Cell City

Introduction  This Webquest is designed to aid students in learning the basic parts of the cell. The student will be required to research the individual parts of the cell, all of the specific functions of those parts, and relate each part to a certain part of a city. The analogy of the cell in relation to a city is very basic and elementary, but effective in making a complicated lesson easy and fun for a student. The research the students will perform will be easily recalled later in their educational careers as they remember.... CELL CITY!

Task  You and your group will find reliable and plausible sources to use information to learn about the cell, the cell’s individual parts, and the functions of each of those parts. You will use at least five of these sources, and must cite them correctly in MLA format. You will be asked to work together as a team and all group members must participate. Your final product will include a power point, poster board, or a 3D model of CELL CITY

Process 1. You will be in a group with three other team members. It will be up to you to decide if you would like to share all the work equally, or if you would like to have one person from the group work on a specific task. However, you must all write a reflection at the end of the project stating what each person in the project did. Each reflection will be turned in individually.

Process 2. Once you have split up the project, the first step of the project is to collectively as a group describe and define the animal cell. What is a Cell? Your group must define the animal cell in your own words based on the research that you found. Remember to cite your sources. What is a Cell?

3. Refer to the above image to identify, investigate, and incorporate each part of the cell. You may find this site helpful. A. Parts of the Cell B. Your textbook might also be a very useful source! Process

4. Relate your findings of each part of the cell to the construction of a city. Define each part of the cell in your own words, and then relate each part of the cell parts to the parts of a city. You must explain why you chose these parts to be related. Be creative!  For example: The mitochondrion would represent the city’s power plant. As the mitochondrion is the powerhouse of the cell.  Extra credit will be awarded will be awarded for creative ideas, such as labeling parts with names of a city, Chloroplast Cafe!  Hint: Drawing a city plan may be helpful.

Process 5. Organize all of the findings onto a poster board, PowerPoint presentation or design a 3D model. Make sure to label all parts of the cell in both cell terms and parts of the city. 6.Your group will present this information with chosen visual aide to the class.

Evaluation Objective1 - Weak 2 - Needs Improvement 3 - Adequate 4 - SuperiorScore Description and Definition of Animal Cell Missing or incorrect definition. Definition is partially correct. Definition is correct, but not put in own words. Definition accurately describes animal cell and is in own words. Poster/PowerP oint/3D Model Not creative, inclu des less than half of the necessary cell components. Includes half of the necessary components, may be creative but hard to read. Includes 75% of the necessary cell parts, or all of the parts but messy or hard to read. Includes all of the cell parts, creative, easy to read and/or understand. PresentationStudents do not present in a clear or creative way and do not include the different cell parts. Presentation lacks most cell components. Students talk about most of the important components but not all or is not clear. Group presents clearly and includes all the necessary components of the cell. Presentation is creative and informative. Individual Reflection Student does not include a reflection. Reflection does not answer all of the questions. Reflection answers most of the questions but lacks critical thinking. Reflection answers all of the questions in a way that involves critical thinking.

Reflection  After each team has completed this project, each student is responsible to submit a personal reflection. Your reflection should incorporate well-thought out sentences that describe the questions in the next two slides.

Teamwork Reflection  How did your team work together?  What was each student's responsibility?  Describe your feelings when it came time to present your project.  Provide a description of your role in the team and how you feel your team members participated as a team. Please submit an appreciation statement about one of your teammates and describe why you feel they deserved it.

Project Reflection  What was the hardest part of the project for you?  How would you change the project?  What did you learn from completing this project?

Conclusion  The intention of this webquest is to help guide students through the creation of a Cell City. The webquest helps them identify and investigate the parts of an animal cell, in which they are then required to relate their findings into a city. This webquest is designed for sixth grade students in a life science class who are learning about plant and animal cells. Students should be given one week to complete the project and then begin presenting to the rest of the class. This activity fulfills the standard: “Build a model of a plant or animal cell and explain how the cellular structures and their functions contribute to the survival of the cell” from the sixth grade life science standards.sixth grade life science standards.

Credits  What Is A Cell? Parts of the Cell Grades K-8 Science Revised Standards and Model Curriculum Angelia Court, Joshua Angell, Ruthanna Sonntag, Kevin Pollock What Is A Cell? Parts of the Cell Grades K-8 Science Revised Standards and Model Curriculum