I have been teaching science for over 30 years. although Biology is my specialism I have lots of experience of teaching Physics and Chemistry to GCSE. I am particularly interested in practical work and believe that all science teachers should be able to teach good practicals and give practical demos.
I have been teaching science for over 30 years. although Biology is my specialism I have lots of experience of teaching Physics and Chemistry to GCSE. I am particularly interested in practical work and believe that all science teachers should be able to teach good practicals and give practical demos.
Measuring the population size of a common species in a habitat is a required practical for GCSE. Personally i love fieldwork, but we will all be in a situation when we have planned to teach this, but it is raining outside! Also there is always that one class that you really do not trust. This activity will help you still do that lesson, but indoors. It is not a computer simulation but involves real ecological techniques.
Innovative and fun way for students to show their knowledge of antigens, antibodies and phagocytosis.
Students use i-pads to make a film.
More description of activity and a short video of one of the results are in the blog.
Was a great success!
This could be used as a starter for a lesson on adaptations or just as a general biology "thinking" starter. I will use it for my Year 12s who have just done stem and leaf structure. There are suggested questions and some background about the cabbage white caterpillars on the power point. Further details available at
http://wilsonevescience.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/adaptations-caterpillars.html
This worksheet was written for AQA GCSE Trilogy, Biology section on Ecology.
It is aimed at low ability to get them to think around some of the key terms used, habitat, population, community, abiotic, biotic and ecosystem.
This resource is for KS3 Science (Biology). It is intended to ask students to summarise the digestion and absorption of food. The power point pictures are given letters and students must number them in order to sequence the processes. They can also briefly describe each process. Alternatively you can make cards from the word document and ask the students to place the cards in sequence.
Here is information about the Brazil nut Tree, how it is pollinated and the brazil nut seeds ditributed. It is a great starter to illustrate how important biodiversity is to the survival of species.
This picture is of a hazel shrub with flowering catkins on 11th Jan 2014! There are links to my blog with further pictures and also pictures of summer flowers also in flower in January. Could be used for post-16 Biology. The Salters-Nuffield has a section on phenology for example in topic 5 at A level.
Could be used generally in tutor time to think about Global warming and possible local effects. Is this Global warming or is it just that in the SW we have had a mild winter so far?
This resource contains instructions on how to set up this tropism demo and a bit of background on how the plant makes it work. Suitable for GCSE Biology. The students were intrigued and it works extremely well.
The aim of this resource is to get children outdoors looking for wild flowers according to the month. This month's sheet is for January - with the others in preparation. Outdoor learning enhances the well-being of children, is fun and instructive. In KS1 and 2 children have to learn some of the common names of living things around them and this resource enables teachers to do this, with plants that can be found around the playground in this case. The short descriptions about each plant are written for children aged 6 to 9 years, so can be used individually as well as a class resource.
To share your children's finds – just post them on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #herbologyhunt or in our new Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/530501890646957/
This is a compendium of practical work that works to show all aspects of photosynthesis. It includes some results data that students can analyse. There is nothing startlingly new, ( although there is one practical - fluorescence that I used for the first time this year!), but it is useful as it brings ideas together. It is ideal for non-specialists and teachers new to teaching biology and maybe even for some more experienced teachers looking for different angles. There are a few pages here, as it is a distilled version of over 30 years experience so there is a useful page index. I would appreciate some feedback please.
This is a worksheet that assesses a student's understanding of what a "good" hypothesis is and their ability to analyse results. It could be used as a homework after a lesson or series of lessons on enzymes.
Good for a primary school outdoor activity. KS2 Science Year 3 requires children to be able to name some common plants. Primary teachers, please help our children gain a better knowledge of their environment, by spotting what is outdoors.
Ideal for KS1 or KS2 outdoor activity/naming common plants. This spotter sheet has 5 plants that are commonly found in June, with pictures and background information. Great for an “outdoors classroom” activity. Download other monthly sheets from https://thewildflowersociety.com/wfs_junior_pages/herbology_page/herbology_calendar_page_v7_table.html
This is a spotter sheet with pictures and descriptions to help children identify wildflowers. Suitable for primary age from 7 to early secondary 12-13 years. KS2 science curriculum requires children to identify some common plants. Mostly this is an activity children can do with parents and carers to increase their knowledge of the natural world.