This lesson is designed for the NEW AQA Trilogy Biology GCSE, particularly the ‘Ecology’ SoW.
 
This lesson begins with a think > pair > share task where pupils will need to discuss the definition of ‘competition’. After revealing the definition for competition within the ecology context, pupils will then need to think about the types of resources that plants and animals compete for. They will be given a set of resources, they will need to sort these resources into two columns – those that animals compete for and those that plants compete for. Once this task is complete pupils can self-assess their work using the answers provided on the PowerPoint slide.
 
In the next activity pupils will need to draw a table in their books and they will watch a video on competition in a variety of organisms.
 
Pupils will fill in their table by identifying the organism and then describing how it competes for the resource/s that it needs.
Pupils will then be asked to think about why animals and plants may want to avoid competition, pupils can discuss with their partner and write their answers in their books. The answers can be revealed using the PowerPoint slide. Pupils can mark and check their work.
 
The focus of the next part of the lesson is for pupils to consider how plants might avoid competition with other plants, pupils are asked to look at some pictures showing how plants avoid competition and students can discuss in pairs what they think the pictures are demonstrating. The answers to this task can then be revealed and pupils can check their answers, making any corrections where necessary.
 
The final task is an exam-style question on competition, pupils will answer the question in their books and can then self-assess their work using the mark scheme provided.
 
The plenary task is for pupils to summarise what they have learnt in three sentences, trying to use as many key words from the key word list provided.