Cells

Cells in Middle School

The concept of cells is a perfect middle school life science topic. Cells are concrete, we can see them and understand how they function. In addition, they serve as a foundational concept in future biology courses. Our job as middle school educators is to capture kids excitement and harness their curiosity as they explore these amazing structures. In this section, we will outline our introductory lesson on cells.

Getting Started: Consider the dust challenge. Ask your students to explore your room (or school) and find the dustiest spot. Bring some back. When complete, name a student the "Dust Champion" of your class. This 5 to 10 minute warm up activity is always a hit. Once your students have settled back into class, explain to them that 70% of dust is dead skin cells. This usually grosses them out. From this, we set the stage for our lesson on the fundamental building blocks of life.

Core Lesson: Use a brief presentation for direct instruction. There are a few key concepts that need addressed when discussing cells.

What do they look like?
The role of microscopes (technology) in their discovery
Modern Cell Theory. This basic statement explain what we know about cells.

As a value added component, add a discussion about Francesco Redi and his experiments disproving spontaneous generation. This provides a great tie in to science and inquiry skills.

Direct instruction or conversation is important in the lives of our kids. Their ability to interact with others and share in class is what makes a middle school classroom special. Try to limit these to 10 minutes or less to keep everyone focused. I record all my lesson online. This provides students the opportunity to re watch lesson content or make up missing materials with ease.

Reinforcement: Employ a few tools during your direct instruction or reinforcement to help students structure their learning. Incomplete notes are a key classroom aid. These not only help student organize their thoughts, but it also provides valuable supports to any of our IEP students. At the end of the discussion, have students review their notes and create a short summary. We suggest lower age groups compose around 3-4 sentences using vocabulary words in their response. Older advanced groups should be able to complete 4-7 sentences. Encourage students during this part. Research suggests that these types of reflection increase student learning.

Activities: At this moment you have many opportunities for extending your lesson. A lab viewing sample of prepared slides is always a fun "wow" lesson to get kids thinking. Looking for some online practice, consider Google Slides in class or as homework. These interactive slides allow students to sort and organize lesson content into meaningful ways.

Looking for more help? We have developed each of these lessons, with editable presentations and notes. Detailed lesson plans with all the supports you need for a successful experience with your students. Cells Lesson 1 for Middle School

See below for more middle school lessons on cells.