This is a 1 hour lesson resource designed for a lower ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science Biology topic ‘Homeostasis’. This lesson focuses on reflex arcs, and neurotransmitter release at synapses. My lesson resources always contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mixed ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Chemistry specification. This lesson is from the ‘electrolysis’ topic and guides students through the Required Practical on electrolysis. This resource contains a guided PowerPoint (inc. a health and safety slide), and a student method sheet with a results table and application questions. The slide contains answers to the application questions. My lesson resources always contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This is the 3rd lesson in “Chapter 1 - Particles and their behaviour” from Activate 1, Chemistry. This lesson is on ‘density’ from pages 82 and 83. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Chemistry class, even by those where chemistry is not their specialism. This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks. From this lesson, students should be able to: Explain what is meant by the terms ‘density’, ‘mass’ and ‘volume’ Explain why some solids have different densities Explain why the same substance has different densities in different states All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

An A3 knowledge organiser on the Organic Chemistry topic from the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus. Also suitable for AQA GCSE Chemistry, although does not include the ‘more organic chemistry’ topic. The knowledge organiser includes information on: The structure and formula of alkanes The structure and formula of alkenes Tests for alkenes Complete combustion of hydrocarbons Incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons Trends in the properties of hydrocarbons Fractional distillation Cracking

A full hour lesson designed for year 7 as part of an ‘introduction to science’ unit, teaching key science skills to new students in KS3. This full hour lesson resource contains: A ‘5 in 5’ style retrieval starter recapping key concepts from primary school, plus questions on lab safety An embedded animated video showing and naming key scientific apparatus in the lab A scavenger hunt activity, for students to find key practical equipment in the science lab Introduction slides on 2D drawings of apparatus Whiteboard quiz on naming / drawing apparatus, with answers An independent task on drawing apparatus, with answers A written plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This is the 6th and final lesson in “Chapter 3 - Light” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson focuses on ‘colour’. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism. This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks. This lesson includes a short practical where students pass white light from a ray box through a triangular prism. From this lesson, students should be able to: Describe how white light is dispersed when it passes through a prism Explain why white light is dispersed when it passes through a prism Explain why objects have certain colours Recall the primary colours of light and secondary colours of light Describe the colour of light that will be seen when primary colours of light are mixed Identify the colour of light that will be seen when different coloured lights are passed through different coloured filters All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This is the 4th lesson in “Chapter 1 - Particles and their behaviour” from Activate 1, Chemistry. This lesson is on ‘melting and freezing’. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Chemistry class, even by those where chemistry is not their specialism. This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks. From this lesson, students should be able to: Explain what is meant by the terms ‘melting’, ‘freezing’ and ‘change of state’ To describe what happens to the particles in a substance when it melts or freezes. To state the factor in the particle model that explains why different substances have different melting points Estimate the melting point of a substance from its temperature-time graph All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This is a 1 hour lesson resource designed for a mid-ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science curriculum. They were studying the topic on the digestive system and enzymes. This lesson focuses on the function of the liver. In this lesson, students will practice: Labelling the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, bile duct Describing the functions of the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, bile duct Describing the role of the bile in terms of neutralising stomach acid and emulsifying lipids My lesson resources always contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson is designed for a year 7 class studying the KS3 Activate curriculum. This lesson is focused on unicellular organisms. From this lesson, students should be able to: Name two unicellular organisms (amoeba and euglena) Describe the basic structures found in unicellular organisms (amoeba and euglena) and their functions Compare the structures of euglena to the structures found in animal cells and plant cells All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 8 class. This is the second lesson in “Chapter 1 - Health and Lifestyle” from Activate 2, Biology. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Biology class, even by those where Biology is not their specialism. From this lesson, students should be able to: Name seven key nutrients that play a role in a healthy, balanced diet (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, fibre, vitamins, minerals, water) Recall foods that contain each of these nutrients in large amounts Describe the role of each of these nutrients in the body All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

This lesson was designed for a lower ability year 10 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification. This lesson covers: What is variation? What is the difference between continuous and discontinuous variation? What are examples of continuous and discontinuous variation? Which examples of variation are controlled by genetic or environmental factors? This is a full 1 hour lesson resource which contains: A 5-in-5 retrieval style starter A lesson hook Direct instruction slides (low cognitive load, dual coding) Guided student discussions Teacher models Frequent checkpoints (quizzes, multiple choice hand signals) A Venn diagram with answers Written student responses Modeled answers A student group activity A written plenary task

A lesson on peat bogs based on the AQA GCSE Biology syllabus. The lesson resource contains: A “5 in 5” style starter An interesting lesson hook Direct instruction on peat bogs as carbon sinks An embedded video from a news report on the destruction of peat Reading comprehension task: A link to an online article with beautiful illustrations, and a printed copy of the text from this link that students can follow along with A hand signal quiz to check for understanding Exam style questions with mark schemes A ‘write to your local MP’ task, with guided peer assessment A plenary task ‘Give me 5’

A full 1 hour lesson designed for a mixed ability year 7 class. This is the 4th lesson in “Chapter 3 - Light” from Activate 1, Physics. This lesson focuses on the eye, from the pages ‘the eye and the camera’. I have separated these into two lessons. This lesson should be suitable to teach to any KS3 Physics class, even by those where physics is not their specialism. This lesson (and all lessons in this unit) is designed to be interactive and engaging, with plenty of real world examples and independent tasks. This lesson includes a short practical where students view inverted images through a magnifying glass. From this lesson, students should be able to: Label the structures in the eye (pupil, cornea, iris, lens, retina, optic nerve) Describe the function of each of the structures in the eye (pupil, cornea, iris, lens, retina, optic nerve) Describe how the lens inverts images Describe the role of photoreceptor cells in the retina All of my lesson resources contain: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter An interesting lesson hook, careers link, or retrieval practice to start the lesson Teacher input slides with dual coding and reduced cognitive load Teacher models Regular ‘check for understanding’ slides, such as hand signals quizzes Regular student independent practice slides, with optional scaffolds, challenges and answer slides A plenary task

8 lessons from the communicable disease topic from the AQA GCSE Biology curriculum. Lesson titles are as follows: Pathogens and bacterial diseases (salmonella, gonorrhoea) Viral diseases (measles, AIDS, tobacco mosaic virus) Fungal diseases (athlete’s foot, rose black spot) Protist diseases (malaria) Human primary defence responses Components of blood White blood cells and the immune response Vaccinations

A PowerPoint presentation (1 hour) designed for a higher ability year 8 class. Mainly focuses on the different adaptations of wind-pollinated vs. insect-pollinated flowers. Resource also contains a differentiated reading comprehension task on fertilisation in flowers. This resource contains: 5-in-5 style retrieval starter Lesson hook Class discussion on pollen grains Embedded video on insect pollination Direct instruction slides on insect pollination / wind pollination A 5-question quiz as a CFU An independent writing task comparing insect and wind pollination, with model paragraphs for self assessment A reading comprehension task - differentiated (colour coded or not) Comprehension questions based on reading task - differentiated (colour coded or not) - followed by answers. A plenary task

This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus. This lesson is an overview of the three types of cell transport, and uses movement of substances across a root hair cell as a specific example. This resource includes: A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load) Regular checks for understanding (quizzes) Guided ‘turn and talk’ Independent practice tasks, with answer slides Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides A written plenary task

This lesson was designed for a higher ability year 11 class studying the AQA GCSE Combined Science syllabus. This lesson is an overview of active transport, also discussing adaptations of the intestinal epithelial cells. A 5-in-5 retrieval-style starter Direct instruction slides (dual coding, reduced cognitive load) Regular checks for understanding (quizzes) Guided ‘turn and talk’ Independent practice tasks, with answer slides Exam questions with scaffolds provided and answer slides A game ‘Articulate’ A written plenary task

A colour-coded worksheet to scaffold writing word equations for displacement reactions. The worksheet contains a description of displacement reactions, a reactivity series for reference, an example of a completed word equation, and 15 questions for students to attempt ramped in difficulty. Eventually students should work up to writing word equations for displacement reactions without needing the colour coding.