Course 2000020 Advanced Life Science 7th Grade
Curriculum Extension
Laboratory investigations which include the use of scientific inquiry, research, measurement, problem
solving, laboratory apparatus and technologies, experimental procedures, and safety procedures are
an integral part of this course.
The content should include, but not be limited to, the following:
Next Generation Sunshine State Standards Big Ideas
Big Idea 1: Practice of Science
Big Idea 2: The Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge
Big Idea 3: The Role of Theories, Laws, Hypotheses, and Models
Big Idea 14: Organization and Development of Living Organisms
Big Idea 15: Diversity and Evolution of Living Organisms
Big Idea 16: Heredity and Reproduction
Big Idea 17: Interdependence
Big Idea 18: Matter and Energy Transformations
Florida’s Frameworks for K-12 Gifted Learners Goals:
By graduation, the student identified as gifted will be able to:
Goal 1: critically examine the complexity of knowledge: the location, definition, and
organization of a variety of fields of knowledge.
Goal 2: create, adapt, and assess multifaceted questions in a variety of
fields/disciplines.
Goal 3: conduct thoughtful research/exploration in multiple fields.
Goal 4: think creatively and critically to identify and solve real-world problems.
Goal 5: assume leadership and participatory roles in both gifted and heterogeneous
group learning situations.
Goal 6: set and achieve personal, academic, and career goals.
Goal 7: develop and deliver a variety of authentic products/performances that
demonstrate understanding in multiple fields/disciplines.
ORGANELLE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
Curriculum Extension
Project Standards/Benchmarks and Goals/Objectives
Next Generation Sunshine State Standards1
SC.6.L.14.4
Compare and contrast the structure and function of major
organelles of plant and animal cells, including cell wall,
cell membrane, nucleus, cytoplasm, chloroplasts,
mitochondria, and vacuoles.
1
FL Frameworks for K-12 Gifted Learners
Goal 4, Obj. 3: Problem-solving
Trait: Creative Methodology (Accomplish):
Designs original problem solving models for use in
specific situations
Goal 5, Obj. 3: Leadership Skills
Trait: Communication (Know):
Conveys information, concepts, and ideas using
appropriate and advanced techniques
Goal 4, Obj. 2: Analyze Data
Trait: Data Analysis (Perform):
Uses a variety of tools and techniques to organize
data to draw conclusive statements
Goal 1, Obj. 2: Foundational Concepts
Trait: Components/Methodologies (Accomplish):
Experiments with a variety of methods to analyze
data to develop greater understanding
Goal 3, Obj. 2: Manipulate Information
Trait: Information in Multiple Contexts (Perform):
Uses multiple secondary and primary sources to
analyze, synthesize, and evaluate relevant details
and facts to examine relationships, infer meanings,
define relationships, and predict outcomes
The Sunshine State Next Generation Standards and FL Frameworks referenced in this Project Outline are meant as an overview and do
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not constitute an exhaustive list of the standards covered in this Advanced Life Science 7 Grade class. For a complete list of the
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standards covered in the course, see the course description for course 2000020 Advanced Life Science 7 Grade at the FL Department of
Education. The web site address is: <http://www.floridastandards.org/Courses/CourseDescriptionSearch.aspx>
The student will:
I.
Review cell structures and investigate how the components of a cell operate as a system.
Cells 2: The Cell as a System
Context
This lesson is the second of a two-part series on cells. At this grade level, research suggests that
understanding of systems can now be made more explicit. Students can engage in the analysis
of parts, subsystems, interactions, and matching. The descriptions of parts and their interaction
are more important than just calling everything a system. In addition, studies of student
thinking indicate that they tend to interpret phenomena by noting the qualities of separate
objects rather than by seeing the interactions between the parts of a system. In the context of
cells, students should be encouraged to look at the cell as both a system and subsystem and to
develop an understanding of how the parts of a cell interact with one another, i.e., how they
help to do the "work" of the cell.
In Cells 1: Make a Model Cell, students compared a plant and animal cell and then made a
model of a cell.
Cells 2: The Cell as a System encourages students to view the cell as a system. Students will
begin to understand the cell as a system by exploring a more familiar and tangible example of a
system-a factory. Throughout the lesson, students will compare the factory to a cell, beginning
to understand how both can be thought of as a system.
Planning Ahead
Materials:
 Comparing a Cell to a Factory student sheet
 Comparing a Cell to a Factory answer key
 The Inside of a Cell student sheet
Preview the Beyond Books.com website used in this lesson. As you'll see, the site contains
introductory as well as rather in-depth information. Determine what level of information is
appropriate for your students.
Students will read seven pages of online material in this lesson. They can do this reading online,
or you can print the text for them ahead of time.
Motivation
Begin by reviewing the organelles included on the Science NetLinks student sheet, The Inside of
a Cell.
Once you're comfortable with students' understanding of basic cell structures and functions,
tell them they're going to switch gears for a moment and think about systems.
Ask students the following questions:
 With what systems are you familiar? (Examples are school system; the solar system; the
digestive system.)
 What makes these things systems? That is, how would you define a system? (Responses will
vary, but may include terms such as parts, whole, inputs, and outputs.)
 Next, focus the discussion on factories by asking these questions:
 With what types of factories are you familiar? (Responses will vary.)
 Do you consider these systems? Why or why not? (Responses will vary, but may include
terms like products, input, output, parts, and whole.)
Let students know that in this lesson they will compare a factory and cell, considering how each
can be thought of as a system.
Development
Divide the class into small groups of 2-3, and have students go to the following site: A Busy
Factory (at the Cell: Down to Basics section of the Beyond Books.com website).
When students arrive at the site, have them pay close attention to the picture of the
cell/factory and read the first four paragraphs (stopping when they reach the section labeled,
Cell Structure: An Overview).
Then ask the following question:
 As stated on this site, a cell is a factory that produces what? (Proteins.)
Next, distribute a copy of the Science NetLinks Student Sheet, Comparing a Cell to a Factory, to
each student, and have students work in their groups to complete it. They can find the answers
by reading the first seven pages at the website (they should stop after reading the page titled
Mitochondria and Chloroplasts).
Note: You can find sample answers to the student sheet on the Comparing a Cell to a Factory:
Answer Key.
Discuss answers to the student sheet in class, and then ask the following questions:
 What is the ultimate energy source for the cell? Remember that a cell needs energy to
produce proteins. (The sun.)
 Why is the cell membrane explained in terms of a "fluid mosaic model?" (Because the
phospholipids and proteins that make it up are not fixed in a rigid pattern; they are just
floating around in the membrane.)
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What organelle contains the "blueprints" for the production of proteins? (The nucleus.)
Three types of what do most of the work in the cell? For example, identify the cell to other
cells; move materials in and out of the cell; allow the cell to interact with other cells?
(Proteins.)
Where does most of the cell's work take place? (In the cytoplasm.)
What is the basic difference between rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and smooth ER?
(Rough ER contains ribosomes, smooth ER does not.)
What are some things that can happen to proteins, once they leave the golgi apparatus and
enter the cytoplasm? (They can become plasma membrane proteins; stay in the cytoplasm
for use by the cell; or be stored in vesicles until needed for transport.)
Assessment
Students should be able to clearly state why the factory, and more importantly the cell, can be
thought of as systems. They should also be able to explain how the individual parts of the cell
system operate within the larger context of the cell, and that the processes necessary for life
take place within each cell.
Ask the following questions to assess this understanding, telling students to think about the cell
as a system:
 When this system is working, what does it do? (It produces proteins.)
 For this system to work, must it receive any input? (Yes; for example, energy ultimately from
the sun.)
 What, if any, output does this system produce? (It produces proteins.)
 Identify at least four parts of this system. Describe what each part does, and tell how each
part contributes to the system as a whole. (Answers will vary.)
 Can any one part of the system do what the whole system does? Justify your response.
(Students should realize that the organelles need to work together to produce proteins.)
 Identify at least two parts of this system that must interact if the system is to function.
Describe how these parts interact. (Answers will vary.)
 Can you identify any subsystems within the whole system? (Answers will vary, but students
should be able to describe at least one subsystem.)
 Describe how the functioning of this system would change if one of the parts wears out.
(Answers will vary.)
 In what ways is it useful to think of the cell as a system? (In general, thinking about a cell as
a system helps in understanding individual cell organelle functions, and how they operate
within the larger context of the cell.)
Extensions
The Science NetLinks lesson, Mitosis , introduces cell division. In this lesson, students create a
physical representation of mitosis on posterboard, and perform a skit to show the process of
mitosis.
For another lesson on systems, see the Science NetLinks lesson entitled The Bicycle as a System,
in which students identify the properties of the various subsystems of a bicycle and examine
how they relate to the whole.
Students can continue to read information at the website used in this lesson (A Busy Factory).
Students can learn more about specialized structures and cells, as well as cell-to-cell
communication.
Students could create a travel brochure for a tour through the cell. Instructions are available in
an activity called Travel Brochure for a Cell, on the Access Excellence website.