The Cell

After five years of unsuccessfully teaching cell structure, I've decided to try a different approach. In the past, I've used PowerPoint to show pictures and to give my students notes on the various organelles. However, this strategy, although not a bad one doesn't work well with this topic. For many students just learning the names of the organelles is tough enough. So instead of overwhelming them, I've decided to focus on one part at a time. Tomorrow in class I will be sharing seven pictures of the most important organelles. I want my students (while in groups) to focus on the structure only. I'll ask each group to observe and describe their pictures. Then I want them to think about a real life object the picture reminds them of. My next step will be to have them match the pictures with drawings of each organelle and then to place them in a diagram based on what they see. From there, we will then work on the names of these structures and build from that. Wish me luck!