Biology Archives - Secondary Sparks

Tips for Teaching Cells in Middle School Science

Michelle Rudolph — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:15:03 +0000

As science teachers, we can all agree that cells are pretty darn amazing. We have our time to get to know them a bit and learn about how they play such a huge role in our bodies and in every living thing. For our students, it doesn’t always seem so fascinating because teaching cells in middle school science can be such a daunting task. Your cell unit is one of those fundamental units but it can be so difficult for students to grasp. Between learning the difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells and then the difference between plant and animal cells, there is SO much to learn. How do you teach it all? Where do you start? Well, with the right approach it can be an engaging and memorable learning experience for your middle schoolers.

Starting with Levels of Organization

On day 1, when I introduce the cell. I talk to my students about how they are the building blocks of life. Obvious way to describe it, right? Well, I will actually take out some Legos and start building to give them the idea. I show them how it all begins with cells and I start with one Lego. Then, I add more to create tissues. Then more to create organs. Then I add more to create the organ systems and finally the organism. The visual helps them! Starting with levels of organization really helps students see how cells fit in the puzzle. Without them, there is nothing! There is no life!

After my Lego demonstration, we do a quick “Levels of Organization” activity. You can grab this free one in my free resource library here. I usually work on this with my students in a whole group setting.

Another tip for this is to teach the difference between an organ, organelle and organism. Those terms often get very confusing and mixed up for students during this unit!

Cell Theory

“How did anyone even discover cells if they are so tiny?” I get this question a lot which is a perfect segway into teaching cell theory. I know it may be tempting to jump right into organelles and structures, but students really do need more foundation before you dive right into that. Learning about the scientists who led us to the knowledge we have today can really help us understand the cell theory and how these 3 statements will really make sense throughout the school year:

Cells are the basic unit of life.
All cells come from preexisting cells.
All living things are made from cells.

My students will have this memorized pretty quickly. They think I’m a little crazy for it, but that’s okay. They’ll remember it!

After we discuss cell theory, I dive into cell characteristics. I go over the characteristics that all cells have. Students are shocked to learn that our cells have some things in common with bacteria and that some bacteria is actually good for us!

Plants vs Animal Cells

This is when you really need to be sure of the organelles and structures that are essential for you to teach. There are a LOT of structures in the cell and as cool as they all are, middle school students are not required to learn about them all. Once they take Biology, they will learn much more. Stick to what your standards say. Trust me, you don’t want to overwhelm your students. It makes learning more difficult for them and for you.

If you use NGSS, TEKS or Florida standards, the main structures to focus on are:

Nucleus
Mitochondria
Ribosomes
Cytoplasm
Vacuoles
Cell Wall
Chloroplasts
Cell membrane

You especially need to focus on the similarities and differences between animal cells and plant cells. They need to know what structures are in plant cells but not in animal cells. The comparison question always comes up on those standardized tests!

Activities to Teach and Review Cells

The activities you choose for your cells unit play a huge role. You want to make sure they are highly visual and that students can actually see the structures while you explain them.

1. Visual Lesson with Guided Notes

This topic is highly visual. Students are often required to be able to identify cell organelles and structures on diagrams. Specifically, the ones listed above. By giving my students visual guided notes, you can give them the critical information they need while providing visuals that they can later refer back to. When I deliver my notes, I make sure to begin by describing the cell structures that can be found in all cells, then just the structures that can be found in plant cells vs animal cells. I briefly touch on the difference between prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells.

Throughout the lesson and notes, I provide my students with checkpoint opportunities to make sure they are understanding the content throughout the lesson rather than at the end. This helps me address misconceptions or confusion in the moment rather than going back to reteach the content another day. You can learn more about how to keep your students engaged during direct instruction here.

2. Task Cards

Task cards are my secret weapon for hammering home those critical content pieces and

vocabulary. This is an opportunity for my students to answer fill in the blank, true/false and multiple choice questions. Task cards allow for a target review that allows me to reinforce critical concepts. You can get quick feedback with task cards and they can be used in a variety of ways. One of my favorite ways to use them is by setting up a gallery walk with task cards. You can find task cards for cell theory here and cell organelles/structures here.

3. Stations

Using stations is another great tip for teaching cells in middle school science. Not only will you get some serious student engagement, but you will also get your students up and moving, foster collaboration and foster a variety of student needs. You can learn more about the reasons I love using stations here. When setting up my stations, I provide a different informal assessment method for students to demonstrate what they have learned about cells. Stations include a mini quiz, a drawing option, research opportunities, writing, using microscopes, looking at cells, taking advantage of online simulations, hands-on sorting activities and more. I use different stations for cell theory and cell organelles/structures.

Teaching cells isn’t always easy but you can make it easier by providing students with a variety of activities to keep them engaged and curious to learn more. Make sure to continuously remind students why this topic is so important: they have cells and cells keep them alive and growing!

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How to Infuse Current Events in your Science Classroom

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 10 May 2024 17:10:31 +0000

“How does this even relate to us?!” This is a question you get a lot in your middle school science classes, right? It’s not always easy to show students the answer. Some topics in your science class are hard to find hands-on labs for and sometimes an online video just doesn’t do it justice. This is one of the reasons I love using current events in the science classroom. They relate what you’re teaching in the classroom to the real world.

Why Should You Use Current Events?

By using current events in your classroom, you are relating topics from your curriculum to the real world. You are giving students the opportunity to learn about something going on right now in the world that ties into what they are learning in the classroom. This brings that topic to life in a brand new way. It shows its relevance in the world and answers that famous question you get in your middle school classroom which is “why is this important?”

Science is constantly evolving and changing with new discoveries and technological advancements. Students need to understand that and what better way to help them understand it than to actually see that it is occurring in real time? Promotion of scientific literacy will also give them a way to look up this information on their own so they can make informed decisions about their lives using articles that are from reputable sources.

Also, not only are you relating your science standards to the real-world, but you are also helping your students become better critical thinkers and improving their writing skills. The ELA teachers will thank you!

How Can You Infuse Them in Your Classroom?

There are a few ways you can infuse current events into your science classroom.

1. Find an article related to what you are teaching at the time. For example, if you are currently on a unit about galaxies, you may want to find an article about a new, recently-discovered galaxy that is light years away. Have all the students complete a science current events template like the one shown below to learn about it and describe how it relates to what they are learning.

2. Dedicate a section or wall of your classroom to this. I called mine “Science in the News.” I used a string and some clothes pins to add various articles I found online to, what looked like, a clothes line. Students can walk up to the wall, find an article that interests them and fill out the same current events template shown in the image above. I loved to find informative articles as well as some more silly ones that related to science but also would peak students interest. Students would grab the article, a template and start writing.

Where Can You Find Science Articles?

Whether you teach Earth Space, Life Science, Physical Science, Marine Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, STEM, Forensics or any other secondary science subject, there is a ton of news sources you can use to find articles to suit your needs.

If you have a NewsELA subscription, you can find articles there by searching the science category. I also loved using NewsELA because you can sort by lexile levels to adjust the level of difficulty with each reading.

Here are some other sites where you can find up-to-date, relevant and reputable science articles for students:

The post How to Infuse Current Events in your Science Classroom appeared first on Secondary Sparks.

Teaching Classification of Organisms and Taxonomy

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 16:00:48 +0000

Classification is one of those fundamental units to teach when you are teaching biology, zoology or marine biology. Review of taxonomy and classification of organisms is essential before diving into any of the individual phyla. Why? Because you don’t want your students asking you what a “phylum” or a “kingdom” is when you are trying to introduce Phylum Porifera. Trust me, the confusion will only get worse from there and that is the last thing you want. So, whether you are introducing taxonomy for the first time or your students need a quick review, here are some tips for teaching classification of organisms.

Starting with Guided Notes

Do not be afraid of a little direct instruction, especially with a vocabulary heavy topic like classification and taxonomy. Now, I don’t mean standing in front of the class and talking at them for 45 minutes straight while they copy notes. Include them in on it. Add opportunities for engagement, checkpoints and a way for them to bring it all back in the end. This gets the students more engaged in the lesson, retaining more of the information and saves your voice! You can get this Classification of Organisms and Taxonomy Lesson, Guided Notes and Assessment which includes everything you need to maintain your students focus during the lesson.

Go on a Nature Walk

I’m serious! Have students walk around campus and document what organisms they see. Have them identify the characteristics of the organism as well as the domain and kingdom they belong to.

Sorting Organisms

Getting resin specimens was a great idea for this unit and students loved them! As part of a classification and taxonomy stations activity, you can have students look at the organisms and place them into groups by anatomical comparisons so they can think like a taxonomist! This can also be done with images of organisms.

Dichotomous Keys

Teach students about dichotomous keys and how they are used for identifying organisms. You can even have students create their own dichotomous keys for specific organisms.

Creative Posters or presentations

Have students choose a domain or kingdom to focus on. They can create a poster or digital presentation that outlines all the key characteristics of organisms within that kingdom or domain.

Let your Students Get Creative!

Choice Boards have been a game changer in my classroom. Instead of thinking of one project for the whole class, you can provide some autonomy to your students and allow them to choose from a list of activities or let them come up with their own ideas. Of course, these activities will have to show you, as the teacher, that your students actually understand classification and taxonomy. You can add requirements for that so your students know what to follow. Some of the activities I provide on a list for students include:

Creating an Ecosystem guidebook
Creating a board game
Writing a story
Domain debates
Recording a podcast.

These types of activities can highlight individual student talents while still making sure they are understanding the critical content. You can find the Classification of Organisms Choice Board I use here. Grab an entire unit of activities for Classification of Organisms and Taxonomy.

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