Cellular Organelle Exploration Activity

Section Animal Science Unit Cell Structure and Organization Lesson Title Cellular Organelle Exploration Activity Student Learning Objectives As a result of this lesson, the student will: 1. Describe cellular organelles and their functions. Time Instruction time for this lesson: Two 50-minute periods. The lesson will take about two periods and another 20 minutes for 10 students to present. Resources/References Dr. Chuck Downing / Point Loma Nazarene University email: cdowning@ptloma.edu Biology Text, “Dynamics of Life,” Glencoe, Biggs, Kapicka Tools, Equipment, and Supplies Handouts Student instruction sheet Paper (plain) Key Terms The following terms are presented in this lesson and appear in bold italics: Plasma membrane Chloroplast Cell wall Chlorophyll Chromatin Plastid Nucleus Cytoskeleton Ribosome Microtubule Cytoplasm Microfilament Endoplasmic reticulum Cilia Golgi apparatus Flagella Vacuole Unicellular Lysosome Multicellular Mitochondria Tissue Organ Organ system Interest Approach It is very important that you organize your process before you begin this lab. There is a fair amount of individual work that needs to be done and a timeline to keep to complete this project in two days!! Here are a few steps I find helpful for student success. Read the teacher notes and the student instructions ahead of time. Develop your own grading point scale ahead of time. Make sure to avoid grouping similar students together. Keep the leaders, creators and thinkers spread out so every group has a fair skill set to develop its catalog. Also, due to the short timeline, I find it beneficial to separate friends, if possible, to ensure efficient use of time. To finish on time, I have started this lesson with this outline. Day 1Form groups Delegate organelles to each member Develop the words for each organelle. If they finish, begin the art work or drawing of each organelle. Day 2 Discuss with entire class the prices for the organelles Finish pictures and attach prices to each organelle Decide on a cover for the catalog Assemble the table of contents. Attached are some examples for your review; maybe attach one of them to student instruction sheet to create ideas for each group. There’s not much that you cannot buy by mail order any more. There are catalogs for just about anything you can think of. Who would be willing to tell me a catalog you or your family might use every year”? Wait for a response. Yes that’s right. We all depend on catalogs for our needs. Your task for the next two days will be to create the ultimate catalog for something that there is not a market for yet…but you never know about the future! Your catalog will feature the major organelles in a cell. Make sure all the students have the student copy of the project “ The Whole Cell Catalog.” Summary of Content and Teaching Strategies Objective 1 Describe cellular organelles and their functions. Have assigned groups get together before you begin. Read the student instruction sheet to the class groups. Ask, “Are there any questions”? Clarify if any. Explain where the supplies can be found and stress the importance of not wasting time and the projects will be evaluated by individuals and the entire group, so make it count! “You may begin.” Review/Summary Each day, check each group for focus and timeline. Make sure all students are involved and working. You might make some notes otherwise as to justify the results later. Each group will be evaluated according to the instructions for their catalog. Discuss with the students how this was helpful in learning the cell organelles and their functions. Display some of the catalogs in the classroom. Talk about how the class came to pricing the organelles according to their use and function. Application Extended classroom activity Choose some of the catalogs to use as learning resources for a biology class or animal science class. Ask another teacher to come and explain how they ranked the catalogs from a consumer’s point of view. Ask a marketing professional to come and speak to the class before the project about the details of a successful catalog design. FFA activity Repeat the project, simplified, as a PALS lesson to an elementary science class in the district. Wear FFA official dress to make the connection between FFA and classroom. SAE activity Visit a professional marketing firm to get ideas about how to develop a catalog. Evaluation Final draft of each group catalogue will be graded according to the criteria set forth by the teacher. Each catalog will be evaluated by the three criteria in the student instruction guide. The Whole Animal Cell Catalog There is not much that you can’t buy by mail order any more. There are catalogs for just about anything you can think of. Your task in this assignment is to create a catalog for something that there is not a market for yet…but you never know about the future. Your catalog will be for the major organelles in a cell. 1. Form groups as instructed by your teacher. 2. Decide which individual in your group will be responsible for the catalog page describing each of the following organelles Cell membrane Ribosome Golgi apparatus Mitochondria Endoplasmic reticulum Cytoskeleton (flagella, cilia) Vacuole Lysosome Chloroplast 3. Use textbooks or other references to look up information on the organelle you were assigned.  Design a page in your catalog for your organelle. Your page must include a typewritten description of your organelle and its function, the sales pitch, a pricing structure, and a full color diagram to illustrate your “product.” Reminders: 1) Original art is preferred. However, if you download diagrams from the internet or a CD-ROM a) be sure to include appropriate reference citations b) be aware that some diagrams are big files that might not print-try printing before the morning this assignment is due! 2) All organelle prices in your catalog should be comparable.  Be sure to leave a 1” margins on all edges.  Your group will need to design a cover for you catalog and produce a Table of Contents that will be the first page inside the cover of your catalog. The Table of Contents should be done last. Use the following format: Organelle Author Cell Membrane J. Student Mitochondria Ima Kid *Your instructor will fill in the “Points” column. Page # 1 3 Points* ____________ ____________ 4. Your final grade on this assignment will combine your individual page grade with a “group” grade for the entire catalog. *Groups will be 5-6 persons (or as decided by instructor). This assignment will be graded on: The Whole Animal Cell Catalog      This is a 60-point assignment. Typically there would be more than 2,500 points in my class each semester. For comparison, a one-day lab would be worth 20-40 points. Tests are worth 100-200 points. Assign 30 points per page. Divide the 30 single-page points into three 10-point subunits: 10 pts for the accuracy (grade very specifically here), 10 points for the neatness and following of directions, 10 points for the creativity “sales pitch.” Each student gets x/30 for his/her page plus an additional amount based on the entire catalog (the Group Grade). X/30 + group/30 = total/60 Group grade: Average the scores for each page-including the cover (15 points) and table of contents (15 points) and add that to the individual score. Each group member gets the same group score added to whatever their page score was. It’s best if you assign the project and after 1 day have a group meeting time when all members share what they’ve accomplished so far. At that meeting, have them discuss possible prices so there is no big disparity between organelles. On the date, give teams about 10 minutes to share and staple their catalogs together.