Activity Overview:

Students, in this activity, you will encounter and describe the structures of a cell in a simulated exploration.

Materials:

*Computer with Internet access.

*Note book

*Science Text

*Video "Fantastic Voyage"

Time Required:

Three class periods plus independent work.

Procedure:

1) Students will watch an edited version of the movie Fantastic Voyage in class. Afterwards, the class will discuss the movie and what it would be like if we were shrunk to microscopic sizes and implanted in a plant cell.

2) Next, students will break up into assigned groups and plan their voyage into a plant cell. You should use the web site, Mariner's Museum, to get acquainted with navigational terms. Once familiar with the lingo go to the site, Virtual Cell, and start plotting your exploration. It is also important for you cellular voyagers to use your text and imagination to accomplish this journey.

3) Learners need to keep a ship's log of their journey through the plant cell. The log should include a written description and drawings of all the cell structures they encounter. Also, you need to include a map of your journey.

4) A list of cell organelles and other cell parts will be provided. Pupils, it will be expected that everything on the list will be documented in your journals. Comprehensive searches of Virtual Cell, Mariner's Museum, Dictionary or Cell Biology will aide you in your voyage. There will be other web sites listed on Students' Cell Page to support them on their journey.

5) Teams when you have completed with your voyage you will share your journals with other groups. The more creative you are inyour explanation the more points you will receive. For example, the endoplasmic reticulum is the main transportation element of the cell, so the student might choose to name it "the endo river."

Cautions:

Use Internet appropriately.

Objectives:

*Understand cell structures and function.

*Use navigational concepts and mapping techniques.

*Create a journal of the exploration.

*Work cooperatively with others.

Evaluations:

Journals, Cell Voyage Assessment.