teacher’s guide · elaborate on what you know about this aspect of cells, their structure and...

B e n c h m a r k e d u c a t i o n c o m p a n y

Theme: The Human Body• Body Systems: Respiratory

and Circulatory• Body Systems: Skeletal

and Muscular • Body Systems: Human Cells

Science

Human CellsLevel U/50

Skills & Strategies

Anchor Comprehension Strategies

• Make Inferences• Draw Conclusions

Comprehension • Visualize

• Usegraphicfeaturestointerpretinformation

Vocabulary/Word Study Strategy •Knowledgeofwordstructuresto

determinewordmeaning:etymologies

Science Big Idea •Alllivingthingsaremadeupofcells.

TeACHer’S Guide

Synthesize Information • Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment

• Research and Draw Conclusions

D a y

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A c t i v i t i e s

Using Navigators Chapter Books

Explicit Strategy InstructionUse the complete guide to model, guide, and support students as they apply comprehension and word-study strategies. Use por-tions of the guide to scaffold reading instruction for students who do not need modeled instruction.

Small-Group DiscussionsIntroduce the book and model strategies. Have the group set a purpose for reading based on the introduction. Students read the book, or parts of the book, independently. Then have them use the Small-Group Discussion Guide as they discuss the book together.

Independent ReadingHave students select titles at their independent reading levels. After reading, have students respond to the text in reader response journals or notebooks.

Core Lesson Planning Guide

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Pages 4–6: Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Comprehension Strategy: Make Inferences

• Use Knowledge of Word Structure: Etymologies

Page 3: Prepare to Read• Build Content Background

• Introduce the Book

Pages 7–8: Guide Strategies: Chapter 2• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize


• Use Knowledge of Word Structure: Etymologies

Pages 9–10: Apply Strategies: Chapters 3, 4–Conclusion• Monitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize


• Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information: Photographs

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC. All rights reserved. Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages for classroom use. No other part of the guide may be reproduced or transmitted in whole or in part in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or

retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-1-4108-5230-4

Build Content Background • Ask: What do you know about cells?

Have students brainstorm words and phrases that come to mind and share them with the group. If necessary, suggest more words, such as nucleus, cell membrane, DNA, blood cells, and nerve cells.

• Say: Now choose one of these words and write about it. Elaborate on what you know about this aspect of cells, their structure and their functions.

• Give students 1–2 minutes to write their thoughts. When they have finished, have students share in pairs and then with the whole group.

• Explain to students that this book will provide additional information about some of the words and phrases they listed. Encourage them to look for words from their lists as they read the text.

Introduce the Book • Give students a copy of the book. Have them read the title and look at the cover.

• Have them turn to the table of contents.

Ask: What is each chapter about? (a different aspect of cells, such as structure or function)

• Have students choose a chapter that interests them and skim it, looking for boldfaced words and diagrams that help explain them. Ask students to select several words and a diagram to describe to the group.

• To introduce key words and text/graphic features found in this book, use the book’s inside front cover.

Informal Assessment Tips

1. Assess students’ ability to skim a chapter.

2. Document informal observations in a folder or notebook.

3. Keep the folder or notebook at the small-group reading table for handy reference.

© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC Human Cells 3

Meeting Individual Needs

For students who struggle with skimming, model by skimming the first chapter, using the chapter title, pic-tures, captions, boldfaced words, and so on.

Display a diagram of the human body. Point out parts of the body such as the heart, lungs, and stom-ach. Ask students to name each body part in their native languages. Explain that every part of the body is made up of cells.

Reinforce the concept of cells with a comparison. Have students name a part or a function of a power plant or factory. Explain its similarity to a part or a function of a cell. For example, a power plant takes in raw materials and produces energy; a cell takes in food, water, and oxygen, and produces energy.

This five-day lesson plan shows one way to use the chapter book for explicit strategy instruction.

Prepare to Readnglish anguage earnersE L L

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see with microscopemake up all living thingsnucleusDNAgenescell division

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize

• Use a real-life example of visualizing while you read.

Say: When I read about a subject I have never seen, I try to pic-ture each detail that is described. Recently, I read an article about bacteria. It said bacteria are three to five microns in size. A micron is a millionth of a meter. It is hard to imagine anything that small. I thought about the tiniest things I have seen and read about. I read that a raindrop can be 600 to 10,000 microns. This means the largest bacterium is 120 times smaller than the smallest raindrop! By comparing the details in the text I was reading to what I have seen before, I was able to visualize how tiny bacteria are.

• Say: Yesterday we previewed the book Human Cells. Today we are going to try to visualize what we read in the Introduction and Chapter 1.

• Read pages 5–6 aloud as students follow along. Say: It is hard to visualize things you have not seen. We have to

use what we read and what we already know to help us visualize. The author gives comparisons to help you picture what a cell is like. It is more than half water. It is contained within a cell membrane. This membrane is like a bag. I can picture a plastic bag or a balloon full of water. I know that these containers hold water in and keep other things out. The author also talks about the cell wall in plant cells. How is this different from a cell membrane? It is stiff and gives shape. I can compare this to a hard plastic container with a lid. The diagrams on page 6 show that a cell wall has a regular shape, but a cell membrane is irregular in shape. These details fit with my picture of a balloon and a hard plastic container.

During Reading Set a Purpose For Reading

• Ask students to read pages 2–11 silently. Have them keep their visualization of a cell in mind as they read. Encourage them to visualize other structures in a cell as they read about them in the chapter and to draw what they have visualized.

4 Human Cells © 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

ABOUT THE STRATEGY Visualize

What? Readers visualize when they create pictures in their minds to help them “see” and understand characters, settings, objects, and actions in their reading. These pictures are like movies or photographs made by a camera.

Why? Visualizing keeps readers engaged with the text and helps them understand and remember what they read. When readers do not visualize, it is usually because they have lost con-nection with the text.

When? Good readers visualize dur-ing reading to monitor and clarify their understanding.

How? Good readers visualize by using these kinds of information:• Vivid verbs that describe actions

• Adjectives that describe sizes, shapes, colors, and other details

• Graphic aids (charts, maps, time lines, diagrams) that tell sizes, shapes, lengths, distances, times, and other facts

• Similes and metaphors that compare one thing to another

• Sensory language that evokes how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels

Model Strategies: Introduction–Chapter 1

After Reading Discuss The Reading

• Ask students to tell about what they visualized as they read pages 2–11.

• Have volunteers display and explain the drawings they made during Set a Purpose for Reading.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the ques-tions for the Introduction and Chapter 1 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Comprehension Strategy: Make Inferences

• Say: Good readers know that writers don’t tell them everything about a topic. Part of reading well is considering the information a writer gives you and thinking about other truths it suggests. Readers make inferences about what they have read and write these inferences in a journal or on self-stick notes. For example, as I read page 7, I note that pores in the cell membrane allow cells to work together, to absorb water and nutrients, and to eliminate wastes. These facts are evidence that pores in the cell membrane are vital to cell function.

• Pass out the graphic organizer “Make Inferences” (blackline master, page 14). You may want to make a chart-size copy of the graphic organizer or use a transparency.

• Explain that as students read, they will complete the first four rows together. They will complete the last two rows in pairs or independently.


1. Watch students as they draw what they have visualized in their journals.

2. In a folder or notebook, jot down what you see each student doing.

3. Students should be visualizing and drawing what they visualize as they read. Document students who are and are not using this monitor- reading strategy.



For students who struggle with this activity, model the strategy again and remind them that visualizing the size, shape, and color of items in the text will help them better understand and remember the material.

Rapid readers can write more detailed descriptions of their drawings to include in their journals. Encourage them to use as many adjectives, adverbs, and other descriptive words as they can.

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Introduction–Chapter 1 (continued)


Comprehension Strategy: Make Inferences (contin-ued)• Have students return to Chapter 1 and follow along as you

read page 8 aloud and say: The author explains that the genetic code determines how the cell develops, grows, maintains, and repairs itself. I’ll write this information in the Clues/Facts column of the graphic organizer. What inference could I make from this? I could infer that, since a code can have mistakes, it must be possible for defective cells to be created. I’ll write this in the Inference column.

Complete the first row of the chart.• Read page 9 aloud and say: The author says that the materials in

the double strand of DNA are in a specific order. The illustration shows a distinct pattern of “rungs” on the DNA ladder. The author said before that this material directs the cell in all its activities. These facts suggest that the specific order of building blocks creates a spe-cific set of instructions for the cell to follow.

Complete the second row of the chart.• Tell students that they will make inferences as they read

Human Cells.

Use Knowledge of Word Structure: Etymologies• Have students find the word microscope on page 4. Say: This word has two Greek roots. Learning the meanings of

those roots can help us figure out the meaning of the word. Micro comes from the Greek word micros, which means “small.” The Greek word scopein means “to see.” Putting these meanings togeth-er, what do you predict microscope means? (instrument for see-ing small things)

• Draw t h i s word bench on the board.

• Say: A word’s etymology is the history of that word. Knowing the

history of a word can help you understand its meaning. If you don’t recognize the word parts from words you already know, you can look in a dictionary to learn about the word’s etymology.

• Ask students to locate the word cytoplasm on page 7. Have them use dictionaries to find the word’s etymology. Discuss their findings and say: Yes, part of this word comes from the Greek word kytos, which means “hollow vessel.” The other part comes from the Greek word plassein, which means “to mold.” What do you predict cytoplasm means? (material that is shaped or

Reader Response

Now that you have finished reading Chapter 1, stop and write down what you have learned about the cells in your body. See how much you can remember without looking. Write your facts in your journal and share them with a group member.

microscopedefinition:

instrument for seeing things

micros Greek for

“small”

scopein Greek for “to see”

Genes contain the code with instructions for what kind of cell to make and how it grows, maintains, and repairs itself.Genes held together in double strand. Building blocks are in a specific order. The diagram shows a distinct pattern of “rungs.”

Codes can have mistakes. It must be possible for defective cells to be created.

The order of the building blocks must create a specific set of instructions for the cell to follow.

Page InferenceClues Facts

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Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize• Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures

in their minds about what they are reading. Discuss how visualizing helped them “see” what the author describes in the Introduction and Chapter 1. Remind them that visualizing will help them better understand and remember what they read.

• Say: Use all five of your senses when you visualize. Imagine how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels. Today we will use our senses to visualize what we are reading.

• Say: When you read about a microscopic thing, picture it in your mind. Ask yourself: “What does this thing look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like? The more you visualize the object, the better you’ll be able to “see” it. This will make what you read more interesting.

• Have students turn to page 12. Read the page aloud. Tell them to imagine that they are inside a human cell that is the size of a house. Ask these questions:

What is the temperature inside the cell? What sounds do you hear as the food is broken down? How would you describe the level of activity in the cell?

During Reading Set a Purpose for Reading • Have students finish reading Chapter 2. Ask them to draw

what they visualize as they are reading. Also have them jot down notes about what they might hear, see, and feel as they observed each cell process.

After Reading Discuss the Reading • Ask students to share what they visualized as they read. Have

them display their drawings or read aloud their notes. • Ask: How did visualizing help you understand how cells get

energy, move materials, and divide? Which process was easiest for you to visualize as you read? Which process was hardest to picture? Why do you think that is? Did you use senses besides sight when you visualized? Which senses? Have students discuss their responses.

• Ask students to turn to page 14 and read the checkpoint. Explain that rereading can help them better understand technical terms. Have them use the prompt to discuss diffusion.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapter 2 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.


Carefully watch ELL students as they complete the assignment. If they are not visualizing, it may be because they do not understand the strategy. Model it again using the text in Chapter 2. Discuss parts in which visualizing can help them understand and recall the facts.


For students who struggle with this strategy, model it again. Then have students close their books. Read aloud the first two paragraphs on page 15. Ask students to draw a picture of what they see in their minds when you read the paragraph. Then have them discuss the actions and processes they visualized.

Rapid reader can review their visualizations and add more details. Challenge them to choose one of the cell parts or processes they visualized and research additional information about it that they can add to their descriptions. Let volunteers share their findings with the group.

Guide Strategies: Chapter 2

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Chapter 2 (continued)

Reader Response

Food is digested in your digestive system. Explain how digestion continues in your cells. Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.


• Review the “Make Inferences” graphic organizer, and remind students that when they make inferences, they go beyond what an author says and infer, or guess, additional ideas.

• Have students reread page 12.

Say: The author says that cells need food, water, and oxygen to live and that they get these things from what we eat and drink and from the air we breathe. Let’s write this information in the Clues/Facts column. What inference could we make from these clues? If we don’t take care of ourselves, cells will die. Let’s write this in the Inference column.

• Have students look for clues and facts and make inferences based on the clues and facts, using the text on page 14. Provide support for students who are struggling with this strategy.

• Use the graphic organizer on this page for suggested answers. If students make an inference different from that on the graphic organizer, make sure the inference is supported by clues and facts in the text.

Use Knowledge of Word Structure: Etymologies

• Remind students that understanding a word’s history, or ety-mology, can help them figure out the meaning of the word.

• Have students find the word chromosome on page 10.

Say: We can see that a chromosome is a cell structure with two strands, but what does chromosome mean? The word chromosome has two Greek roots. Chromo- comes from the Greek word chroma, which means “color or colored”; -some comes from the Greek word soma, which means “body.” Scientists found that they could dye these structures to make them easy to see. Therefore, they were “colored bodies.”

• For additional practice, have students complete the blackline master on page 16.


mitochondria

cytology

lysosome

microbe

monocromatic

mitosis

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4.

5.

6.

cell structures that look thread-like and grainy

study of cells and their structures

cell structure that loosens or breaks down substances

very small living thing, germ

having only one color

process by which thread-like matter in a cell divides

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Inference

If we don’t take care of ourselves, cells will die.

Each cell must have a “mind” of its own and operate independently.

Clues/Facts

Cells need food, water, oxygen to live. Cells get these things from what we eat and drink and from air we breathe.The cell knows what to absorb and what to eliminate and how much.


Apply Strategies: Chapters 3, 4–Conclusion

Before ReadingMonitor-Reading Strategy: Visualize • Remind students that when they visualize, they make pictures in

their minds about what they are reading. They have used their imaginations and their senses to visualize cell size, shape, struc-tures, and processes.

Say: Today we will use what we already know to help us visualize as we read.

• Read aloud the feature “They Made a Difference” on page 17 as students follow along. Remind them that they have learned about the structures of plant and animal cells. Have them visual-ize what they have learned. Say: Look at the photograph. Where did these cells come from? What was Hooke observing in the micro-scope? How would living plant cells have differed?

• Say: Using what you already know can help you visualize what you read more clearly. It helps you make a more vivid picture in your mind.

• Encourage students to use what they know to help them visual-ize as they finish reading the book.

During ReadingSet a Purpose for Reading • Have students read the rest of the book silently. Encourage

them to look for things in the text that they can visualize, using their imaginations, senses, and prior knowledge. Ask them to draw a picture or write notes in their journals focusing on one of their mental images.

After ReadingDiscuss the Reading • Have students share their drawings or notes.

• Ask: What did you think was most interesting to visualize? How did using what you know help you visualize as you read?

• Have students turn to page 22 and read the checkpoint. Explain that talking about what they read will help them understand facts. Have them use the prompt to discuss what they have learned.

• For text-dependent comprehension practice, ask the questions for Chapters 3 and 4 found on the Comprehension Through Deductive Reasoning Card for this chapter book.

Teaching Tips

After discussing the reading, have students place their drawings or notes in their journals on a page titled “Visualize.” Use this page to review visualizing throughout the year.


• Review the graphic organizer that students have been completing. Explain that they will make inferences in Chapters 3 and 4 in pairs or independently. Students should identify clues and facts and make inferences based on these, using the text on pages 17 and 20.

• Ask if students have any questions before they begin. Monitor their work and intervene if they are having difficulty. If students make inferences different from those on the graphic organizer, make sure the inferences are supported by clues and facts in the text. Discuss students’ responses together.

• For more practice with making inferences, have students complete the blackline master “Make Inferences” on page 14.

Use Graphic Features to Interpret Information:

Photographs

• Have students turn to pages 20–21 and look at the photographs. Explain that these are photographs of greatly magnified red and white blood cells.

• Ask: Why do you think these different photographs are shown here? (Possible answer: The text describes the different work of red and white blood cells. The photographs show how different they look. The differences underline the point that they serve very different functions.)

• Explain to students that photographs are often used to support or add to the information in the text.

• Ask: What do the photographs of blood cells show you that the text does not? (Possible answer: We see the differences in their shape and structure. This illustrates the concept that cells specialize to do different essential jobs for the body.)

Chapters 3, 4–Conclusion (continued)



1. Watch students as they summarize. Ask yourself: How have the students pro-gressed with this strategy? What problems are they still having?

2. Watch students as they complete the graphic organizer. Ask yourself: Who is still struggling with this strategy? How can I help them?

3. Jot down your thoughts in your folder or notebook. For students who strug-gle with making inferences, review the strategy.

Reader Response

If you were a cellular biologist, what type of cells would you like to study? What questions would you try to answer about them? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member.

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1. It took nearly 160 years for scientists to realize that the cell is the building block of life.

2. When cells divide, they must reproduce all the parts of the cell and divide them equally between the two new cells.

3. Cells have a shape that fits their needs and the work they do for the body.

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Inference

People didn’t know about cells before 1655.

There must be other types of blood cells.

Clues/Facts

Robert Hooke discovered cells in 1655. He gave them their name.Blood is made of different kinds of cells. Red and white blood cells are the two most important types of blood cells.

Administer Ongoing Comprehension Assessment• Have students take Ongoing Assessment #23 on pages 76–77 in

the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 5).

Research and Draw Conclusions• Have students research stem cells to learn about ways they differ

from specialized body cells and about their potential in curing diseases.

• Pair students and ask them to answer these questions: What function does a stem cell have? Where are stem cells found? What determines the future of a stem cell?

• Have students record their answers on a chart. When pairs have finished, encourage them to share their information.

• Have students use the information from their research charts to draw conclusions.

Say: We combine what we have read with what we already know to draw conclusions. Let’s think about the information about cells in the book and the stem cells we read about in our research.

Ask: What conclusions can we draw about the importance of stem cells? (Possible answer: Stem cells are the birthplace for all kinds of body cells, and they may provide a way of replacing diseased cells in medical treatments.)



1. Score assessments and determine if more instruction is needed for this strategy.

2. Keep group assessments in a small-group reading folder.

3. Look closely at students’ responses. Ask yourself: Why might this student have drawn this conclusion from the information given? For in-depth analy-sis, discuss responses with individual students.

4. If needed, reteach this strategy and administer the second ongoing assessment #24 on pages 78–79 in the Comprehension Strategy Assessment Handbook (Grade 5).

5. Use ongoing assessments to document growth over time, for parent/teacher conferences, or for your own records.

Pair students with more proficient English speakers. Have partners work together to investigate stem cells, as suggested in Research and Draw Conclusions or as an alternative, to find more information about one of the types of cells discussed in the chapter book. Suggest that students begin by recording the information in the book that answers the ques-tions before looking for additional answers in an encyclopedia or other reference book or on the Internet. Then proceed with the drawing con-clusions activity as a group.

Synthesize Information

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Write a Personal ResponseInvite students to respond to the book in a way that is meaningful to them. The prompts below provide a variety of alternatives.• Look at the skin on your hand. What is happening in the cells

there right now? (text-to-self)

• Compare this book about human cells to other books about the human body or about cells that you have read. (text-to- text/compare)

• What ideas in this book show how all life on Earth is interconnected? (text-to-world)

• What main ideas in the book do you think are most important for you to remember? (synthesize information)

• Did you think the author should have provided more information about cell structure, function, or types? Why? If so, which one? (evaluate)

• What did you think about as you read this book? (make connections)

• Did any parts of this book confuse you? What did you do to understand that part? (self-monitor)

• How did you feel about cells as you learned about them reading this book? Why did you feel this way? (personal response)

Write to a Text PromptUse the prompt below as a timed writing activity. Students have a maximum of one hour to draft, revise, and edit a response. Use the rubric provided in the sidebar to score students’ writing.

Write to a Picture PromptUse the following picture prompt to develop students’ visual writing abilities.

Reading/Writing Connections

Teaching Tips

Transfer personal response prompts to a large chart paper and hang in the room. Students can refer to the list throughout the year.

The prompt is well-developed. There is strong evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is developed. There is adequate evidence of focus, orga-nization, voice, and correct con-ventions. The prompt is somewhat developed. There is minimal evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

The prompt is weakly developed. There is little evidence of focus, organization, voice, and correct conventions.

Scoring Rubric

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How is a cell like a factory? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member. Use information from the book to support your answer.

Look at the picture on page 13. How does it suggest the many kinds of cells and different jobs they perform? Why does the body require cooperation among cells to survive? Write a response in your journal and share your thoughts with a group member. Use details from the picture to support your answer.


© 2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLC

Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Directions: Use this sheet to talk about the book.

Word Study: Write words you did not know. Discuss the meanings with your group. Use the text to clarify the meanings.

Questions:Write two to three questions you had while reading this book. Discuss the questions and answers.

Make Connections:Write three connections you made with the text. Discuss them with your group.

Adapted from Literature Circles, Harvey Daniels (Stenhouse Publishing Co., 1994).

Rules for a Good Discussion:

1. Be prepared.

2. Pay attention to the person who is talking and do not interrupt him or her.

3. Think about what others are saying so you can respond.

4. Use inside voices.

5. Let everyone in the group have a turn to speak.

6. Be respectful of everyone’s ideas.

Adapted from Guiding Readers and Writers, Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell (Heinemann Publishing Co., 2001).

Ways to Make Connections

Text-to-Self: This reminds me of a time when I . . .

Text-to-World: What’s going on in this book is like what’s hap-pening right now in . . .

Text-to-Text: This book reminds me of another book I read called . . . . It was about . . .

Small-Group Discussion Guide


Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Make Inferences

Page Clues/Facts Inference

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Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Make InferencesDirections: Make an inference based on the clues and facts in each passage. Complete the graphic organizer using information from the passages.

1. In 1665, Robert Hooke observed walls enclosing “cells” in a thin slice of cork. Other scientists also studied cells and tiny living things under the microscope. However, not until the 1830s did a number of scientists believe that all organisms were made up of cells. From that time on, biologists regarded the cell as the building block of life.

2. Many-celled organisms develop from a single cell. New cells are formed by division. After the cell grows to a certain size, it divides and forms two cells. They grow and divide, forming four cells. The cells grow and divide over and over again, and during this process they begin to specialize.

3. Cells take many different shapes: cubes, rods, saucers, coils, or blobs of jelly. The greatest variety in cell shapes occurs in human beings and other many-celled animals. Some muscle cells are long, thin, and pointed at each end. They contract to do work. Some nerve cells, with their long branches, resemble trees. Nerve cells relay messages throughout the body.

Page Clues/Facts Inference

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Use Knowledge of Word Structures: Etymologies

Directions: Look at these word benches. Use the information to determine the meaning of each word. Then check your answers in a dictionary.

1. mitochondriadefinition:

mitos Greek for “thread”

chondrium Greek for

“small grain”

2. cytologydefinition:

cyto- Greek for

“hollow vessel, cell”

-logy Greek for “study of”

3. lysosomedefinition:

lysys Greek for

“loosening”

soma Greek for

“body”

4. microbedefinition:

micro Greek for

“small”

bios Greek for

“life”

5. monochromaticdefinition:

monos Greek for

“one, single”

chroma Greek

“color, colored”

6. mitosisdefinition:

mitos Greek for “thread”

-osis Greek for “process;action”

Skills Bank

17©2011 Benchmark Education Company, LLCHuman Cells

Build ComprehensionMakE InfErEnCEs

Explain • Create an overhead transparency of the graphic organizer “Body Systems: Human Cells” or draw it on the board. Say: An author can’t tell us every piece of information about a topic. We have to figure out some ideas on our own. We can use the text and graphic features as our clues. Using one or two clues to figure out an idea that the author does not state directly is called making an inference.

Model • Say: I will make an inference about Body Systems: Human Cells using clues I find in the photographs and text. On page 4, I read that cells are very small and we need a microscope to see them. I can use these clues to make an inference about cells and microscopes. In the first Clues box on the graphic organizer, write Cells are very small. We need a microscope to see them. Then say: Now I will use the clues to make an inference. I can infer that before the microscope was invented, people probably did not know about cells. In the first Inference box, write The invention of the microscope led to the discovery of cells.

Guide • Say: Let’s look at page 5 and make an inference about the cell membrane. What do you learn about this cell structure from the text? What do you see in the photograph? What does the cell membrane do? (Allow time for students to respond, assisting if needed.) Yes, the cell membrane keeps the contents of the cell intact. It acts as a barrier between the inside of the cell and the environment outside the cell. Write these two clues in the second Clues box on the graphic organizer. Ask: What idea can we figure out from these clues? (Again allow time for students to respond.) One inference we can make is that without a cell membrane, there would be no cell at all. Write this inference in the second Inference box.

Apply • Ask pairs of students to work together to make inferences using the text and graphic features in the rest of the book. Remind them that they are looking for clues they can use to figure out ideas that the author does not state directly. After each pair shares its clues and inferences, record the information on the graphic organizer. Finally, ask volunteers to read the completed graphic organizer aloud.

Human CellsMake Inferences

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Clues Inference

[sidebar BOX] •

Make an OutlineTo help students better comprehend and remember the many scientific

terms and concepts in this book, encourage them to make an outline of the

book’s information. Explain that they can use the chapter titles as their main

(I, II, III, IV) heads and any subheads as their secondary (A, B, C, D) heads.

Remind students to include terms and their definitions as part of the information

in their outline. You may wish to have students work in small groups that have

a mix of proficiency levels.

teacher’s guide · elaborate on what you know about this aspect of cells, their structure and...

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