1 of 4
The National Strategies  Secondary
Secondary Framework in Science, 2.1 Life processes: respiration
2.1 Life processes: respiration
Year
Yearly learning
objectives
Amplification – pupils could learn
to
Strategies for progression
Rich questions
7
describe the role of
organ systems in plants
and animals that can
contribute to the seven
life processes
describe the purpose of respiration
and circulation in different animals
and plants
Create opportunities for pupils to compare
and contrast different models used to
explain the function of the heart and
lungs.
Do plants breathe?
use scientific terminology to
describe the main organs in the
respiratory and circulatory systems
of plants and animals, and describe
their location.
Support pupils in exploring possible
misconceptions about respiration, e.g. that
animals respire and plants only
photosynthesise.
Explore with pupils why people often
confuse breathing and respiration and
what the relationship is between them.
Is gaseous exchange
a good example of
‘give and take’?
Do roots respire?
Are iron lungs
redundant?
Do hearts pump?
Are lungs like
balloons?
Plan opportunities for pupils to discuss
and explain patterns in data, e.g. water
loss through stomata during the day and
night, or lung volumes of patients with
different respiratory diseases.
Create opportunities for pupils to discuss
and agree criteria to help them evaluate
how well the heart, lungs and leaves are
adapted to their function.
8
explain how the organs
and tissues in plants and
animals function to
support the seven life
processes in a healthy
organism
00215-2009PDF-EN-01
explain the major functions of the
respiratory and circulatory organs
and tissues in plants and animals,
e.g. trachea, bronchi, arteries,
stomata, phloem, xylem
explain, using models and
analogies, how the heart and lungs
are adapted to their function in
animals and the leaf in plants
Involve pupils in creating and assessing
their own models to explain the
adaptations of respiratory tissues, organs
and cells.
Create opportunities for pupils to discuss
and use a range of evidence about
exhaled and inhaled air to determine a
word equation for respiration.
Model for pupils how to distinguish
between scientific data and opinion when
exploring articles about respiration and
Do all living things
respire?
Why should you never
take up smoking?
Is blood blue?
What would life be like
without yeast?
Are plants in the
bedroom dangerous?
© Crown copyright 2009
2 of 4
Year
The National Strategies  Secondary
Secondary Framework in Science, 2.1 Life processes: respiration
Yearly learning
objectives
Amplification – pupils could learn
to
Strategies for progression
Rich questions
heart disease.
Create opportunities for pupils to evaluate
whether the selection and management of
variables in an investigation about
respiration in seeds has affected the
pattern of results.
Structure opportunities for pupils to
explore the development of scientific
ideas and their application, e.g. by
researching the advantages and
disadvantages of anaerobic respiration or
the discovery of circulation.
9
explain how the
specialisation of cells in
plants and animals
support the seven life
processes in a healthy
organism
explain how chemical,
physical and biological
factors can disrupt the
seven life processes
explain, using models and
analogies, how the specialised cells
and tissues involved in respiration
and circulation are adapted to their
function, e.g. alveoli, capillaries,
heart muscle cells, including ideas
about surface area and components
of the blood
link scientific understanding and
evidence to explain and account for
the differences between inhaled and
exhaled air, leading to an
explanation of respiration as a word
equation
use secondary sources, linking
ideas and evidence, to explain how
ideas of the heart and circulation
developed and changed over time
link scientific understanding and
evidence to explain how diseases
occur and the development of their
treatment in the respiratory and
circulatory organs, e.g. bronchitis,
00215-2009PDF-EN-01
Provide opportunities for pupils to discuss
and explain the role of the other organ
systems in the process of respiration.
Involve pupils in identifying and
presenting scientific arguments for a
specific audience around a controversial
issue, e.g. using role-play in exploring the
smoking ban in public places.
Challenge pupils to use the particle model
when explaining the role of diffusion in
gas exchange and respiration.
Do mammals breathe
under water?
Can respiration be
artificial?
Should medical
treatment be withheld
from people who are
unable to stop
smoking?
Create opportunities for pupils to examine
the strengths and weaknesses of models
related to respiration and circulation and
decide if they are ‘good enough’ models.
Plan for structured class discussion about
heart or lung transplants that require
pupils to express and consider opinions
from different perspectives.
© Crown copyright 2009
3 of 4
Year
The National Strategies  Secondary
Secondary Framework in Science, 2.1 Life processes: respiration
Yearly learning
objectives
Amplification – pupils could learn
to
Strategies for progression
Rich questions
explain how different processes link
the respiratory and circulatory
systems to other systems in the
organism, e.g. respiration, osmosis,
diffusion, transpiration,
photosynthesis, gas exchange,
active transport
Provide opportunities for pupils to
research and evaluate common models
used to explain how processes are
coordinated, e.g. hormonal control of
glucose uptake and release, or control of
heart muscle during times of skeletal
muscle fatigue.
Is ‘cold therapy’ a lot
of ‘hot air’?
evaluate the models and analogies
used to explain the processes of
respiration, ventilation and
circulation in order to clarify thinking
Create opportunities for pupils to use
appropriate evidence to present a
complex scientific case to persuade
others, e.g. that aerobic respiration is the
only solution to survival.
tuberculosis (TB), effects of smoking
10
explain how individual
intracellular and
extracellular processes
and structures in plants
and animals support the
seven life processes
explain why certain
chemical, physical and
biological factors can
disrupt the seven life
processes
apply scientific understanding and
evidence to explain how diet, drugs
and smoking have an effect on the
respiratory and circulatory systems,
including the development of
emphysema, TB and thrombosis
00215-2009PDF-EN-01
Why don’t you explode
when you eat a bar of
chocolate?
Explosive and
endurance events – a
nightmare for cells?
Involve pupils in discussing the role of
science in solving problems and the range
of issues that can arise as a result, e.g.
heart transplants and the development of
transgenic hearts, or the use of the
chemical erythropoietin by top-level
cyclists undergoing endurance events to
simulate altitude training.
© Crown copyright 2009
4 of 4
The National Strategies  Secondary
Secondary Framework in Science, 2.1 Life processes: respiration
Year
Yearly learning
objectives
Amplification – pupils could learn
to
Strategies for progression
Rich questions
11
explain how the different
intracellular and
extracellular processes
work together to support
life in familiar contexts
evaluate different models to explain
how processes link together to
achieve respiration and circulation,
e.g. hormonal control, muscle
movement.
evaluate the impact of
chemical, physical and
biological factors and
explain their effects on
the life processes
apply their scientific understanding
and evidence to compare aerobic
and anaerobic respiration in plants
and animals
Create opportunities for pupils to devise
criteria to evaluate research on the
response of the respiratory and circulatory
systems to medical treatment, e.g. using
statins for heart disease, beta blockers for
high blood pressure or immunisation to
prevent TB.
When athletes in
training modify their
diet, are they
exploiting the use of
chemicals to enhance
their performance?
Extension
use and apply their
understanding of how life
processes in organisms
work together in
unfamiliar contexts
critically evaluate the
relative impact of
chemical, physical and
biological factors and
their effect on life
processes in unfamiliar
contexts
00215-2009PDF-EN-01
explain the benefits and drawbacks,
including ethical, moral, social and
political aspects, of some
applications and implications of
science, e.g. organ transplants,
tissue engineering,
Provide opportunities for pupils to
evaluate other pupils’ research to explain
the adaptations of circulatory and
respiratory systems to stressful
environments, e.g. spending long periods
of time in a diving bell or a space station.
Is there a difference
between the ‘main
effect’ and the ‘side
effect’ of a drug?
Create opportunities for pupils to analyse
and evaluate data related to the beneficial
and adverse effects of chemicals on the
respiratory and circulatory systems.
explore and explain how different
organs, tissues and cells respond to
and are adapted to more stressful
situations, e.g. circulation problems
in deep sea and space, changes in
the number and size of red blood
cells and heart size at high altitudes
critically evaluate a range of
secondary evidence used to support
and negate claims related to
respiratory and circulatory systems,
e.g. using statins for heart disease,
beta blockers for high blood
pressure, immunisation to prevent
TB
© Crown copyright 2009