Seeing Inside Cells

This unit explores different metaphors and models for cell structure. Students explore the form and function of different kinds of cells through interactive activities and a quick lesson in drawing, which they use to record what they see under a microscope. Finally, a creative writing exercise brings together what they have learned about the topic.

Activities

Scene: The Tiniest Food Factories

Friends Aviv, Jalen, and Xo go to the school garden to look for the world’s tiniest solar-powered food factory, and Farmer Raquel shows the three friends this remarkable system (a plant cell) up close.

Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

Lesson: Comparing Cells

Students dive deeper into the structure and function of animal, plant, yeast, and bacteria cells in this interactive, animated guide.

Duration: Approximately 70 minutes

Project: Clone the Clippy Cell

Students use common office supplies to construct a two-dimensional model of a cell.

Duration: Approximately 135 minutes

Lesson: Drawing to See

Students try drawing as a way to record observations and to notice easily overlooked details.

Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

Lab: Using a Microscope

Students use their powers of observation and high- and low-power objectives to see a variety of cells.

Duration: Approximately 50 minutes

Writing: Cell Analogy

Students make an analogy between parts of a cell and those of a real-world or imaginary system.

Duration: Approximately 100 minutes

Teacher Tune-ups

• How do substances pass through the cell membrane on their own?
• How does the cell move large particles through the cell membrane?
• How do I teach students about microscopes?

Student View of Visuals and Activities

Some teachers prefer to have students view the slides and other visual assets in this unit directly instead of projecting them in class. Below is a web page to share with students with links to some of same items that are within in the teacher lesson plans, but without the explanatory text for the teacher.

 

• Student Links to Unit L7 Slides and Other Visuals

specimen

noun – an sample that represents a larger group of things, often examined or analyzed

We found a specimen to put on a slide for our microscope.

structure

noun – the basic form or support underlying something

Sometimes we can tell what something does by looking at its structure.

function

noun – a use or purpose of something; what it does or is used for

What is the function of the flagellum?

organic

adjective – related to living things; carbon-based or naturally occurring

Even the hydrocarbons in crude oil are called organic because they include carbon atoms.

membrane

noun – a very thin, flexible layer that encloses something

The cell membrane separates a plant or animal cell's internal environment from its surroundings.

fuel

noun – an energy source that feeds a living thing; food

Where does a cell get the fuel it needs to grow and function?

osmosis

noun – movement through a partially permeable membrane

Through osmosis, salts move from an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration.

cycle

noun – cycle (noun) an period of time in which a set of events or phenomena is completed

The life cycle for yeast cells are much shorter than that of most humans.

producer

noun – a living thing that makes its own food through light and very simple substances

Seaweed is an example of a producer in an ocean ecosystem. What are some producers in a desert ecosystem?

consumer

noun – an animal that eats other living things (like plants or other animals)

Do higher level consumers eat more plants or more animals?