I have adapted the PiXL personal learning checklist (PLC) so that the statements are student-friendly questions and the tick boxes have been enlarged for students to prove that they understand the concept by filling the box with diagrams or descriptions. I get students to fill this in as they go through the topic to check understanding and use the answers to self-mark them before they do the end of topic test. SEN or absent students can get a copy of the answers to annotate. Check out my account for other topics.

A2 Biology Photosynthesis - written as a list of reactions and then again as a silly story for students to draw as a cartoon or just memorise. Using this technique I have had students be able to memorise and then recite every part of photosynthesis in under an hour. It takes a bit of a leap of faith to try it, but it has worked well for me. Let me know if you need any help. Pete

Because of the way hexagons tessellate (love that word) you can group together key words or ideas and ask students to justify the connections between ideas. They are great for assessing understanding or trying to make sense of connections between ideas. I always keep a bag of hexagons handy for summarising or making sense of complex ideas. I don’t recommend buying a Hexagon cutter - they are quite expensive, the hexagons are quite small, and are fine for cutting out the odd one or two, but if you want to make more, cutters can take a while. I suggest using my hexagon template for making them in bulk. Just cut out the strips then chop off the corners.

Blooms snakes and ladders blank template. Students can add questions for end of topic tests or revision. Enjoy :)

65 ideas for revising alone, with a partner, or in a group. Some revision websites and ideas for revising also included.

Starter/Plenary exit ticket-type activity which asks students to draw a picture on an instagram template about 'today’s topic' as a starter and then in a plenary to show progress within the lesson. Very popular and effective with my classes. You get some great comments which link to the learning. Enjoy :)

These personal learning checklists have been created by John Andrews, Chemistry teacher and Deputy Head at The City of Leicester College. They have been broken down into key areas of study for each unit with RAGed self assessment boxes for each one. Great resource to support revision.

Great resource to support student understanding of key words, phrases, numbers, equations, literary characters...etc. Students place a different key word/phrase etc from your topic in each of the 7 hexagons. In the grid below, student's explain how each word is linked to the one next to it, e.g. for “A” you would explain how the word in the centre hexagon links to the word in the top hexagon.