To allow students to explore the part of the cell a gave the students a blank plant and animal cell along with a copy of the PPT on Cell organelles. Students were instructed to use the notes and other resources to identify the cell parts. Students were expected to color code their notes with the animal cell and the plant cell organelles. Any items in the notes that were not visible to label on the diagram were to be copied in pencil all other notes were to be written using the same color they used identify the organelle.This activity goes along well with my Cell Boxing Activity that you can have access to along with other free goodies here on my free lesson page.
As the first days of school near, I wanted to share one of my favorite activities that ease students into the scientific method and experimental design. This activity is a guided inquiry paper folding activity that will help student get the cobwebs out of their brains.
There is a common myth that you cannot fold a paper more than seven times. This activity allow students to conduct an investigation to explore this claim.
In the activity students will explore the following vocabulary:
prediction
independent variable
dependent variable
bias
property
standard notation
scientific notation
hypothesis
Throughout this activity the students explore the scientific method and design an experiment that answers the question: How many time can you fold a piece of 8 1/2in x 11in computer paper? This experimental design activity is a quick hitter that allows you to assess your students abilities and begin to establish lab procedures.
In this activity we focus on the structure,function and pictures of the 6 cell organelles (chloroplast, mitochondria, ribosome, endoplasmic reticulum, golgi bodies, nucleus) . I have developed an effective lesson that uses printable cell boxes that my students really enjoy using. There are 3 different games or activities that I use to help my students grasp this concept. This lesson is more than worth a try. It is easy, you will love this and so will the kids. It includes several hands-on, competitive and effective games I developed using printable boxes. There are 3 “Boxing” activities.
As I introduce the scientific method one of my favorite activities is the three hole bottle activity. It is a great way for students to practice writing a hypothesis and making observations. To start you, need a 2 liter bottle with three holes drilled into it in a vertical line in the middle of the bottle. In the picture they are behind the tape. They are slightly small than the diameter of a pencil eraser. I have the students set up a chart on the right side of their interactive notebook as seen below. To begin, I take the bottle filled with water and the tape over the holes (as pictured) around the room to each student so they can record as many observations as possible . They record these observations in the first column titled “cue column” . Next, for dramatic effect and to discuss bias I take one student volunteer to the front of the room and hold the bottle over their head (after I give them paper towel) and ask the class to make a prediction as to what will happen when the tape is pulled past the first hole. They record that in the first column. I then remove the tape from the first hole while holding the bottle above the volunteer student’s head (only a few drops usually comes out of the bottle). Students the record their observation and then make a hypothesis about what will happen when the tape is pulled past the 1 and 2 hole and then all three holes. To finish I turn the bottle on it’s side and have the students share their hypothesis with the class. Students then make a conclusion about their observations and a class discussion about what happened. On the left side, students were given the option to draw a graphic that explains everything that happened or they can fill the page with a written description (since a picture is worth a thousand words). I offered a homework pass for the most creative left and right side notebook pages with accurate descriptions and properly writing hypotheses.
Remind101.com is a website that allows users to receive text reminders from their teacher all while keeping their cell phone numbers private. I learned of this resource at Advance Placement Summer Institute training from a colleague. I have found the website very user-friendly and effective.
