One of My Favorite Cell Activities

I'm just starting my Life Science unit with my 8th graders.  (Of course, it feels like I've been "just starting" for about 2 weeks now because of all the snow days we've had!)  Our 8th graders are supposed to study genetics and heredity, as well as types of reproduction, but since they haven't studied cells since 6th grade I like to start off with a review of cells and cell organelles, as well as cell division.  

This year I'm doing 3 activities to review cells with my students.  First, we made a "cell phone" to put in our ISN.  I'll try to write more about this in a later post because they were super cool! (Even for 8th graders!)  Second, we did a microscope lab where they had a chance to examine real cells.  I made onion skin slides so they could look at plant cells, and then we did a simple cheek cell activity so they could look at their own cells!  Finally, I had them do some cell organelle analogies, which is the activity I want to focus on in this post.

When I ask my students to make analogies to cell organelles, I first remind them that their analogy must have to do with the function of the organelle, not its appearance.  (A lot of students will find something green and compare it to the chloroplasts, but what I'm really looking for is something that makes food like the chloroplasts do.)  Then, I get out my stash of old magazines and have them look through the magazines to find pictures of items that can complete their analogies.  I think this makes the assignment a lot more creative than just writing out sentences.  They end up looking more like collages, and are great to display in the classroom!

This is a cell analogy activity that was completed by one of my 8th graders.  I only asked them to do 5 analogies, but she went above and beyond!

Notice 1) The direct comparison - Chloroplasts make food like a chef makes food, 2) It has an accompanying picture, and 3) She color-coded the analogy with the picture of the organelle in the cell.

As I introduce this activity in class, I always give the students a rubric so they know exactly what I expect... and also exactly how they can get an "A"! (Rubrics are SO important - I use them for everything!  If you've never tried RubiStar, I HIGHLY recommend it!  It's a free website that helps you create rubrics for any type of assignment!)

This activity usually takes my 8th graders two full class periods (40 minutes each) to complete, and I also plan a 3rd day because some are slower workers or may be absent a day.  I'm always certain to have a review assignment of some sort ready to go on day 3 so that as students finish they still have something productive to work on.

Happy Teaching! :)

Rachel