The Amazing Cell

Students use this display as a visual reference when learning the structures and functions of plant and animal cells, and as a check when they label diagrams in their own books.

Students will be able to:

• Identify the major organelles in plant and animal cells
• Distinguish a plant cell from an animal cell and say which structures differ
• Explain the function of each major organelle in a sentence

Black and white prints as clean line art rather than a greyed-out copy of the colour version, so the class can colour it in. The preview above changes with this setting.

Pages

21

Colour pages

10

Black & white

11

Paper

• White: 21 sheets — Everything in the print pack
• Green: 4 sheets — Title letters
• Blue: 3 sheets — Backing the diagrams
• Yellow: 2 sheets — Backing the function cards

What is in the pack

• Title letters — THE AMAZING CELL — 4 sheets, black and white

  T · H · E · A · M · A · and 8 more

  Four letters a sheet with cutting lines. Print on coloured paper for the low-cost version.

• Plant cell and animal cell diagrams — 5 sheets, colour

  Reference sheet · Plant cell and animal cell, tiled across four sheets

  Black-and-white prints as clean line art so the class can colour the organelles themselves.

• Section headings — 1 sheet, black and white

  PLANT CELL · ANIMAL CELL

• Organelle labels — 2 sheets, black and white

  cell wall · cell membrane · cytoplasm · nucleus · nucleolus · vacuole · and 6 more

• Vocabulary cards — 2 sheets, black and white

  cell — the smallest unit of life · organelle — a structure inside a cell with its own job · membrane — the layer that controls what enters and leaves · cytoplasm — the jelly that fills the cell · nucleus — the control centre holding the DNA · chloroplast — where photosynthesis happens · and 6 more

• Organelle function cards — 3 sheets, colour

  Nucleus — holds the DNA and directs everything the cell does. · Cell membrane — controls what enters and leaves the cell. · Cytoplasm — the jelly where most chemical reactions happen. · Mitochondrion — releases energy from glucose in respiration. · Ribosome — builds proteins from amino acids. · Endoplasmic reticulum — the transport network folding and moving proteins. · and 4 more

• Border strip — 1 sheet, colour

  Repeating cell-pattern strip, cut and join to length

Change the title and the printable letters regenerate to match it.

1. 1

   Step 1 — Prepare the background

   Cover the board with blue backing paper, working from the top so each sheet overlaps the one below it. Trim the edges flush.

2. 2

   Step 2 — Add the title

   Cut out the letters for THE AMAZING CELL and lay them across the top before you fix anything. Space them by eye, check from the back of the room, then staple.

3. 3

   Step 3 — Place the two diagrams

   Put the plant cell on the left and the animal cell on the right, leaving a hand's width down the centre for the function cards. Join the tiled sheets at the back with tape, not on the front.

4. 4

   Step 4 — Add the organelle labels

   Arrange the labels around each diagram and run a length of string or a drawn line from each label to the structure it names. Do the plant cell first — its labels are the ones students confuse.

5. 5

   Step 5 — Fill the centre column

   Stack the function cards in two columns down the middle, in the order they appear on the sheet, so the nucleus sits at the top of both.

6. 6

   Step 6 — Lay the vocabulary strip

   Put the twelve vocabulary cards in one row along the bottom at student eye level, so they can be read without stepping back.

7. 7

   Step 7 — Finish the border

   Add the border strip around the outside, starting at a bottom corner so the join ends up where nobody looks.

What students do

1. Take one organelle card and one function card from the pocket.
2. Decide whether the organelle belongs to a plant cell, an animal cell, or both.
3. Pin the pair under the correct diagram.
4. Check against the answer key taped behind the board before you leave.

For the teacher: Shuffle the pocket at the end of each week. Chloroplast, cell wall and the large vacuole are the three that separate plant from animal — leave those in every shuffle.