Teacher sheet · Ages 6–7 · about 45–50 minutes
Cells: the tiny building blocks of life
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/cells/ages-6-7/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/cells/ages-6-7/print/
Learning aims
- Know that all living things are made of cells.
- Know that cells are too small to see without a microscope.
- Name the membrane, nucleus and cell wall, and say that plant cells have a wall and green food-makers.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: a brick wall picture. Our bodies are built from tiny blocks too. Which? |
| 10 min | Read the text together; show a microscope photo of cells if you have one. |
| 20 min | Make the cell-in-a-bag models in small groups and fill in the table. |
| 5 min | Game: Made of cells? |
| 5 min | Quiz and worksheet. |
Materials for the experiment
- Two clear zip-lock bags
- Water
- Two ping-pong balls or two big grapes
- A handful of green peas or green buttons
- A small cardboard box or plastic tub that one bag fits into
- Paper towels
Safety: Do not eat the peas or grapes used in the model. Close the bags well and do the activity on a tray; mop up spilled water so nobody slips.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Only animals are made of cells. | Plants, fungi and tiny living things like bacteria are made of cells too. |
| Cells are big enough to see. | Almost all cells need a microscope to be seen. |
| When you grow, your cells get bigger and bigger. | You grow mostly because cells split to make more cells. |
Worksheet answers
- Animal cell: outline (skin), dot (control centre). Plant cell: the same plus a thick outer wall and green dots.
- Any plant, animal or fungus, for example a cat, a tree or a mushroom.
- Plant.
- My cells split to make new cells, so I get more cells and grow.
Quiz answers
- What are all living things made of? Cells. Every living thing is made of one or more cells.[1]
- Can you see one of your cells with just your eyes? No, you need a microscope. Almost all cells are too small to see without a microscope.[1]
- Which cells have a strong wall around them? Plant cells. Plant cells have a cell wall; animal cells do not.[3]
- What is the control centre of a cell called? The nucleus. The nucleus keeps the cell's instructions.[3]
- How do new cells form? Old cells split in two. New cells always come from cells that already exist.[1]
Going further
Look at a thin piece of onion skin with a magnifying glass or a toy microscope. Can you see tiny boxes? Those are cell walls.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Biology 2e, 4.1 Studying Cells (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [3] Biology 2e, 4.3 Eukaryotic Cells (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [5] Cells by the Numbers (National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH), Biomedical Beat, 2024): reliability High
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/cells/sources/
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