As you gear up for heading back to school, we’ve put together activities for your K-12 classrooms. In this middle school science activity for grades 6-8, explore cell division and cycles. We’ve got you covered with classroom strategies, activities, resources, and a graphic organizer.
Looking for different level and subject area back-to-school activities? Click the links below:
Elementary School Science and Social Studies: Back-to-School
Middle School Social Studies: Ancient Rome
High School Science: Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases
High School Social Studies: The Formation of NATO
In each activity, I share suggested resources from Britannica’s newest classroom tool, LaunchPacks: Science. You can get free 30-day access now by taking a Packs: Science free trial, or you can use the activity, questions, and free, downloadable graphic organizer with your own classroom resources.
Grades 6-8 Science Activity: Cellular Vocabulary
Overview: Students will identify a word or phrase in the Pack article that is new to them, they are unsure about, or they have been assigned.
Suggested Resources:
• LaunchPacks: Science Cell Division and the Cell Cycle for Grades 6-8
• Graphic Organizer: Word Chart, Content and Connections
Strategy: Identify and Define
Activity: Using Graphic Organizer: Word Chart, Content and Connections, ask students to identify a word or phrase that is new to them or they are unsure about. Students can use the annotation tools to help identify words and record answers to the suggested questions.
Suggested Questions:
• What are some context clues that can help you determine the word’s meaning?
• What part of speech is the word in the sentence? (For example, is the word a noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, or interjection?)
• After reading the dictionary definition, how would you explain the word’s meaning in your own words or to a friend?
Possible Extension: In your own words, describe the difference between mitosis and meiosis. Then, create a product (poster, art project, 3-D product, etc.) showing each process as you understand it. Try to incorporate as many new vocabulary words (relevant to this topic) as you can.
