by Meredith Connors

Grade 5

What is this all about?

Hello boys and girls and welcome to the exciting world of micro-biology! This webquest will take you on an exciting adventure to a world that is invisible to our eyes but exists in every single one of us - cells. Plant and animal cells make up every living thing. They are the basic units of life and make us who we are. Cells are so small that we can not see them without a microscope, because of this it is easy to forget how important they are. In exploring this webquest you will find that each cell is like a miniature factory and has tiny organelles that have important jobs that make the cells function inside every one of us. You will learn the difference between plant and animal cells and be able to amaze your friends and family with your vast knowledge of the building blocks of life.

Good Luck and Be Careful -
you are about to enter a
 microscopic territory!

The Challenge:

The following websites will offer you tons of information on plant and animal cells. Not everyone knows about plant and animal cells so it is very important that you report your knowledge back to your teacher.  While exploring these sites you should:

• Before you start I want you to write down what you already know about cells in your science notebook, include information that you are not sure of, or want to know. Once you have completed the webquest write a similar reflection on what you have learned. Include, also, what you still want to learn if you are left with any questions.
  
• Print out or draw a diagram of a plant and animal cell. Fill in the blanks on the print out, or label the organelles on your drawing to show that you know the correct names.
• Create a Venn Diagram (or print out one from the website) and compare and contrast plant and animal cells. What do they have in common? What is unique about them?

 

The Journey:

Biology 4 Kids	Cells Alive!
Enchanted Learning

For more information:

This journey only introduces you to some sites about cells. If you are interested in finding some sites of your own you can go to a search engine such as www.google.com and use key words like:

• cells
• Plant and animal cells
• microbiology
• science for kids
• cell anatomy
• etc.

If you have any questions, feel free to email the webquest creator at -
meredith.connors@uvm.edu