Lots of maths questions to use for Year 13 biology exam preparation. I searched the AQA database and pulled out 34 questions for practicing maths skills ranging from simple mean calculations, to percentage change, magnification and rates. Still useful for OCR Biology A. I have removed almost all the content-based questions so just the question stem and maths bits of the questions remain. Despite this, it is probably best used with Year 13 who are familiar with the contexts in A2. There are no statistics questions.

Powerpoint for teaching about the principles and uses of gel electrophoresis in gene technologies.

Powerpoint for the teaching of synapses and reflexes at A Level.

Diagram for labeling and table to complete to compare the structure and function of rod cells and cone cells. Students use textbook or information from the lesson to complete.

Powerpoint and handout for lesson about sensory receptors. The handout is passive to reduce the amount of writing that the students had to do and try and engage more discussion. The textbook goes into quite a lot of detail about pigments and having read some examiner comments it doesn’t look like this is necessary (you’ll see a comment over 2 of the slides). Feel free to use as is or edit to your requirements. BSR refers to the Biological Sciences Review magazines which have some useful articles to read.

** UPDATED 03/03/20 ** A starting point for talking about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak including facts, pictures and ideas for questions and discussions. Could be used when discussing infectious diseases, viral structure, vaccines, clinical trials, PCR etc. Up to date as of 03-03-20 Made in google slides but hopefully has been translated into Powerpoint ok.

A reading activity for reviewing or revising ecological concepts for A Level Biology in the context of the 2019/20 Australian bushfires. Some short answer questions to test understanding of keywords and concepts followed by some questions which could be used for class discussion or set as a group exercise. Also includes links to other articles to read and a short video to watch. Source of article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/20/more-than-100-threatened-species-australian-bushfires-towards-extinction

An overview of the effects of smoking on the lungs which could be used as an alternative to textbook work or using the internet for research. You could have students turn the information into a table or other format, set some questions for their peers based on it or use it as a basis for discussion.

Spot the mistakes reading activity with answers. Specifically designed for the Edexcel iGCSE specification which requires them to know that CFCs can also act as greenhouse gases.

Activity for students to learn about what plants do with the glucose they make in photosynthesis. Aimed at GCSE (specifically iGCSE Edexcel) as I’ve tried to link it in with the topic they’ve already done on biomolecules and obviously cell structure. DART stands for Directed Activity Related to Text. It could be used in many ways. For example students read once and highlight in one colour all the chemicals that are mentioned. And then read again and highlight in another colour what they need the various chemicals for. Then they use this information to create a spider diagram, with little picture, to help them remember the information.

UPDATED due to a couple of errors (26/04/19). My class were struggling with inheritance, particularly keywords, monohybrid crosses and pedigrees, so I made this booklet. Some of the activities are adapted from a great resource by https://www.tes.com/member/Masfar Exam questions are from Edexcel iGCSE (old spec) Answer booklet included.

Basic template to review or revise genetic modification for Edexcel iGCSE. I’ve also added a bit about the ethics to think about.

An information sheet and question sheet for a bit of independent work on the roles of the placenta and amniotic sac for edexcel iGCSE. We do this in Year 11 so there are a few synoptic quesitons in there too such as “describe the role of antibodies”, “describe how the mother gets rid of the foetal carbon dioxide”. Feel free to use this Quizizz quiz too: https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/5bedc6df007091001a7aed67

Using the BBC Bitesize video here: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zxhktv4/video , students complete the story board with information about what happens during each stage of the menstrual cycle. I suggest you watch it at least twice. You could also assign different students key things to listen out for and then they help others to fill theirs in. Could be made into a small group activity. There is a page with suggested answers. This could be modified to differentiate. It’s worth watching the video though to ensure you use similar wording so it’s easy for the students to recognise the correct information.

Here’s a poster, best printed A3, to help your students remember that there’s more to passing the exams than just recall of facts. You could also print smaller copies for their files etc. Original powerpoint file also included in case you want to edit it.

Wordsearch activity designed for Y9 iGCSE (edexcel) ecology, but could could also be used for KS3 and other exam boards. It’s easy to adapt if you want to tweak the definitions. Comes with answers. Students can either find words first and write them in the box, then match up with definitions. Or do the other way around, or maybe a combination of both.

Activity / revision mat about haemoglobin based on AQA past paper questions. Also links in a little bit with protein structure and touches on phylogeny. Answers included.

Revision mat template for skeleton movement and joints. You may want to edit the ‘5 functions’ of the skeleton depending on what you’ve taught previously. We include: movement, making blood cells, protection, shape and support, and storage of minerals.

Have your students learn the structures of the heart in their own time before the lesson so that you can use this time for consolidation, problem solving and other activities. They already know the basics from GCSE and your lesson time is better spent! They’ll need to use https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/circulatory-system/circulatory-system-introduction/v/meet-the-heart which is also a good opportunity to direct them to this website for their independent learning. Students are directed to watch the videos to answer the questions and then fully label the diagram of the heart. Also included is a lesson activity. You hold on to a diagram of the heart with specific parts coloured in specific colours. Students work through the colouring tasks and then check to see if theirs matches the teacher sheet.

Powerpoint and hand out for students to fill in about the components of the blood, functions and a bit about blood donation for extension. Originally produced for teaching edexcel iGCSE but fully editable for use with all exam boards. Includes a link to a kahoot quiz.