Interviews with scientists - Plant-derived medicines to cure cancer

This 5-minute video interview with Professor Sarah O’Connor from the John Innes Centre, introduces her work to find new molecules that can successfully treat cancer. This is an interesting way to introduce students to biochemistry, and to encourage them to take a synoptic approach to their biology curriculum, by bringing together plant science and medicine.

Interviews with scientists - Plant survival strategies: hormones and responses

In this 5-minute video interview,Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, Director of the Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, discusses the different survival strategies of plants and animals. This video gets students to develop their understanding of the role of plant hormones in an intriguing context.

Interviews with scientists - Drew Purves on computer modelling, ecology and climate change

In this 5-minute video interview, ecologist and computer scientist Dr Drew Purves introduces computer modelling and its role in biology.

Interviews with scientists - coffee history and survival

This 5-minute video interview with Dr Charlie Clutterbuck of Manchester Metropolitan University introduces students to the history and economics of coffee and the impact of a plant pathogen on coffee production. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

Interviews with scientists - GFP and reporter proteins

This 5-minute video interview with Prof John Christie of the University of Glasgow introduces students to fluorescent reporter proteins and their importance to our understanding of cell biology. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

How much of our food crops are lost to disease? Lesson starter

Plant disease is new to the curriculum. This is a simple and easy starter to encourage students to understand the impact that plant disease has both on the world’s poorest farmers and on consumers in the UK.

Interviews with scientists - Dr Cristobal Uauy on wheat genomics and yield

This 5-minute video interview with Dr Cristobal Uauy of the John Innes Centre introduces post-16 students to contemporary genomics and food security. The accompanying notes include a teachers' summary, plus student questions and answers.

A-level practical skills - Molecular Modelling

This practical activity aims to develop students' understanding of primary, secondary and tertiary structure of proteins through computer protein modelling. Computer modelling can create 3D interactive images to support the student to visualize different interactions between amino acids within a molecule.

Measuring forests: saving forests

This relevant and engaging activity gives a concrete example of how conservation activity can be guided by science. It also covers some of the practical and mathematical skills common to all biology A-level courses, particularly logarithms. Students work with data from a conservation scientist, Dr Ed Mitchard of the University of Edinburgh, and identify how new technologies can be used to preserve the world's forests.

ASE Annual Conference 2020

The following practical activities are all on display at the SAPS practical drop-in session at the ASE Annual Conference 2020.

The Battle for Fortress Plants (poster and presentation)

The poster ‘The Never-Ending Battle for Fortress Plant’ illustrates ideas about plant defences against pathogens. It depicts the plant as a fortress which is defended against invading pathogens. The accompanying resources explore this idea.

Plant Disease Teaching Resource Collection

This collection of resources introduces 14-16 students to the world of plant disease in a lively and engaging way. They include practicals and classroom activities to get your students thinking about plants as living organisms, with their own defences against the threat of invading pathogens.

A-level set practicals - investigating flower structure and function in primulas

In this activity, students follow in Darwin’s footsteps, investigating primulas. They will dissect and record primula flowers, which grow in two forms: ‘pin-eyed’ and ‘thrum-eyed’. This resource is designed to meet the specifications for the A-level practical endorsement in England (CPAC). However, given its focus on adaptation and evolution, it will make a valuable resource for those following a variety of different specifications, such as the Advanced Higher Biology Organisms and Evolution Unit.

Plant disease - Fighting for Survival (post-16)

In this worksheet and case study, for post-16 students, students develop their understanding of communicable plant disease and how plants respond to infection. It addresses the plant related learning outcomes in the OCR Biology A specification, section 4.1.1 ‘communicable diseases, disease prevention and the immune system’.

Plant disease detectives

In this activity, designed for the new GCSE biology specifications, students act as detectives, piecing together information from the sources provided to identify common plant diseases, and how to stop the spread.

Plant disease practicals - identifying the cause of brown rot

In this practical activity, suitable for the new GCSE specifications, students explore how the technique of re-infection (using infected material to infect healthy plant tissue) can help to identify the cause of a plant disease.

Plant disease practicals - powdery mildew

In this practical activity, designed for the new GCSE specifications, students collect samples of leaves showing samples of infection with powdery mildew, and send them to the powdery mildew survey for analysis.

Plant disease practicals - Investigating violet bramble rust

In this practical activity, designed for the new GCSE specifications, students use magnification to examine leaves showing symptoms of a common plant disease, and produce labelled drawings of the fungal spores.

A-level set practicals - microscopy of root tip mitosis

An improved and simplified version of this well-known practical, designed specifically for use for the new A-level practical specifications.

A-level set practicals - dissection and scientific drawing

This resource is designed to support the use of practicals across various new 2015 A-level biology specifications (OCR, AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas). Students learn to produce a scientific drawing from observation. Drawing from observation is both a valuable skill in itself, and a way for students to develop their understanding and appreciation of living organisms.