in ecosystems
Estimating the size of a population using randomly placed quadrats, transects and the mark-release-recapture method
Primary succession, from colonisation by pioneer species to climax community
Conservation of habitats frequently involves the management of succession
This is one of the 8 topics which have to be covered over the length of the 2 year course and therefore it is expected that the teaching time for this bundle will be in excess of 2 months
If you want to see the quality of the lessons before purchasing then the lessons on codominant and multiple alleles, epistasis and phenotypic variation are free resources to download
The biological molecules topic is incredibly important, not just because it is found at the start of the course, but also because of its detailed content which must be well understood to promote success with the other 9 Edexcel A-level Biology B topics. Many hours of intricate planning has gone into the design of all of the 19 lessons that are included in this bundle to ensure that the content is covered in detail, understanding is constantly checked and misconceptions addressed and that engagement is high. This is achieved through the wide variety of tasks in the PowerPoints and accompanying worksheets which include exam-style questions with clear answers, discussion points, differentiated tasks and quick quiz competitions.
The following specification points are covered by the lessons within this bundle:
The differences between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides
The structure of glucose and ribose
The formation of disaccharides and polysaccharides from monosaccharides
The structure of starch, glycogen and cellulose
The synthesis of a triglyceride
The differences between saturated and unsaturated lipids
The relationship between the structure of lipids and their roles
The structure and properties of phospholipids
The structure of an amino acid
The formation of polypeptides and proteins
The role of ionic, hydrogen and disulphide bonding in proteins
The levels of protein structure
The structure of collagen and haemoglobin
The structure of DNA
The semi-conservative replication of DNA
A gene is a sequence of bases on DNA that codes for an amino acid sequence
The structure of mRNA
The structure of tRNA
The process of transcription
The process of translation
Base deletions, insertions and substitutions as gene mutations
The effect of point mutations on amino acid sequences
The structure of enzymes as globular proteins
The concept of specificity and the induced-fit hypothesis
Enzymes are catalysts that reduce activation energy
Understand how temperature affects enzyme activity
Enzymes catalyse a wide range of intracellular reactions as well as extracellular ones
The role of inorganic ions in plants
The importance of water for living organisms
Due to the detail included in these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of allocated A-level teaching time to complete.
If you would like to see the quality of the lessons then download the monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides, glucose and ribose, triglycerides, structure of DNA and transcription lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
Photosynthesis and respiration are two of the most commonly-assessed topics in the terminal A-level exams but are often poorly understood by students. These 16 lessons have been intricately planned to contain a wide range of activities that will engage and motivate the students whilst covering the key detail to try to deepen their understanding and includes exam-style questions so they are prepared for these assessments.
The following specification points in modules 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 of the OCR A-level Biology A course are covered by these lessons:
The structure of a chloroplast and the sites of the two main stages of photosynthesis
The importance of the photosynthetic pigments
Using thin-layer chromatography to separate photosynthetic pigments
The light-dependent stage of photosynthesis
The fixation of carbon dioxide and the light-independent stage of photosynthesis
The uses of triose phosphate
Factors affecting photosynthesis
The need for cellular respiration
The structure of the mitochondrion
The process and site of glycolysis
The link reaction and its site in the cell
The process and site of the Krebs cycle
The importance of coenzymes in cellular respiration
The process and site of oxidative phosphorylation
The chemiosmostic theory
The process of anaerobic respiration in eukaryotes
The relative energy values of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins as respiratory substrates
The use of the respiratory quotient
Due to the detail of these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of A-level lessons to cover this module
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons, download the uses of triose phosphate, link reaction and respiratory substrates lessons as these have been shared for free
Every one of the lessons included in this bundle is detailed, engaging and fully-resourced, and has been written to cover the content as detailed in topic 4 of the AQA A-level Biology specification. The wide range of activities will maintain engagement whilst supporting the explanations of the content to allow the students to build a deep understanding of genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms.
The following 18 lessons covering the 7 sub-topics are included in this bundle:
4.1: DNA, genes and chromosomes
DNA in prokaryotes and eukaryotes
Genes
4.2: DNA and protein synthesis
Genome, proteome and the structure of RNA
Transcription and splicing
Translation
4.3: Genetic diversity can arise as a result of mutation or during meiosis
The genetic code
Gene mutations
Chromosome mutations
Meiosis
4.4: Genetic diversity and adaptation
Genetic diversity
Natural selection
Directional and stabilising selection
Adaptations
4.5: Species and taxonomy
Species and taxonomy
4.6: Biodiversity within a community
Biodiversity within a community
Calculating an index of diversity
The balance between conservation and farming
4.7: Investigating diversity
Investigating diversity
Interpreting mean values and the standard deviation
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the DNA in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, structure of RNA, gene mutations, natural selection and standard deviation lessons as these have been uploaded for free
The wide variety of tasks that are written into the 18 lesson PowerPoints and accompanying resources that are included in this lesson bundle will engage and motivate the students whilst covering the detailed content of topic 4 of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification (Exchange and transport).
The following specification points are covered by these lessons:
Understand how the surface area to volume ratio affects the transport of molecules in living organisms
Understand why organisms need a mass transport system and specialised gas exchange surfaces as they increase in size
The structure of the cell surface membrane
Passive transport is brought about by diffusion and facilitated diffusion
Passive transport is brought about by osmosis
Understand how the properties of molecules affects how they are transported
Large molecules are transported in and out of cells by endocytosis and exocytosis
The process of active transport
The phosphorylation and hydrolysis of ATP
Understand how insects, fish and mammals are adapted for gas exchange
The structure of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries
The advantages of the double circulatory system
The sequence of events of the cardiac cycle
The myogenic stimulation of the heart
Interpreting ECG traces
The role of platelets and plasma proteins in the sequence of events leading to blood clotting
The structure of haemoglobin in relation to its role in the transport of respiratory gases
The Bohr effect
The dissociation curve of haemoglobin
The significance of the oxygen affinity of foetal haemoglobin
The similarities and differences between the structure and function of haemoglobin and myoglobin
The formation and reabsorption of tissue fluid
Know that tissue fluid that is not reabsorbed is returned to the blood via the lymph
The structure of the xylem and phloem in relation to their role in transport
The movement of water by the apoplastic and symplastic pathways
The cohesion-tension model
Hours and hours has gone into the intricate planning of all of these lessons and the quality can be sampled by downloading the following lessons which have been uploaded for free:
Surface area to volume ratio
ATP, active transport, endocytosis and exocytosis
Structure of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries
Double circulatory system
Apoplastic and symplastic pathways
Hours and hours of planning have gone into each and every lesson that’s included in this bundle to ensure that the students are engaged and motivated whilst the detailed content of topic 2 of the Edexcel International A-level Biology specification is covered. Membranes, proteins, DNA and gene expression represent some of the most important structures, molecules and processes involved in this subject and a deep understanding of their role in living organisms is important for a student’s success.
The 20 lesson PowerPoints and accompanying resources contain a wide range of activities which cover the following topic 2 specification points:
Know the properties of gas exchange surfaces in living organisms
Understand how the rate of diffusion can be calculated using Fick’s Law of Diffusion
Understand how the structure of the mammalian lung is adapted for rapid gas exchange
The structure and properties of cell membranes
The movement of free water molecules by osmosis
The movement across membranes by passive and active transport
The role of channel and carrier proteins in membrane transport
The basic structure of an amino acid
The formation of polypeptides and proteins
The structure of proteins
The mechanism of action and specificity of enzymes
Enzymes are biological catalysts
Intracellular and extracellular enzymes
The basic structure of mononucleotides
The structure of DNA and RNA
The process of DNA replication
The nature of the genetic code
A gene as a sequence of bases on DNA that codes for a sequence of amino acids
The process of transcription and translation
Errors in DNA replication give rise to mutations
Mutations give rise to disorders but many mutations have no observable effect
The meaning of key genetic terms
Understanding the pattern of monohybrid inheritance
Sex linkage on the X chromosome
Understand how the expression of a gene mutation in people with cystic fibrosis impairs the functioning of the gaseous exchange, digestive and reproductive systems
The uses and implications of genetic screening and prenatal testing
Due to the detail included in all of these lessons, it is estimated that it will take in excess of 2 months of allocated A-level teaching time to complete the teaching of the bundle
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, then download the rapid gas exchange, osmosis, DNA & RNA, genetic code, genetic terms and cystic fibrosis lessons as these have been uploaded for free.
This bundle contains 20 PowerPoint lessons, and all are highly-detailed and are fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets. Intricate planning means that the wide range of activities included in these lessons will engage and motivate the students, check on their current understanding and their ability to make links to previously covered topics and most importantly will deepen their understanding of the following specification points in topic 2 (Cells) of the AQA A-level Biology specification:
Structure and function of the organelles in eukaryotic cells
The specialised cells in complex, multicellular organisms
The structure of prokaryotic cells
The structure of viruses which are acellular and non-living
Measuring objects under an optical microscope
Use of the magnification formula
The principles of cell fractionation and ultracentrifugation
The behaviour of chromosomes during the stages of the cell cycle
Calculating the mitotic index
Uncontrolled cell division leads to the formation of tumours and cancer
Binary fission
The basic structure of cell membranes
The role of phospholipids, proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids and cholesterol
Simple diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
Osmosis, explained in terms of water potential
The role of carrier proteins and the hydrolysis of ATP in active transport
Co-transport as illustrated by the absorption of sodium ions and glucose by the cells lining the mammalian ileum
Recognition of different cells by the immune system
The identification of pathogens from antigens
The phagocytosis of pathogens
The cellular response involving T lymphocytes
The humoral response involving the production of antibodies by plasma cells
The structure of an antibody
The roles of plasma cells and memory cells in the primary and secondary immune response
The use of vaccines to protect populations
The differences between active and passive immunity
The structure of the human immunodeficiency virus and its replication in helper T cells
Why antibiotics are ineffective against viruses
The use of antibodies in the ELISA test
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, then download the eukaryotic animal cells, viruses, osmosis, lymphocytes, HIV and AIDS lessons as these have been shared for free.
I have also uploaded lessons on optical microscopes and HIV and AIDS (for free) but neither are included in this bundle as the limit of 20 resources has been reached!
Respiration and photosynthesis are two of the most commonly-assessed topics in the terminal A-level exams but are often poorly understood by students. These 16lessons have been intricately planned to contain a wide range of activities that will engage and motivate the students whilst covering the key detail to try to deepen their understanding and includes exam-style questions so they are fully prepared for these assessments.
The following specification points in topics 12 and 13 of the CIE A-level Biology course are covered by these lessons:
The need for energy in living organisms
The features of ATP
The synthesis of ATP by substrate-level phosphorylation in glycolysis and the Krebs cycle
The roles of the coenzymes in respiration
The synthesis of ATP through the electron transport chain in the mitochondria and chloroplasts
The relative energy values of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins as respiratory substrates
Determining the respiratory quotient from equations for respiration
The four stages of aerobic respiration
An outline of glycolysis
When oxygen is available, pyruvate is converted into acetyl CoA in the link reaction
The steps of the Krebs cycle
Oxidative phosphorylation
The relationship between the structure and function of the mitochondrion
Distinguish between aerobic and anaerobic respiration in mammalian tissue and in yeast cells
Anaerobic respiration generates a small yield of ATP and builds up an oxygen debt
The products of the light-dependent stage are used in the Calvin cycle
The structure of a chloroplast and the sites of the light-dependent and light-independent stages of photosynthesis
The role of the chloroplast pigments
Absorption and action spectra
Using chromatography to separate the chloroplast pigments
The light-dependent stage of photosynthesis
The three stages of the Calvin cycle
The conversion of Calvin cycle intermediates to carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids
Explain the term limiting factor in relation to photosynthesis
Explain the effects of changes in light intensity, carbon dioxide concentration and temperature on the rate of photosynthesis
Explain how an understanding of limiting factors is used to increase crop yields in protected environments
Due to the detail of these lessons, it is estimated that it will take up to 2 months of allocated A-level teaching time to cover the detail included in the slides of these lessons
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons, download the roles of the coenzymes, the Krebs cycle and the products of the Calvin cycle lessons as these have been shared for free
This bundle of 19 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic B6 (Global challenges) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Biology specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Investigating distribution by sampling
Increasing biodiversity
Loss of biodiversity
Selective breeding
Genetic engineering
Producing a GMO
Health and disease
Communicable diseases
Stopping the spread of diseases
Plant diseases
Plant defences
The Human Body’s Defences
Blood clotting
The uses of vaccines
Monoclonal antibodies
Antibiotics
Developing drugs
Non-communicable diseases
Treating cardiovascular diseases
Organ transplants
Stem cells in medicine
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 18 lessons covers all of the content in Topic C3 (Chemical reactions) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Conservation of mass
Writing word and symbol equations
Writing ionic equations
The mole
Mole calculations
Calculating masses
Concentrations
Endothermic and exothermic reactions
Bond energy calculations
Making salts
Reactions of acids
Oxidation and reduction reactions
Electrolysis
Writing half equations for electrolysis
Detecting gases
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle of 17 lessons covers the majority of the content in Topic B6 (Global challenges) of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Combined Science specification. The topics covered within these lessons include:
Investigating distribution by sampling
Increasing biodiversity
Loss of biodiversity
Selective breeding
Genetic engineering
Producing a GMO
Health and disease
Communicable diseases
Stopping the spread of diseases
Plant diseases
The Human Body Defences
Blood clotting
Using vaccines In the prevention of disease
Antibiotics
Developing drugs
Non-communicable diseases
Treating cardiovascular diseases
Organ transplants
Stem cells in medicine
All of these lesson presentations and accompanying resources are detailed and engaging and contain regular progress checks to allow the students to constantly assess their understanding.
This bundle contains 19 lessons which are engaging and highly detailed in order to cover the difficult content as set out in topic 9 (Control systems) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
The lesson PowerPoints and accompanying resources contain a wide variety of tasks which cover the following specification points:
Homeostasis is the maintenance of a state of dynamic equilibrium
The importance of maintaining pH, temperature and water potential in the body
The meaning of negative feedback and positive feedback control
The principles of hormone production by endocrine glands
The two main modes of action in hormones
The organisation of the mammalian nervous system into the CNS and PNS
The structure of the spinal cord
The location and functions of the main parts of the brain
The division of the autonomic nervous system into the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems
The transport of sodium and potassium ions in a resting potential
The formation of an action potential and the propagation along an axon
Saltatory conduction
The function of synapses
The formation and effects of excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials
The structure of the human retina
The role of rhodopsin
The distribution of rods and cone cells
The control of heart rate by the autonomic nervous system
The gross and microscopic structure of the kidney
The production of urea in the liver and its removal from the blood by ultrafiltration
Selective reabsorption in the proximal tubule
Water reabsorption in the loop of Henle
Control of mammalian plasma concentration
The differences between ectotherms and endotherms
The regulation of temperature by endotherms
If you would like to sample the quality of this lesson bundle, then download the homeostasis, mammalian nervous system, resting and action potentials and the formation of urea and ultrafiltration lessons as these have been uploaded for free.