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Year 10

Understanding Shakespeare’s Henry V Through Key Quotations Helen Mears explains how some of the key utterances of one of Shakespeare’s most memorable monarchs impact on our understanding of his character...

KS4 English Lesson Plan – Let Students Write in a Genre they Love English teachers often debate the best way to teach creative writing for GCSE: should we instil a set structure? Should students write about something they already know? Creative writing accounts for a large proportion of marks in all English Language GCSEs and it can sometimes feel as though we have to put technical accuracy before […]

Why This MAT CEO Quit Social Media Completely In a world where social media is king, Helena Mills has taken the bold step of deleting it from her life entirely...

Children Need to Experience the Intoxicating Calm of the Library We will be a poorer society if future generations never know the intoxicating calm of the library, says Chris Riddell...

KS4 Science Lesson – Stem Cell Therapy In this activity students collaborate as a class to research into stem cells and spinal cord injury. They then use this information to explain how stem cell therapy may be able to mend damaged spinal cords. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Nitrogen Recycling Students are introduced to the Nitrogen Cycle by playing a game to help them to understand how nitrogen gets recycled throughout the environment. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks here and on its website at […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Haber Problems Students take on the role of scientists researching into alternative ways of increasing crop production. They research into how the Haber-Bosch process and the use of the artificial fertilisers have an impact on our environment and why their use is not considered sustainable. They use this information to write a persuasive presentation which they could […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Sweet Success In this activity students carry out an activity to see if they can tell the difference between drinks that contain sugar and those that contain sweeteners. They then use research to write a persuasive email to the director of a soft drinks company to convince them to use a chiral form of fructose in their […]

KS4 Maths Lesson – Fibonacci and the Magic of Maths Students explore numbers in nature using a number of objects, discover that Fibonacci numbers and spirals frequently appear, and explore why this might be. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks here and on its website […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Suck-Squeeze-Bang-Blow In this activity, students learn how the jet engine works. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks here and on its website at oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk. You can also follow on Twitter at @OxfordSparks.

KS4 Science Lesson – Crystal Quest Prior learning about structure, bonding and enzymes is applied in the context of X-ray crystallography. Students pitch for funding for new equipment – how will they use the equipment to elucidate structures and why is it important to do so? Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Watching the Brain at Work This activity introduces students to an exciting technique at the forefront of brain research, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Students are guided in planning an investigation using fMRI and helps them to recruit and instruct volunteers for their hypothetical study. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Crystal Quest Prior learning about structure, bonding and enzymes is applied in the context of X-ray crystallography. Students pitch for funding for new equipment – how will they use the equipment to elucidate structures and why is it important to do so? Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Suck-Squeeze-Bang-Blow In this activity, students learn how the jet engine works. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks here and on its website at oxfordsparks.ox.ac.uk. You can also follow on Twitter at @OxfordSparks.

KS4 Science Lesson – Planet Detector The activity introduces students to the the detection of planets beyond our own solar system. Knowledge of gravity and electromagnetic radiation, in particular visible light, is used to make models and explain to others how to find an exoplanet. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Nervous Models Groups construct a model of what happens at a synapse using stop-motion animation before using their model to explain how some drugs and toxins work by interfering with synapses. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Explosive Energy Students will carry out the double ball drop experiment, being careful to gather accurate and repeatable data. They apply their knowledge of energy transfer to explain their results and find out how this is analogous to a supernovae. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford […]

KS4 Science Lesson – A Heartfelt Dilemma This activity helps students understand that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is caused by a faulty gene, which may be inherited. Students explore the issues involved in deciding whether or not to be tested for HCM. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Chemistry of the Cosmos This activity helps students understand the nature of interstellar space and explain how the conditions which determine the rates of a chemical reaction in interstellar space are different from those on Earth. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Eruption! In this fast-moving and dramatic activity, student groups become teams of volcanologists. They receive a budget with which to purchase and maintain monitoring instruments and satellite data for an active volcano. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Particle Detectives This activity explains how physicists are trying to learn more about how the Universe started by trying to recreate the conditions immediately after the Big Bang, examining the data thus produced and refining their models of the universe and the Big Bang. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science […]

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome in Teaching Is there an imposter in your classroom…and could it be you? If you think the answer is ‘yes’, you aren’t alone, says Gordon Cairns – but you’re almost certainly mistaken...

KS4 Science Lesson – A Sporting Chance Students consider this risk and also research the benefits of exercise in order to write an informed opinion. They learn how to find and use reliable sources of information to quote scientific evidence. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Supply and Demand In this activity students consider how the UK can meet energy demands as fossil fuel power stations are phased out. They will first interpret data on electricity demand throughout the day before looking at how the output from different energy resources also changes in order to meet the changing demand of the nation. They will […]

KS4 Science Lesson – Wave or Particle? Students will apply their knowledge about wave behaviour to explain the results from Young’s double slit experiment and get first-hand experience of how scientists use experiments to test hypotheses. Oxford Sparks is a portal for engaging with a wealth of exciting science taking place across Oxford University. Get more great resources from the Oxford Sparks […]

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