Cell Analogy Project
Learning Objective: Students will be able to identify and describe all of the main organelles in a
plant and/or animal cell. Students will be able to compare the biological cell system to other
systems in everyday (or imaginary) life, and will use these comparisons to demonstrate how
organelles work together to carry out all necessary functions within a cell.
Task:
1. Identify whether you will be creating a plant or an animal cell model (check with Mrs.
Dignan if you’re not sure).
2. Think about all of the organelles that exist within that cell and the types of functions
they carry out. Begin by brainstorming other systems that you encounter in everyday
life (or in your imagination). Examples include a town, a house, a baseball stadium, a
kitchen, etc. Be creative! Make it something that is important, fun, or interesting to you!
3. Try to identify parts of that system that are analogous to the parts and functions of a
cell. For instance, in the town analogy, a power plant would be analogous to the
mitochondrian, because they are both responsible for converting fuel to energy. You
need to identify a representation of each of the main organelles for your given cell
(plant or animal):
Plant: mitochondria, ribosomes, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi body, central
vacuole, cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, chloroplasts.
Animal: mitochondria, ribosomes, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi body, vacuoles,
cell membrane, cytoplasm, lysosomes.
4. Once you have a representation of every organelle, you can begin to draw your “cell”.
Even if you’re not artistic, do you best to create a clear, sensible diagram that other’s
would be able to understand if they were looking at it. Stick figures are okay!
5. Be sure to label and explain each organelle representation within your diagram. For
instance, “Mitochondria: responsible for turning food into energy (ATP) within the cell.
The power plant is like mitochondria because it turns coal into electricity for the town.
6. Once you’ve completed your diagram, use the rubric to grade your own work. Did you
meet or exceed all expectations? You may wish to revise before turning it in!
Due Date: Friday September 19th. We will have a gallery walk on Friday to share everyone’s
diagrams.