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Celltastic Cell Madness
««« By Tobey Gullick
Tobey Gullick was a pre-service teacher at the University of Western Ontario when this article was written. Tobey was a
recipient of the 2006 STAO Pre-service Award for this submission.
Curriculum Connection: Grade 9 Biology,
Reproduction (applied or academic).
Purpose
To review the students’ knowledge of systems in living
things, focusing on the structure and function of cells in
both animals and plants. This lesson will specifically
examine the various organelles in an animal cell.
Expectations
This is a review to start the unit, so the expectations are
from the grade 8 Cells, Tissues, Organs, and Systems unit:
• identify organelles in cells through observation and
explain their function
• demonstrate that they understand the basic structure
and function of animal cells
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Safety Considerations
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This activity should take between 70-75minutes.
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Materials
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Colourful pictures of each organelle for both plant cell
and animal cell (laminated is best). These may be
found online at a variety of sources, or from textbooks
Organelle cards for both plant cell and animal cell.
Each organelle has its own card; you may need to double up some organelles if they appear in both plant
and animal cells (laminated is best)
Organelle function cards for both plant cell and animal
Celltastic Cell Madness
cell. There is a card for each organelle function, you
may need to double up some organelles if they appear
in both plant and animal cells (laminated is best)
Balloons (same number as you have of organelle
function, picture and organelle cards)
Velcro (optional)
A blackboard or wall space
Two pieces of Bristol board
Ruler
Markers.
Check first for latex allergies in the class, someone
might be allergic to the balloons. (If this is the
case just eliminate this step, it is just for added
excitement.)
Do not let the students play with the balloon once they
have been popped;, collect the plastic.
Students must not break the balloons with any sharp
objects.
What to do
To make the cards:
The organelle cards and function cards are simple to
make:
1. Use coloured paper and cut out little squares.
Volume 39 • 1 September 2007
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2. On each square you will either place an organelle
name or a function.
3. Once you have the cards complete, consider laminating the set if you would like to reuse the activity.
4. Repeat the same steps for the picture cards. Cut out
pictures of each organelle and laminate the picture.
5. You may wish to stick a small piece of Velcro to the
back of each card and also on the Bristol board. This
will enable students to attach the organelles easily.
This is also good if you wish to reuse the cells.
6. Clear off enough wall space to post both pieces of
Bristol board.
7. On one piece of Bristol board draw an outline for an
animal cell (just a plasma membrane).
8. Label the plasma membrane with an organelle card
and also post the organelle function card just below.
This will act as a demo for what you are expecting the
students to do.
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12. When students arrive, instruct them to take a balloon,
pop it, and read their organelle card or identify the
picture.
13. Explain that in the room they will find two other
students who match their organelle. Explain that for
each organelle in both the plant and animal cells,
there will be an organelle card, an organelle function
card, and a picture card.
14. Instruct students to find their matches.
15. Once they have located their group, have them post
their cell cards in the appropriate cell on the wall (the
Bristol board cells).
Once the students have placed their information on the
cell, this new student-created poster will act as a reference tool for the biology unit. Discuss the organelles with
the students. You can have each group of three tell the
class a little bit about their organelle that they posted if
you wish. Any time you need to refer to the cell, you have a
nice colourful poster on the wall, created by your
students.
9. Do the same with the plant cell; you may want to draw
in the cell wall as well.
You may now wish to decorate your room for the
arrival of your students. Hang the balloons from the
ceiling, for example, and create little invitations to a
cell party the day before, to get them excited about the
new biology unit.
10. In each balloon, place a cell function card, an
organelle card, or a picture card.
11. Blow up the balloons with air (with the cards inside)
and tie off the balloon. There should be enough for at
least one balloon per student. Using both plant and
animal cells this shouldn’t be a problem.
Celltastic Cell Madness – Page 2
Diagram of an organelle. Found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organelle
Volume 39 • 1 September 2007