Literacy Mat: Year 7 Biology Theme 1 – Cells and Organs
Lesson 1: Alive or not
Keywords: Life processes,
movement, reproduce,
sensitive, growth, respiration,
excrete, nutrition.
Sentence starters:
All living things ...
They also ...
For example animals ...
For example plants ...
Plants are living because ...
Animals are living because ...
Lesson 5: Chicken leg
Keywords: muscle, tendon,
bone, bone marrow, cells,
tissues, organs, systems,
Sentence starters:
The skin is...
The bone is...
I think the job it does is...
This is because ...
Lesson 2: Animal and
Plant Cells
Keywords: Animal, plant, cell,
cell membrane, cell wall,
cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole,
chloroplast, starch grains,
photosynthesis, support.
Sentence starters:
An animal cell has ...
A plant cell has ...
Both cells have ...
The function of the ... is to ...
Plant cells have the extra
structures...
This is because ...
Lesson 6: Microscopes
Keywords: microscope, slide,
stage, specimen, cover slip,
objective lens, mirror, light,
eyepiece lens, magnify,
magnification
Sentence starters:
We use a microscope to...
I saw...
I can calculate the
magnification by ...
Lesson 3: Specialised
Cells
Keywords: specialised, nerve
cell, red blood cell, sperm cell,
egg cell, ciliated cell, muscle
cell, root hair cell, palisade cell
Sentence starters:
Some specialised cells are ...
The ... cell is found in ...
Its job is to ...
The ... cell is adapted to its
function because ...
Specialised cells are needed
because...
Lesson 5: Cells, tissues,
organs, systems.
Keywords: Cells, tissues, organs,
systems, heart, lungs, digestive
system, cardiovascular system,
respiratory system
Sentence starters:
A cell/tissue/organ/system is...
Examples are...
A heart is an organ because...
People
carry
donor
cards
because...
Organ donation can save live
because...
The arguments for / against
organ donation are ...
I think...
Lesson 7: Nutrition
Lesson 8: Drugs
Keywords: Carbohydrates, fats,
proteins, vitamins, minerals,
fibre, water, nutrients, healthy,
balanced, diet
Sentence starters:
Examples of healthy /unhealthy
foods are...
A difference between a balanced
and an unbalanced diet is ...
One major food group is...
Examples of food from this group
are ...
Its function is to...
My menu is healthy / unhealthy
because...
Keywords: Smoking, tobacco,
nicotine, alcohol, cannabis,
drug, brain, lungs, heart,
disease, cancer
Sentence starters:
An effect of smoking is...
Smoking affects the body by...
Alcohol affects the body by...
The organs / cells affected by
smoking / alcohol are...
It can affect...
Holgate School
iteracy mat
My Work
Can I write in paragraphs?
Can I use different
sentence types?
I am proud of my work because...
I use connectives in each paragraph
to link my ideas and to put them in a
logical order.
Can I spell accurately?
Sound out the word
Think about a similar word
Find the word in a Key words list
Ask a friend or teacher
To learn it: look, cover, write ,
check
Once you’ve solved it, add the
correct spelling to your own word
bank.
•
I have written clearly so that my reader can
understand my writing easily.
•
I have used my literacy mat to check my
spelling and corrected any errors.
•
I have used full sentences with a subject and
a verb.
•
I have used correct punctuation and
grammar.
•
I have paragraphed my work using TIPTOP.
•
My writing is suitable for the person I am
writing for.
Simple sentences: contains a subject and
a verb and can contain an object
• The nucleus (subject) is the
controller (verb) of the cell
Compound sentences: joins two simple
sentences using the connectives: for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so.
Tissues are lots of similar cells working
together and organs are different tissues
working together to perform a function.
Complex sentences: A complex sentence
contains a conjunction such as because,
since, after, although, or when .
A heart is classed as an organ, because it
has different tissues working together to
perform a function.
Can I use Punctuation and Grammar?
Basics



for punctuation and grammar:
Every sentence must start with a capital letter.
Every sentence must finish with some form of punctuation: .?!
Proper nouns need capital letters. These are unique people, places or things e.g. there are many cities so
‘city’ doesn’t take a capital letter. However there is only one London, therefore it takes a capital letter.
 Remember don’t mix up ‘was’ and ‘were.’ For example ‘I was (singular)’ and ‘We were (plural)’