Download Lesson 1: What Are Living Things Made Of? - CI 402

Grade Level: Middle School
Number of Students:
Instructional Hours or Class Periods/days:
Instructional Location:
Date:
1 period
Lesson Goals
Central Focus of Lesson:
What are all living things made of?
Standard(s) Addressed:
-Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different
numbers and types of cells. MS-LS1-1
Lesson Objectives and Demands
Content and Practice Objectives:
Students will be able to:
-Define living and non-living things
-Use evidence to support that living things are made of cells
-Define cell theory
Language Objectives:
Students will need to make observations, analyze their results, and justify their conclusions with evidence.
Key Vocabulary in Lesson: (Include definitions)
Living thing: Something that is able to metabolize, grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce.
Cell: the most basic unit of life
Cell theory:
1.) All living things are made of cells
2.) Cells are the most basic units of structure and function in living things
3.) All cells are made from other cells
Lesson Considerations
Materials:
Projector/TV (to show a video)
Microscopes
Pre-prepared slides of hair, cheek cells, skin cells, bacteria, plant cells (ex: onion roots), paper, minerals, and plastic.
White board
Prior Academic Learning and Prerequisite Skills:
Students will need to have learned what it means to metabolize (take energy from the environment), respond to stimuli and
reproduce.
Misconceptions:
All cells are the same size and shape, i.e., there is a generic cell.
There are no single-celled organisms.
Some living parts of organisms are not made of cells.
Plant cells do not extract energy from food.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (2015). Topic: Cells. Retrieved from
http://assessment.aaas.org/topics/CE#/,tabs-281/2,tabs-282/2,tabs-283/2
Lesson Plan Details:
Lesson Introduction - “Before”:
(The teacher should set up the microscopes and have them already focused on the specimens before class.)
After the students come into the class, the teacher will announce that they will be looking inside a few things to see what is inside
them/what they are made of: hair, cheek cells, skin cells, bacteria, plant cells (ex: onion roots), paper, minerals, and plastic. The
teacher will then ask the class to make some predictions about what they will see and write them on the board.
Afterwards, the students will work in groups of 2-4, walk up to the microscopes and take turns observing the different specimens. The
students should draw what they see in a notebook, and discuss any similarities and differences amongst the specimens.
When the groups are finished discussing, the teacher will ask the class what were the observations they saw. After calling on a few
students, the teacher can then ask the class why the hair, cheek cells, skin cells, bacteria, and plant cells looked so different from the
paper, minerals, and plastic. Most likely students will say that the former are living while the latter are not.
Learning Activities - “During”:
The teacher will then tell the students to think about what is living and what is not living. While they think on this, the teacher will play
the following video, and in their notebooks, the students should record whether the things shown are living or not.
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.colt.alive/is-it-alive/
After a few minutes, the teacher will ask the class what they wrote for each thing, writing their answers on the board. Then, the
teacher will ask the students what are characteristics that all living things have. Eventually, the teacher should lead the class to the
conclusion that all living things must metabolize, grow, respond to stimuli, and reproduce. The teacher will then lead the class to reexamine their answers to the video now that they know the definition of life.
The teacher will then explain that the hair, cheek cells, skin cells, bacteria, and plant cells are all parts of living things, and they
looked similar in the microscope because all living things are made of cells.
Closure - “After”:
The teacher should then ask the class: what is a cell? Then the student or the teacher can explain that a cell is the most basic unit of
life. It is the simplest thing that can metabolize, grown, respond to stimuli and reproduce. There are many different kinds of cells and
they are the building blocks that make up all living things. Cells make up our muscles, our skin, our organs. Cells make up plants and
animals. Cells make up bacteria. Cells make up mushrooms and fungi. When scientists were learning about cells, they found 3 facts
that are always true, which together are called cell theory:
1.) All living things are made of cells
2.) Cells are the most basic units of structure and function in living things
3.) All cells are made from other cells
Extension:
If there is extra time, the teacher can discuss with the students how many different types of cell can they think of, is one cell still
considered a living thing, and are viruses also considered living?
NOTE: Attach any Relevant handouts, activities, templates, PPT slides, etc. that are referenced and utilized in this lesson.
Acknowledgements
Sources:
http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.colt.lp_living/living-vs-nonliving/ (Video)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (2015). Topic: Cells. Retrieved from
http://assessment.aaas.org/topics/CE#/,tabs-281/2,tabs-282/2,tabs-283/2 (Misconceptions)