ND Curriculum Initiative

Subject & Standards

Understandings & Goals

Enduring Understanding: 1. Within cells, many of the basic function of organisms are carried out. 2. Cell functions are performed by organelles under control of DNA in the nucleus.  3. Cells function in a similar way in all organisms, even though there are differences among animal, plant, and bacterial cells.
Goal(s): Students will understand the structure and function of a typical cell.

Questions Answered

Essential questions: 1. What are the structures in a cell? 2. What are the functions of the cellular structures?
3. How to the organelles work together to sustain the life of the cell?
Objectives: 1. Students will be able to list the activities carried out by a cell and name the organelles involved.  2. Students will recognize the difference between plant and animal cells.  3. Students will be able to organize information about cellular structure and function into a meaningful PowerPoint presentation.  4. Students will submit their completed projects to the instructor via their Blackboard digital drop box.

Assessment

What quiz and test items (e.g. simple content-focused questions that require a single, best answer) will provide evidence of understanding? Students will understand which organelles carry out which functions. What academic prompts (e.g. open-ended questions or problems that require students to think critically and then to prepare a response / product / performance) will provide evidence of understanding? Students will be able to explain what effect removing one organelle from the cell would have on the entire cell.
What performance tasks and projects (e.g. complex challenges that are authentic, mirror the real world and require a performance or product) will you include that will provide evidence of student understanding?  Students will organize the information about the cell into a PowerPoint presentation demonstrating their understand of its structure and function.
What other evidence (e.g. observations, work samples, dialogues, student self-assessment) of understanding will you collect?  1. Students will present their project to their peers for peer evaluation and they will also self-evaluate.  2. Students will also complete an online quiz about the cell.

Instructional Strategies

The unit will be project based. Students will work in pairs to develop a PowerPoint presentation that demonstrates their understanding of the cell. They will be responsible for research, design, and presentation to their peers.