NEW AQA GCSE Trilogy (2016) Biology - The Carbon Cycle

This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA Trilogy Biology GCSE, particularly the ‘Ecology’ SoW.

For more lessons designed to meet specification points for the NEW AQA Trilogy specifications for Biology, Chemistry and Physics please see my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/SWiftScience

The first part of the lesson focuses on outlining the importance of carbon within the living world, where we might find it in our bodies and the world around us. The first task pupils will be asked to complete is a mind map of the processes they think will add or remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. Pupils can discuss in pairs and once complete the answers can be revealed for pupils to assess their work.

The next task is for pupils to watch a video about greenhouse gases, there are a set of questions pupils will be given which they need to answer whilst watching the video. Once this task is complete pupils can assess their work using the answers provided.

The next task is a fill-in-the-blanks task, pupils are given a paragraph about the role of carbohydrates in animals and plants, they need to complete this using the key words provided. Once completed pupils can assess their work using the answers provided.

Pupils will then watch a video about the carbon cycle which details the process involved, once the students have watched the video they will be given a worksheet which they need to complete using the captions provided on the PowerPoint slide. Lower ability students may want to complete this as a group & could perhaps complete whilst the video is playing to assist them. Once they have completed the task pupils can self-assess their work using the answers provided.

The next task may be better suited to higher ability pupils, a set of cards images and captions are provided per pupil and they need to use this to construct their own carbon cycle in their books. Higher ability pupils may want to test their knowledge and turn to their back page to complete this without looking at their previous work

The last task is for pupils to consider the future and how we may be able to implement strategies to help reduce our carbon emissions in order to combat global warming. Pupils are to discuss possible methods/strategies we could use and mind map their ideas in their books.

The plenary task is for pupils to turn to the back of their books and write down a description of as many processes which contribute to the carbon cycle as possible.

All resources are included at the end of the presentation. Thanks for looking, if you have any questions please let me know in the comments section and any feedback would be appreciated :)