While teaching the parts of a cell is a topic that is covered in every biology class, it’s a topic that I think we can improve on as teachers. I know I was guilty of this for several years. My lectures on teaching cell organelles and its function were boring and my activities weren’t much better. I feel like I owe the students who were with me in my early years an apology. Yes, I was THAT bad. Hopefully you can learn from my past experiences with these simple to implement tips for teaching the structure and function of the parts of a cell.
Begin With The Cell Structure Of A Prokaryotic Cell
Teaching the parts of a prokaryotic cell is something that I feel doesn’t get enough time. Think about it, how many minutes do you dedicate to prokaryotic cells? I’m guessing it’s not much. The reason I like to focus on beginning with prokaryotic cells when teaching cell structure and function is two-fold: there are fewer organelles to discuss and I prefer to teach biology through the context of a story. In trying to give context to cellular life I begin by teaching my classes about early cellular life and how prokaryotes appeared before eukaryotes (and why). I’ve found that this story-telling method of lecture helps keep students engaged much more than simply listing out the organelles by name and function. This story doesn’t need to be more than a few minutes to hook your students into wanting to hear more.
After leading with my story on early cellular life, I focus on the cell structure of a prokaryotic cell. By connecting structure and function you can highlight the key terms you want students to know and understand. Plenty of pictures and illustrations work well here since we are discussing microscopic life that kids aren’t too familiar with. Before moving on to eukaryotic cells I like to do a quick formative assessment with either a review worksheet (like a doodle notes page or concept map) or a few digital task cards.
Use Comparisons To Teach The Parts Of A Cell
Since there are several more parts of a eukaryotic cell (compared to prokaryotes), again you don’t want to fall into the trap of just going through the list with your slides and running through the structure and function of each. Your kids will remember that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell, but they won’t remember much else.
Keeping with the story of the development of cellular life, I teach the parts of a plant cell before teaching those of an animal cell. Chances are your students already have a basic knowledge of ATP and photosynthesis, so connecting these terms to the parts of the cell isn’t a stretch. Throughout my lectures I am constantly scaffolding the information through the making of comparisons between cells. This is also a chance to review the cell theory that you just covered in prior classes.
A great activity to summarize the parts of a cell is by using a venn diagram after you have covered both plant cells and animal cells. Using a petri dish to outline a circle, you could have your kids each complete a 2-circle (plant and animal or eukaryote and prokaryote) venn diagram. Or you could do a 3-circle venn diagram between plant cells, animal cells, and bacteria cells. As a whole class activity you could use some magnetic tape and laminated cards with organelle names on them and have kids walk up to the white board and place each organelle in their appropriate location on a giant venn diagram. just an idea for you.
Use A Variety Of Activities To Teach The Parts Of A Cell
We know that different students in our classes learn differently. So when it comes to teaching cell structures and function, using a variety of activities will help your students better understand the content. While there is no best lesson or activity to teach the parts of a cell, IMO using multiple interactive lessons is better than simply using direct instruction.
In my interactive notebook I use a variety of left side activities and worksheets to reinforce our lectures. Concept maps, doodle notes, and graphic organizers (like venn diagrams and T-Charts) are all great ways to help students gain a deeper understanding of cell organelles and functions. As I mentioned above, these activities can give context versus just having students memorize names and functions for the parts of a cell. If you have already completed your introduction to using a microscope lab, then now is a great time to use your microscopes again and have students examine both prepared and wet mount slides of cells.
Smaller formative assessments are also a great way to improve student understanding. I like using small quizzes for a variety of reasons. First, they give students more experience in taking tests. I almost always make them a low-stakes assessment so that there is little impact on their grade. Formative assessments can also be done in groups so students get the chance to work together. The two types of formative assessments I use to teach the arts of a cell are my cell structures and function quiz and my cell task cards. While I have the students complete the quiz individually, I use the task cards for a team assessment where one half of the class competes against the other half. Both will give you feedback on what topics you may want to reteach before you complete your unit.
Final Thoughts…
If you have been looking for ways to get your students more excited about learning about the parts of a cell, hopefully I have given you a few ideas for ways to adjust your lesson plans that will be easy to implement. And if you are a new teacher who is just getting started, be sure to check out my full year curriculum growing bundle. It’s got everything you need.
