Mary Ann Regehr’s fourth- grade science students at Jefferson Elementary School stepped outside of the classroom last week to study cells — what they are comprised of and the difference in animal and plant cells.
“In order to provide lessons that allow all my students to learn to their best ability, we read about cells, watched a short videotape on cells and created a model of a cell,” Regehr said.
Passersby may have noticed the youths playing with inflatable pools in the school yard, but what they didn’t know is to the students the pools represented a cell membrane.
A basketball was used for the nucleus or control center of the cell, a portion of a pool noodle represented the vacuole, which holds things for the cell, and a sponge was used as the mitochondria or energy making part of the cell. These components allowed the students to view the anatomy of an animal cell.
The youths then added a piece of wood that stood as a cell wall and a small green ball that represented chloroplasts to create a plant cell.
The activity helped the students understand the similarities and differences in the two types of cells and made them more familiar with terminology that was brand new to them this year, Regehr said.
The class was divided into four teams of five. Each student took a turn adding the different components to the cell. As each task was completed the students wrote the terminology on the sidewalk with chalk.
“I like hands-on projects. The repetition of creating the cells and writing the cell parts on the sidewalk provided a fun way for my students to learn,” Regehr said.
Jefferson teacher makes science fun for students
