Virginia Lister
Technology Integration Learning Plan
Summer 2007
MU 7377

Investigating Plant and Animal Cells

Overview

The activity is part of a 5th grade science unit on plants and animals, and this part of the unit focuses on plant and animal cells. The key concept for the unit is that plants and animals are living things with characteristic parts. The sub concept for this activity is that plant and animal cells have characteristic parts, which can be observed under a microscope. At the end of the activity, the students will be able to identify the basic parts of a plant or animal cell, and tell how plant and animal cells are different. These skills relate to Illinois Learning Standards Goal 12.A.3c “Compare and contrast how different forms and structures reflect different functions (e.g., similarities and differences among animals that fly, walk, or swim; structures of plant cells and animal cells).” The activity also lays the foundation for meeting Goal 12.A.3a “Explain how cells function as “building blocks” of organisms and describe the requirements for cells to live” during 6th grade. The activity will also include the following NETS-S 2007 (draft) goals:
•	1.c use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues. 
•	3.b locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources. 
•	3.c evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
•	6.a  understand and use technology systems.
•	6.b  select and use applications effectively and productively.

Analysis
Students involved in this activity will be beginning 5th grade students. I know by looking over the K-4 science curriculum that the students have had some previous experiences with science units on plants and animals, but the K-4 curriculum does not include the study of cells. The students will need basic computer skills in order to utilize the website we are using in this lesson. These students had keyboarding in 4th grade, and used the computer lab once a week for various lessons and projects, so I expect them to be able to access a website. However, to make this issue easier for them, I have developed a page on my class website that will be used in this activity and will connect them directly to the “Cells Alive” site.

 This is an introductory activity on cells, which is expanded into a more in-depth study in the 6th grade curriculum. I will assess what the students know about plant and animal cells by having them complete a KWL chart prior to beginning the lesson. The activity will take 2-3 days of 30 minute Science classes to complete.

A key part of this activity involves having the students look at plant and animal cells under the microscope. In the past, I have attempted to do a similar activity by using the microscopes we have available in the elementary resource room. Unfortunately, these microscopes are not of very high quality, and students have trouble using them. We also have a problem with several of the bulbs burning out and not being replaced. The last time I used these microscopes, we could only get one to work, and my students had to wait for a turn using the microscope. I also had no way to be sure of exactly what each student was seeing, since each student had to adjust the microscope for their view, and students were not always accurate in reporting what they saw.

For this activity, I will be using a new microscope connected to the computer. We will be able to view the slides on the computer screen, and show the slides on my SmartBoard. I will be sure that all students are seeing the same thing, and I will be able to point out details as we discuss the different parts of the cell. We will also be using the website “Cells Alive”  http://www.cellsalive.com/ which will allow the students to examine the parts of the cell. 

Design and Development

At the completion of this unit of study, the students will be able to:

•	Understand the differences between plant and animal cells
•	Label the basic parts of a plant or animal cell
•	Explain the function of each of the basic parts of a cell
•	Use the microscope and computer to examine slides of plant and animal cells
•	Use the website “Cells Alive” to examine cells and review the parts of a cell
•	Use our class Science website 

Resources:

•	Textbook DiscoveryWorks, Silver Burdett Ginn Science
•	Class Science website      http://pages.mhlearningnetwork.com/glister/5thgradescience/id1.html
•	“Cells Alive” http://www.cellsalive.com/
•	The Cell Page  http://sun.menloschool.org/~cweaver/cells/
•	Cell Image Map  http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/science/sciber00/7th/cells/sciber/celldiag.htm
•	Microscope/computer connection
•	SmartBoard
•	SmartBoard Gallery section “cells”
•	Student computers
•	Prepared plant and animal slides
•	Onion, quartered
•	Cheek cells

Structure and Sequencing

Prior to this activity, students will complete a KWL chart to identify their current knowledge of cells, and then the activity will be adapted or modified as appropriate.

Introduction:

•	View the SmartBoard Gallery section on cells
•	Using the SmartBoard diagram, label a diagram of a plant and an animal cell

   Activity:

•	Take a section of a quartered onion and snap it in half
•	A thin piece of skin will separate from the section
•	Place the section of onion skin on a microscope slide
•	Cover the onion skin with a few drops of food coloring
•	Cover the onion skin with a cover slip
•	Observe the onion skin on the computer/SmartBoard screen by using the microscope/computer connection
•	Draw what you see in your Science notebook and label any parts you can identify
•	Repeat each step using animal cells (cheek cells)

We will do this activity as a group, then individual students will be able to repeat the activity as time allows.

Next students will access the website “Cells Alive” by clicking on the link posted on our class website. Students will explore the site, using the interactive cell activities (http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/3dcell.htm)  to examine the parts of the cell. Students will also use the “Cells Alive” puzzles ( http://www.cellsalive.com/puzzles/index.htm)  to look at plant and animal cells.

Additional prepared slides of plant and animal slides will be provided for students to examine and compare.

Culminating Activity

•	Students will label a diagram of a plant cell
•	Students will label a diagram of an animal cell
•	Students will match cell parts with the appropriate function
•	Students will complete the technology grant reflection survey

Learning Strategy

This activity is based on Constructivist learning perspective in that the students are constructing knowledge by participating in the experiences of using the microscope/computer connection, viewing the slides, and working with the interactive cell models.

Integration of Technology

Technology is essential to make this activity work in my classroom. I do not have a set of working student microscopes in my classroom, and the microscope/computer connection is the only way I have available to show slides of cells. The websites used in this activity allow my students to see a variety of cell diagrams and microscopic pictures of cells. Students are also able to use the interactive cell models on the “Cells Alive” website. 

Implementation

I have 9 computers available for student use in my classroom, and I will have approximately 15 students in my class this fall. I will be able to pair the students up on computers, and everyone will have access in the classroom. We also have four computer labs available in our building, and each of them has more than 15 computers, so if I need to, I can schedule time in one of those labs. I will have 1-2 hours of lab time in the elementary computer lab regularly scheduled on a weekly basis, so access is not a problem.

Our computer network is reliable, and rarely goes down. However, if that does occur, we can use my supplemental book resources to examine pictures of cells until the network is up and going. My schedule as an elementary teacher has to be highly flexible, so moving this lesson to another day or time and using a different lesson in this time slot is not a problem. I always have something that we can do as a class “just in case”.

If my class list is expanded and I have more students than expected, we can use the labs or work in the classroom by splitting the class into groups, and having one group on the computers while the other group works on drawing and labeling diagrams of cells.

Evaluation

The students will be evaluated by the following means: 

•	Correctly labeling a diagram of a plant and an animal cell.
•	Correctly matching the part of a cell with the correct function.
•	Demonstrating that the student can access the website and use the “Cells Alive” activities

The activity will be evaluated by answering the following questions:

•	Did the learning activity proceed as planned?
•	Is there anything in this activity that needs to be changed or adapted?
•	Did the technology improve the activity?
•	Did the activity meet the selected standards?
•	What changes could be done to make the activity even more effective?

Students and the teacher will complete the technology grant reflection surveys at the completion of the lesson. These reflection surveys are a simple survey that asks each student the following questions:

1.	What technology did you use in this activity?
2.	Did the use of technology improve the lesson?
3.	How did this lesson compare to other lessons completed without using technology?
4.	What did you learn from this activity?
5.	How did the use of technology help improve your learning?

This activity is made possible by using the microscope/computer connection. I can be sure that all students are able to see the slides, and we can discuss what they see as we look at the slides together. The web sites offer more visual information about cells, and add interest to the lesson. Before the current technology was available, we often could not do activities using the microscopes because the microscopes were unavailable or did not work. When we talked about cells, we had to settle for looking at pictures of cells instead of viewing slides.

At the conclusion of this activity, I will note any difficulties that arose during the lesson, and make any necessary adjustments before using the activity again the following year.