The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Animating Cell Organelles as a System with Scratch

Animating Cell Organelles as a System with Scratch

A 6,7,8th grade STEM lesson

Author: Tim Malan

Date: 4/12/2023

Notes for teachers

I have a Scratch template where students can make a model of the central dogma of biology by showing how organelles work together.

List of Materials

• Laptops
• Template Code: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/834334449

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Standards

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Standards

Science

7.L1U1.9 Construct an explanation to demonstrate the relationship between major cell structures and cell functions (plant and animal).

Core Ideas

L1: Organisms are organized on a cellular basis and have a finite life span.

Objective(s): Students will be able to explain how organelles work together as a system to complete a complex task by using the program Scratch to create an animated model.

Agenda (175 minutes)

The teacher will introduce a list of items like the following: aquarium, bicycle, heart, sand, box of nails, soil, equation. The teacher will ask students which of these are systems and to justify their answers. Then the teacher will explain that all of these are systems except for the nails and sand. The teacher will ask why that might be and allow students to respond. Then the teacher will introduce the definition of a system: a system is a set of different parts working together to perform a complex task. (10 minutes)

The teacher will have students log into scratch and remix the cell organelle template provided, or the teacher will share the sb3 file on google classroom and students will upload the sb3 file to their scratch account. (20 minutes)

The teacher will find two youtube videos (or use the ones provided) that explain Scratch movement blocks and Scratch costume change blocks. (25 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYsXbbiZ4LI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvSTUwmRUdo

With the knowledge of movement blocks and costume blocks the students will play around and try to create an animated model of the central dogma of biology by organelles working together. (120 minutes)

Intro

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The teacher will introduce a list of items like the following: aquarium, bicycle, heart, sand, box of nails, soil, equation. The teacher will ask students which of these are systems and to justify their answers. Then the teacher will explain that all of these are systems except for the nails and sand. The teacher will ask why that might be and allow students to respond. Then the teacher will introduce the definition of a system: a system is a set of different parts working together to perform a complex task. (10 minutes)

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Students will be using their laptops to try and code an animated model of the cell structures.
• Here is the link for the template for an animated cell structures model.
• https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/834334449

Here the students can switch the costume so the motor protein walks on the cytoplasm.

Here the mRNA should move down the E.R.

Hands-on Activity Instructions

• Here is some pseudocode to help students that need it.

Assessment

Here is a checklist and rubric to make it clear for students what they need to accomplish and how you will grade their progress.

Differentiation

Have students use the pseudocode hand out for extra support.

Remediation

Extension/Enrichment

Have students figure out how to move the motor protein down the cytoskeleton with the arrow keys. Right arrow moves it forward and left arrow moves it backward.