A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
A Science teacher by trade, I've also been known to be found teaching Maths and PE! However, strange as it may seem, my real love is designing resources that can be used by other teachers to maximise the experience of the students. I am constantly thinking of new ways to engage a student with a topic and try to implement that in the design of the lessons.
This concise lesson covers the content of specification point 5.1.5 (l) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply an understanding of the action of neuromuscular junctions. Due to a number of similarities between these structures and cholinergic synapses, this lesson uses prior knowledge of these connections between neurones to build a good understanding of the junctions. Students will discover that the events that occur at an axon tip mirror those which happen at the pre-synaptic bulb and this is then developed to look at the differences in terms of the events once the acetylcholine has bound to its receptor sites. There is a focus on the structure of the sarcolemma and time is taken to explain how the action potential is passed from this membrane to the transverse tubules in order to stimulate the release of calcium ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. As a result, this lesson ties in nicely with the following lesson on the contraction of skeletal muscle and students will be able to link the binding to troponin in that lesson to the release of these ions from this lesson.
Both of the main tasks of the lesson have been differentiated so that students of all abilities can access the work and make progress.
This lesson has been designed for those students studying on the OCR A-level Biology course and ties in nicely with the other uploaded lessons on module 5.1.5 (Animal and plant responses)
An engaging lesson presentation (42 slides) and associated worksheet that uses a combination of exam questions, understanding checks, quick tasks and a quiz competition to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within the Chemistry unit C5 (Energy changes) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification point C5.5). The lesson includes useful hints and tips to encourage success in assessments. For example, students are shown how to use the energy change in a chemical reaction to work out if it is an endothermic or exothermic reaction.
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Endothermic and exothermic reactions
Reaction profiles
Calculating energy changes in reactions
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including a summary round called “E NUMBERS” which requires them to use all of their knowledge to work out the type of reactions that are shown.
A fully resourced lesson which includes an informative lesson presentation (34 slides) and differentiated worksheets that show students how to convert between units so they are confident to carry out these conversions when required in Science questions. The conversions which are regularly seen at GCSE are covered as well as some more obscure ones which students have to be aware of. A number of quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to maintain motivation and to allow the students to check their progress in an engaging way
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but is suitable for KS3
This extensive and fully-resourced lesson describes the principles and explains the techniques used in the production of recombinant DNA in genetic engineering. Both the engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been written to cover points 6.1.3 (f) (i & ii) of the OCR A-level Biology A specification.
The lesson begins with a definition of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA to allow students to begin to understand how this process involves the transfer of DNA fragments from one species to another. Links are made to the genetic code and transcription and translation mechanisms, which were met in module 2, in order to explain how the transferred gene can be translated in the transgenic organism. Moving forwards, the method involving reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase is introduced and their knowledge of the structure of the polynucleotides and the roles of enzymes is challenged through questions and discussion points. Restriction enzymes are then introduced and time is taken to look at the structure of a restriction site as well as the production of sticky ends due to the staggered cut on the DNA. A series of exam-style questions with displayed mark schemes are used to allow the students to assess their current understanding.
The second half of the lesson looks at the culture of transformed host cells as an in vivo method to amplify DNA fragments. Students will learn that bacterial cells are the most commonly transformed cells so the next task challenges their recall of the structures of these cells so that plasmid DNA can be examined from that point onwards. The following key steps are described and explained:
• Remove and prepare the plasmid to act as a vector
• Insert the DNA fragment into the vector
• Transfer the recombinant plasmid into the host cell
• Identify the cells which have taken up the recombinant plasmid
• Allow the transformed host cells to replicate and express the novel gene
Time is taken to explore the finer details of each step such as the addition of the promoter and terminator regions, use of the same restriction enzyme to cut the plasmid as was used to cut the gene and the different types of marker genes.
As well as understanding and prior knowledge checks, quick quiz competitions are used throughout the lesson to introduce key terms such as cDNA and EcoR1 in a memorable way.
This bundle of 8 revision lessons covers all of the topics on the AQA A-level Biology specification:
Topic 1: Biological molecules
Topic 2: Cells
Topic 3: Organisms exchange substances with their environment
Topic 4: Genetic information, variation and relationships between organisms
Topic 5: Energy transfers in and between organisms
Topic 6: Organisms respond to changes in their internal and external environments
Topic 7: Genetics, populations, evolution and ecosystems
Topic 8: The control of gene expression
These lessons use a range of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to motivate and engage the students whilst they assess their understanding of the different topics and evaluate which areas of the specification will require their further attention. These lessons can be used for revision at the end of the topic, in the lead up to mocks or in the lead up to the actual exams.
This fully-resourced lesson challenges the students to use fully labelled genetic diagrams to interpret the results of monohybrid and dihybrid crosses as detailed in topic 7.1 (Inheritance) of the AQA A-level Biology specification. Step-by-step guides are used to demonstrate how diagrams for the inheritance of one and two genes should be constructed and a focus is given to the areas where students commonly make mistakes, such as in writing out the gametes. The main task of each section of the lesson provides an opportunity for the students to apply their understanding by calculating phenotypic ratios. All of the questions have fully-explained mark schemes and students can assess their progress and address any misconceptions immediately. Key genetic terminology is used throughout the lesson and mirrors that used in actual exam questions.
A fully-resourced lesson which looks at the chemical reaction that is aerobic respiration and ensures that students can apply their knowledge to application questions which challenge them to make links to related topics. The lesson includes a practical-based lesson presentation (19 slides) and associated worksheets containing differentiated questions.
The aim of the beginning of the lesson involves getting students to understand the term, concentration, so that they are able to use it accurately in their descriptions. This is a term which is commonly wrongly used by students. Moving forwards, students will carry out a practical to collect valid results so that they can apply their knowledge of concentration to explain a trend. Certain practical skills are challenged during the lesson such as the drawing of a results table to display the results. A worksheet containing questions on the practical is differentiated so that students who need assistance are still able to access the learning.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students but can be used with KS3 students who are learning about chemical reactions.
A detailed lesson presentation (37 slides) and associated worksheets that looks at the different pieces of evidence that scientists use to support evolution and discusses how these support the theory. The lesson begins by challenging students to decide which piece of evidence is the key piece in supporting evolution (fossils). Students will then have to arrange a number of statements to describe how a fossil is formed. Students are introduced to the fossil record and questions are used to check that they understand where the oldest fossils would be found. Moving forwards, students are given three pieces of evidence that would be observed in the fossil record and they are challenged to explain how each of these supports the theory of evolution. Quick competitions are then used to get the students to see some extinct organisms in the Dodo and Woolly Mammoth and again they are questioned on how extinct animals support the theory of evolution. Further evidence in rapid changes in species and molecular comparison is discussed. There are regular progress checks throughout the lesson so that students can assess their understanding and there is a set homework included.
An engaging lesson presentation (70 slides) and associated worksheets that uses a combination of exam questions, quick tasks and quiz competitions to help the students to assess their understanding of the topics found within the Chemistry unit C1 (Atomic structure and the Periodic Table) of the AQA GCSE Combined Science specification (specification unit C5.1).
The topics that are tested within the lesson include:
Mixtures
Development of the model of the atom
The subatomic particles
Electronic structure
The periodic table
Metals and non-metals
Group 0
Group 1
Group 7
Students will be engaged through the numerous activities including quiz rounds like “UNLOCK the safe" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need further attention
A fully-resourced lesson which includes a lesson presentation (24 slides) and a worksheet which is differentiated so that students can judge their understanding of the topic of writing half equations for electrolysis and access the work accordingly. The lesson uses worked examples and helpful hints to show the students how to write half equations at both the cathode and anode. Time is taken to remind students about the rules at the electrodes when the electrolyte is in solution so that they can work out the products before writing the equations.
This lesson has been designed for GCSE students (14 - 16 years old in the UK) but could be used with older students.
This engaging lesson presentation (58 slides) and associated worksheets uses exam questions with displayed mark schemes, quick tasks and quiz competitions to enable students to assess their understanding of the topics found within module B4 of the OCR Gateway A GCSE Biology specification. The topics which are specifically tested within the lesson include:
Ecosystems, Competition and interdependence, Pyramids of biomass, Efficiency of biomass transfer, The carbon cycle and Decomposers
Students will enjoy the competitions such as "Number CRAZY" and "Take the HOTSEAT" whilst crucially being able to recognise those areas which need their further attention
This fully-resourced lesson explores the inheritance of genetic characteristics that involve multiple alleles and codominant alleles. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and differentiated worksheets have been designed to cover the part of point 6.1.2 (b[i]) which states that students should be able to demonstrate and apply their knowledge and understanding of genetic diagrams to show patterns of inheritance including multiple and codominant alleles.
The main part of the lesson uses the inheritance of the ABO blood groups to demonstrate how the three alleles that are found at the locus on chromosome 9 and the codominance of the A and B alleles affects the phenotypes. Students are guided through the construction of the different genotypes and how to interpret the resulting phenotype. They are challenged to use a partially completed pedigree tree to determine the blood group for some of the family members and to explain how they came to their answer. To further challenge their ability to apply their knowledge, a series of questions about multiple alleles and codominance in animals that are not humans are used.
The final part of the lesson makes a link back to module 4 and the correlation between a high proportion of polymorphic gene loci and an increase in genetic diversity. Students will be expected to make links between module 4 and 6 as part of papers 2 and 3, so this demonstrates how exam questions can do just that
This lesson bundle contains 8 detailed lesson PowerPoints and their accompanying resources and all of them have been planned at length to engage and motivate the students whilst covering the biological content of module 4.1.1 of the OCR A-level Biology A specification. The wide range of tasks which are contained with each of these lessons cover the following specification points:
The different types of pathogen that can cause communicable diseases in plants and animals
The means of transmission of animal and plant communicable pathogens
The primary non-specific defences against pathogens in animals
The structure and mode of action of phagocytes
The structure, different roles and modes of action of B and T lymphocytes in the specific immune response
The primary and secondary immune responses
The structure and general functions of antibodies
An outline of the action of opsonins, agglutinins and anti-toxins
The difference between active and passive immunity, and between natural and artificial immunity
Autoimmune diseases
The principles of vaccination and the role of vaccination programmes in the prevention of epidemics
If you would like to sample the quality of the lessons in this bundle, then download the “Transmission of animal and plant pathogens” and “immunity & vaccinations” lessons as these have been uploaded for free
All 3 of the lessons that are included in this bundle are detailed and fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets to cover the content of topic 3.4.2 (Mass transport in plants) as set out in the AQA A-level Biology specification.
Some students do not fully engage with this topic and therefore time has been taken to design each lesson so that it maintains motivation through a wide range of tasks. These tasks include quiz competitions which introduce key terms in a memorable way.
The specification points that are covered in these three lessons are:
Xylem as the tissue that transports water in the stem and leaves of a plant
The cohesion-tension theory of water transport in the xylem
Phloem as the tissue that transports organic substances in plants
The mass flow hypothesis for the mechanism of translocation in plants
If you would like to see the quality of these lessons, download the translocation lesson as this has been shared for free.
This lesson describes the relationship between the structure and function of the xylem and phloem in transport. The engaging and detailed PowerPoint and accompanying resources have been designed to cover point 4.7 (i) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification.
The lessons begins by challenging the students to identify the substances that a plant needs for the cellular reactions, where they are absorbed and where these reactions occur in a plant. The aim of this task is to get the students to recognise that water and mineral ions are absorbed in the roots and needed in the leaves whilst the products of photosynthesis are in the leaves and need to be used all over the plant. Students will be reminded that the xylem and phloem are part of the vascular system responsible for transporting these substances and then the rest of the lesson focuses on linking structure to function. A range of tasks which include discussion points, exam-style questions and quick quiz rounds are used to describe how lignification results in the xylem as a hollow tube of xylem cells to allow water to move as a complete column. They will also learn that the narrow diameter of this vessel allows capillary action to move water molecules up the sides of the vessel. The same process is used to enable students to understand how the structures of the companion cells allows assimilates to be loaded before being moved to the sieve tube elements through the plasmodesmata.
This detailed lesson describes the absorption of water, the movement through the root and the role of the endodermis. Both the PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover specification points (j, k & l) in topic 3 of AS unit 2 of the WJEC A-level Biology specification and includes descriptions of the apoplast, symplast and vacuolar pathways and the Casparian strip.
The lesson begins by looking at the specialised features of the root hair cell so that students can understand how these epidermal cells absorb water and mineral ions from the soil. Moving forwards, students are introduced to key terminology such as epidermis and root cortex before time is taken to look at the different pathways that water and minerals use to transverse across the cortex. Discussion points are included throughout the lesson to encourage the students to think about each topic in depth and challenges them to think about important questions such as why the apoplast pathway is needed for the water carrying the ions. The main part of the lesson focuses on the role of the endodermis in the transport of the water and ions into the xylem. Students will be introduced to the Casparian strip and will learn how this layer of cells blocks the apoplast pathway. A step by step method using class questions and considered answers is used to guide them through the different steps and to support them when writing the detailed description.
This lesson has been written to tie in with the next lesson on the pathways and mechanisms by which water and mineral ions are transported to the leaves.
This bundle contains 19 PowerPoint lessons which are highly-detailed and are fully-resourced with differentiated worksheets. Intricate planning means that the wide range of activities included in these lessons will engage and motivate the students, check on their current understanding and their ability to make links to previously covered topics and most importantly will deepen their understanding of the following specification points in topic 2 (Cells) of the AQA A-level Biology specification:
Structure and function of the organelles in eukaryotic cells
The specialised cells in complex, multicellular organisms
The structure of prokaryotic cells
The structure of viruses which are acellular and non-living
The principles and limitations of optical, transmission electron and scanning electron microscopes
Measuring the size of an object under an optical microscope
Use of the magnification formula
The behaviour of chromosomes during the stages of the cell cycle
Binary fission
The basic structure of cell membranes
The role of phospholipids, proteins, glycoproteins, glycolipids and cholesterol
Simple diffusion
Facilitated diffusion
Osmosis, explained in terms of water potential
The role of carrier proteins and the hydrolysis of ATP in active transport
Co-transport as illustrated by the absorption of sodium ions and glucose by the cells lining the mammalian ileum
Recognition of different cells by the immune system
The identification of pathogens from antigens
The phagocytosis of pathogens
The cellular response involving T lymphocytes
The humoral response involving the production of antibodies by plasma cells
The structure of an antibody
The roles of plasma cells and memory cells in the primary and secondary immune response
The use of vaccines to protect populations
The differences between active and passive immunity
The structure of the human immunodeficiency virus and its replication in helper T cells
How HIV causes the symptoms of AIDS
Why antibiotics are ineffective against viruses
The use of antibodies in the ELISA test
If you would like to sample the quality of these lessons, then download the eukaryotic animal cells, viruses, microscopes, osmosis, lymphocytes, HIV and AIDS lessons as these have been shared for free.
A concise lesson presentation (20 slides) that looks at how the collision theory is related to the rate of reaction. This is a short lesson that would be taught at the beginning of the topic that looks at the rate of reaction and the factors that affect the rate. Students are challenged with a quick competition that gets them to recognise keywords which are involved in the collision theory. Some time is then taken to focus on "activation energy" and how this is shown on a reaction profile. Finally, students will use their keywords to form a clear definition for the collision theory which includes its link to the rate of reaction so this can be used in the upcoming lessons
This lesson has ultimately been designed for GCSE students but can be used with all age groups as an introduction to the topic
A series of 5 exam questions that challenge students to work out the actual size of a section as seen under a microscope or the magnification. These questions will test their ability to convert between measurements and give answers in micrometers. These questions are suitable for GCSE and A-level students
A detailed lesson presentation (25 slides) that introduces students to the difficult topic of specific heat capacity. Students are guided through the equation for energy transferred and shown how to rearrange the equation, so they are able to tackle the question, no matter the subject of the question. There are regular opportunities for students to apply their new found knowledge to questions and to assess themselves against the answers. Quick games and competitions are also used to maintain engagement.
If you choose to download this lesson, it would be much appreciated if you would take just a few seconds to write a review so I can improve my practice and other teachers can see if this resource is right for them. Thank you in advance.