LessonTitle:

CheekCellStainLab
TimeRequired:

5070minutes
Grade:

6
Teacher:

ChelseyRice

MichiganScienceStandard:
MSLS11
Conductaninvestigationtoprovideevidencethatlivingthingsaremadeofcellseitheronecell
ormanydifferentnumbersandtypesofcells.

ContentObjective:
Thestudentswillbeabletoidentifyspecificanimalcellpartsafterlookingatcheekcells
underneathamicroscope.
Thestudentswillbeabletoexplainwhyhumancheekcellsareconsideredanimalcells.

Assessment:
Thestudentswillbeassessedon:
o
thelabelingofthecellparts
o
thepostlabquestions
o
correctlabelingofeachdrawing

KeyVocabulary(Academic/Content)

Materials

AnimalCell

14microscopeslides

Nucleus

14microscopes

CellMembrane

28toothpicks

Cytoplasm

Iodine

28CheekCellStainLabhandouts

28MicroscopeDrawinghandouts

AnticipatorySet(GettingStarted)
:
Fordayswehavebeendiscussingcellorganellesandthedifferencebetweenanimalcellsand
plantcells.Manyofyouhaveaskedwhenyouwouldbeabletolookatyourowncellsand
todayistheday!Unfortunatelyonlyonepartnerwillbeabletocontributeacellsampletoday,
butinlaterlabsyouwillbegiventimetoexploreandlookattheobjectsofyourchoosing.Ifyou
arereallyupsetaboutnotgettingachancetolookatyourcheekcellstoday,youwillhavethe
opportunityduringouropenlab.

LessonSequence:
1. Explainlessonindetail.
a. Placeasmalldropofiodineontoacleanslide.

b. Usingatoothpick,gentlyscrapetheinsideofyourcheek.
i.
Onlyonepartnerneedstoscrapetheircheek.
c. Placethetipofthetoothpickintotheiodineandstir.
i.
Iodinestainsthecellsinorderforthecellstobecomevisible.
d. Placetheslideunderlowpower(4x)
i.
Isolateacheekcell
1. Therearemanytinyparticlesthatcanbefoundinyourmouth.A
photoofacheekcellwillbeprojectedinorderforyoutouseasa
referencewhenisolatingacheekcell.
ii.
Drawwhatyousee
e. Placetheslideundermediumpower(10x)
i.
Isolateacheekcell
ii.
Drawwhatyousee
f. Placetheslideunderhighpower(40x)
i.
Isolateacheekcell
ii.
Drawwhatyousee
2.Alwaysstartonthelowestpower,thenincreasetoalargerpowerafteryouhaveisolateda
cheekcell.Itishardertofindwhatyouarelookingforwhentheobjectismagnifiedbecause
whatyouseeisonlyasmallportionoftheslidethehigherthepower.
3.Whenlabelingyourdrawings,remembernottousethepowers(4x,10x,and40x).Make
sureyouwritethetotalmagnification.
4.Studentswillworkwiththeirtablepartners.
5.Afteryouhavedrawnyourthreedrawings,cleanupyourarea.
a.Rinseofftheslide,drytheslide,throwawayusedtoothpicks,andputthecoverson
themicroscopes.
6.Returntoyouseatandanswerthepostlabquestions.
a.Idonotwantasimpleyesornoanswertonumberthree.Explainyouranswer.

Closure:
Aftercompletionofthelabs,studentswillreturntotheirdesksinordertofinishpostlab
questions.Onceallthestudentsaredone,wewilldiscussthepostlabquestions.Havingthe
studentsexplainwhyhumancellsareindeedanimalcellsisamajorpartofthelab.Wehave
beendiscussingthedifferencebetweenanimalcellsandplantcellsandrightawaytheyshould
beabletodeterminethatthereisnocellwallpresentinourcheekcells.

Exploring/Extending:
Aftercompletingthislab,whatwouldyouexpecttoseeifyouweretolookatotherhumancells
underneathamicroscope?Usefactstobackupyourpredictions.

AdaptationsforDiverseandSpecialNeeds:
Myvisuallyimpairedstudentmayhaveahardtimeseeingthecellsthroughthemicroscope.
Wewillhaveapictureofwhatheissupposedtobeseeingthroughthemicroscope.Ifhe

cannotseethecheekcellsunderthemicroscopehecandrawwhatheseesontheboardand
labelthatdrawinginsteadoftheindividualdrawings.