Cell Unit Study - Week 1 - Drawings

Week 1: We drew cells and looked at cells under a microscope.

I recently checked out the book The Way We Work by David Macaulay from the library in my search for a children's book about cells. The explainations are well done and the illustrations facilitate understanding. I like that the explanations begin with cells under a microscope, move into atoms and then explain how atoms are incorporated into cells. Since the concept of cells is difficult to understand we will be doing an activity a week inconjunction with the pages of the book. 

The first week we began with a very simple project. The kids looked at cells in several different books and then drew one of their own. We talked about how the DNA stored in the nucleus is like a cookbook. Each person has their own unique version which contains directions on how to build them. Each recipe contains the instructions for a different dish just as there are instructions for many different kinds of cells. Only the directions that are needed are used.

They labeled their cells and then we looked at some cell slides under our microscope.