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Cells aren’t just the basis of life; they’re the basis of biology learning. This Digital Teaching Box includes resources for teaching introductory cell biology, from the definition and function of the cell through the future of biology research with pluripotent cells.
Grade Level & Course
High school biology
Author & Affiliation
Laura O’Brien
Biology teacher, Castro Valley High School
Time Estimate
Three weeks
Concepts Covered
Cell structure and function
Mitosis, meiosis, and cell differentiation
Stem cells and iPSCs
What are cells and what do they do—and how do scientists study something too small to see? This unit introduces students to the basics of cells and emphasizes microscope skills to get them up close and personal with the cells around (and inside) them.
Give students a dynamic 3-D look at the organelles of a plant or animal cell with this interactive web app. Note: this resources required Flash Player.
Resource Attribution
University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center
Resource Type
Online Interactive
Teaching Notes
Truly grasp the sizes and scales of different types of cells using this dynamic web app—compare them with everything from coffee beans to carbon atoms.
Resource Attribution
University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center
Resource Type
Animation
Teaching Notes
Help students get familiar with endosymbiotic theory firsthand by using evidence to derive it themselves.
Resource Attribution
Tiger Science Alvarado
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Teaching Notes
Use page 1 first with students; hand out pages 2 and 3 only after they have discussed hypotheses.
How did cells become cells? This short background reading tells the story of bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic evolution.
Resource Attribution
University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center
Resource Type
Reading
Teaching Notes
Cells may be microscopic, but students can see them in action with this collection of videos of real cells.
Resource Attribution
University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Show a variety of cell types and have students compare and contrast what they look like.
Show students real cells from this searchable library of microscopy images, organized by cell type, cell component, and cell process.
Resource Attribution
Cell Image Library
Resource Type
Image
Teaching Notes
What can a microscope see? Students can determine the field of view of a microscope with this lab.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Observe the structures of muscle cells in this lab.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Observe plant structure with this microscopy lab.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Let students stain and observe their own cells for a personal look at cell biology.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Teaching Notes
Create an analogy that relates the function of the cell organelles to an object, place, or central theme.
Resource Attribution
Biology teachers at Castro Valley High School
Resource Type
Assessment
Teaching Notes
Cells come from other cells. This unit explores the processes that produce new cells and some variations that can affect how cells develop.
Begin with evidence and create a simple model of how meiosis occurs.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Teaching Notes
Use this activity before instruction about mitosis and meiosis so students can practice modeling processes based on evidence.
Make the differences between mitosis and meiosis clear with this video.
Resource Attribution
Khan Academy
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Interactively explore the cell cycle mechanisms that connect errors in the cell cycle with cancers.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Online Interactive
Teaching Notes
Have students click through and take three-column notes with the headings Phase, Summary, and Checkpoint(s).
Model errors in the cell cycle that can lead to cancers.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Analyze videos of dividing Drosophila embryos to argue, using evidence, about the best cancer treatments from three potential drugs.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Asset Type
Classroom Activity
Show students real-time DNA replication using this short narrated animation.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Use this video when learning about mitosis and meiosis.
Explore early cell division and differentiation, from single cells through embryos, with this short video and discussion of three germ layers.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Use this video when discussing early cell differentiation.
Pluripotent cells may be the future of biological research. Use this unit to introduce students to the basics of both stem cells and iPS cells.
Give students hands-on experience with embryonic development by modeling with Play-Doh.
Resource Attribution
NWABR
Resource Type
Classroom Activity
Teaching Notes
Introduce students to the progression of embryonic development with this video.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Show students how stem cell lines are created in the lab.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
After watching this video, have students summarize, illustrate, and/or explain to a partner how stem cell lines are established.
Show students what real stem cells, and heart cells derived from stem cells, look like with these videos and images.
Resource Attribution
Exploratorium
Resource Type
Image, Video
Teaching Notes
Introduce students to the human iPS cell line using this image from the Gladstone Stem Cell Core.
Resource Attribution
UCSF
Resource Type
Image
Show students the motion of cardiomyocytes as they beat in this video.
Resource Attribution
Youtube
Resource Type
Video
Teaching Notes
Questions for students: How do the iPS cells compare morphologically (how they look) to the embryonic stem cells? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using still pictures and videos?
Explore some therapies using adult stem cells and look at some experimental stem cell therapies in progress today.
Resource Attribution
HHMI
Resource Type
Web Interactive
Help students understand the basics of stem cells with this introductory overview.
Resource Attribution
TedEd
Resource Type
Video
Open up the range of stem cell biology with these general resources.
Resource Attribution
University of Utah Learn Genetics
Resource Type
Multiple
Science and Engineering Practices
Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking
Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
Disciplinary Core Ideas
Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms
PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes
Crosscutting Concepts
This work was supported by the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health under Science Education Partnership Award Number R25OD016525. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.
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Let’s talk about sex—the biological concept and the processes that determine it.
This Digital Teaching Box contains resources for teaching introductory genetics.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Attribution: Exploratorium Teacher Institute