Who? For anyone trying to plan something creative to allow various science skills to be developed. This project/lesson has so much scope. At a push this could be done in a lesson and then perhaps for homework but it would work a lot better if a couple of hours of time was given to make a good job of it! The project would sit nicely anywhere within the year or would make a great end of term activity as it is a completely ‘stand alone’ topic. Perhaps you could use this in a STEM week or during Science week? This bundle of resources contains a powerpoint to guide through the project as well as teacher/technician notes, a detailed lesson plan, plus some suspect profiles to work out ‘whodunnit’. I have included a student sheet to allow them to gather and record data and draw conclusions. Students will need to drop ‘blood’ onto the floor/ a surface and gather a set of control diameters of blood splats which are created upon the blood hitting the floor. Students will have to consider how to control various elements of the project/investigation and how to improve accuracy, repeatability, precision etc. They will then need to plot a graph of their results before drawing a final conclusion. I love using this resource! It is fully editable but gives you a resource you can use straight away (you’ll just need to talk to your technicians about making some fake blood…). Enjoy!

Who? For anyone trying to plan something creative to allow various science skills to be developed. This project/lesson has so much scope. This could be delivered as a stand alone lesson or coupled with my other forensic project lessons to create an extended investigation. The project would sit nicely anywhere within the year or would make a great end of term activity as it is a completely ‘stand alone’ topic. Perhaps you could use this in a STEM week or during Science week? This bundle of resources contains a powerpoint to guide through the project as well as teacher/technician notes, a detailed lesson plan, plus some suspect profiles to work out ‘whodunnit’. I have included a student sheet to allow them to gather and record observations and draw conclusions. Students will need to set up a microscope to observe some pre-prepared slides showing hair and fibre samples and draw their observations. This resource is fully editable but can be used straight away (you’ll just need to talk to your technicians about making some hair and fibre slides using the suspect profiles for guidance…). Enjoy!

This lovely resource allows students to present details on the menstrual cycle in a creative and visual way. It is a blank calendar for the month of February (28 days = perfect!) with a diagram of the cycle and the key events which take place plus an incomplete, colour coded key. Students task is to research, find out information to complete the empty boxes under the calendar and describe the main stages of the cycle. This can then be colour coded on to the calendar with colouring pencils. The task can be extended to challenge students to research what is occurring in terms of hormone activity too!

Who? For those teaching Key Stage 3 Microbes and Disease (although could be used as a potential starter for KS4) specifically 'Natural Defences against disease'. What? This is a diamond 9 activity which has the potential to allow for some deeper discussion about the natural methods of defence against disease. It will force students to consider which are most important as they begin to rank them. You can them challenge them with the 'what if' questions? "Well, what if you lack the platelet in your blood which causes scabs?". Lovely activity to really get them thinking. I love these activities because there are no 'right and wrong' answers.

This simple activity offers you a small data set for students to plot in as a line graph (you’ll need graph paper!). It also provides descriptions which can be ‘cut and stuck’ or annotated onto the graph to summarise the different stages of foetal growth. Once the graph and descriptions are in place there should be plenty of opportunity to question/extend your students by getting them to think about the different stages of the graph. Eg Where is growth most rapid? Why might that be? How might the woman be feeling during these stages? Why? You get the idea! Great or graph plotting skills development too.

A five page booklet of classification activities. This booklet could be used in class or as a series of homeworks (would make a great holiday project). Students will need to know how to classify vertebrates and invertebrates. EDIT* Useful feedback from a review - give students page numbers to textbooks you use or websites if homework project!

This blank table will allow students to organise/present information they have gathered during online research on a variety of diseases. This resource could easily be used with my ‘Doctor, Doctor!’ game/activity (also free for download).

This resource consists of various fact sheets summarising methods to help with the prevention of the spread of disease. It is accompanied by a table which students can use to organise and present the key information gathered. This task could be run as a ‘circus’ whereby students visit various stations to gather information. It could also used as a marketplace type activity during which pairs/groups of students are given one of the topics and need to orchestrate a 2 minute ‘teach back’ on their topic to the rest of the group.

A great and simple revision game/resource which could be used anywhere within the cells, tissues and organs topic. The resource has a class set of questions which can be used to play switch-switch. Each student has a card (these will need to be printed off and cut up), asks another student the question on their card and waits for their response. If they’re correct brilliant, if not then the correct answer is shared. The other student then reciprocates and then the cards are swapped. In theory, if this activity runs for a few minutes, most students will see most of the cards. A blank copy of the questions (no answers) could then be printed off and given out to see how many answers the students remember OR, a girls vs boys class competition could be set up.

A simple but great worksheet to get them thinking and discussing. A variety of ‘odd one out’ type questions, some with some requirement for an extended explanation. Students need to use their classification skills to decide which the ‘Odd one out’ is. This will assess students on their understanding of… vertebrate groups invertebrate groups arthropod groups Question sheet is editable but ready to print. Answer sheet is in the same document to save you doing any thinking!

Though about reindeer and the Christmas ‘feel’, this activity can be done at any time of the year (ie whenever you’re teaching genetics!) or could be unleashed as a stand alone Christmas end of term type activity. It could also be sent home as a project too. All instructions are on the sheet and students have free reign to be as creative as they like. The thing I find when teaching selective breeding is the misconception that it’s as easy as A + B = perfect C and students forget that the process is lengthy as many rounds of breeding need to be done to iron out the unwanted features etc. As a result, I’ve popped in a little extension question at the end to get them thinking! Though aimed at KS3 this could easily be used for lower ability KS4.

Who? For anyone trying to plan something creative to allow various science skills to be developed. This project/lesson has so much scope. At a push this could be done in a lesson and then perhaps for homework but it would work a lot better if a couple of hours of time was given to make a good job of it! Have a look at my other forensic resources which this could be combined with! The project would sit nicely anywhere within the year or would make a great end of term activity as it is a completely ‘stand alone’ topic. Perhaps you could use this in a STEM week or during Science week? This lesson could also be used within a Biology topic which involves ‘food tests’ (sugar and protein). This bundle of resources contains a powerpoint to guide through the project as well as teacher/technician notes, a lesson plan, plus a student worksheet to allow them to gather and record data and draw conclusions. Students will need to test four different urine samples for the presence of sugar and protein (these will need to be prepared - see tech notes) using the benedicts and sodium hydroxide/copper sulfate solutions. Students will have to consider how to control various elements of the project/investigation and how to improve accuracy, repeatability, precision etc. They will then need to record their observations as they go along (this can be done on the student sheet). Great resource! It is fully editable but gives you a resource you can use straight away (you’ll just need to talk to your technicians about making some fake urine…). Enjoy!

A simple 'match ‘em up’ activity to sort/match the name of the reproductive organ with it’s function. These are not in order so could be printed off and handed out straight away. If time is limited this would make a good colour code activity rather than ‘cut and stick’.

This is a simple and versatile resource which could be used in a number of ways! Resource consists of two documents containing ‘patient’ statements, detailing a list of symptoms for a disease plus a matching ‘doctor’ statement to diagnose the disease. This resource could be used as a… 'match ‘em up’ Loop game Memory game role play …etc. Statements are in Word and so editable.