The World Of the Cell
Subject: Science
Grade Level: Middle School
Developed By: David Culp
Invitation:
How can we engage students in interactively learning about the cell.
In this UOP students will work together in collaborative groups to investigate different
aspects of cell biology. Students will use traditional means of research such as libraries,
books and interviews along with research using the Internet and other electronic means to
put together a presentation on the cell. The presentation will link each groups efforts to
the next group to present a complete and flowing overview of the cell.
Students will leave this UOP with an understanding of what composes a cell, what a basic
cell looks like and how all the organelles in a cell work together to create one living
organism.
Situations:
Students will be presented with their particular scenario and then allowed to do research
in the media center using traditional means or via electronic means. Once research has
been completed the students will prototype their products in the classroom before being
allowed on develop the product on their computer.
Tasks:
Overall scenario:
The students are part of a scientific group investigating the nature of cells. They have
identified the following parts of the cell:
 Nucleus
 Chromosomes
 Cytoplasm
 Vacuole
 Cell membrane
 Cell wall
 Mitochondria
 Lysosomes
 Ribosomes
 Endoplasmic reticulum
They then split their group up into smaller committees to study theses organelles. They
also formed two more committees, one to study how cells reproduce and another to study
how cells get their nutrition and rid themselves of waste.
It is recommended that the class be split into 3 groups which are researching the
organelles of the cells, one group which is doing research on cell reproduction, one group
researching cell nutrition and the last group working on the 3D model of the cell.
The students should make their own presentations, however, all the presentations should
be part of a larger presentation which flows smoothly. The students should come up with
a standard format for ALL the presentations. They should all have similar fonts, colors,
backgrounds etc….. You may do this as a whole class, or elect a leader from each group
which will collaborate with the leaders of the other groups on this standard format.
The students should be given time to research in the media center and you should check
on the progress of this research. Once the research has been conducted the students
should prototype their products by drawing storyboards before being allowed on the
computer.
Tools:
Power Point
Graphics Software
Computers
Internet
Jello and other items for the 3D model
Interactions:
Students work in small groups to explore their particular portion of the project. Students
should brainstorm and divide the task among each other. There should also be
communication among the groups in an effort to create a seamless product.
The teacher should provide brief computer instruction to those students that need it and
act as a facilitator for the students.
Standards:
This unit is designed to coincide with the performance indicators and benchmarks of the
Carrollton Farmers Branch Independent School District 6th grade curriculum and the
State Of Texas sixth grade TEKS.
Assessment:
Students will be graded according to their participating and contribution to the group.
Student feedback will be used to determine the students involvement in the group. The
project will be graded on the degree to which it presents complete, factual information to
the correct target audience.
A grading rubric should be created, some sample items on the rubric could be:
 Was proper research conducted
 Was a storyboard created using the compiled research
 Did the presentation fit the overall format
 Was correct factual information presented
 Did the student actively participate in the project (use student feedback)