4^th Grade Microscopic World Unit Blueprint

Pacing Suggestions:
1 Day

Teacher Resources:
Tips	Cells within a Living Thing Observation Sheet (Microsoft® Word®) Cells within a Living Thing Observation Sheet (Adobe® Reader® PDF) Drawings and Observations Checklist (Microsoft® Word®) Drawings and Observations Checklist (Adobe® Reader® PDF)

How and why do the cells within some living things differ?

5C(3-5)#2: Microscopes make it possible to see that living things are made mostly of cells. Some organisms are made of a collection of similar cells that benefit from cooperating. Some organisms’ cells vary greatly in appearance and perform very different roles in the organism.

**Note: The teacher will need to deliberately point out the above concept. Students need to think about why the cells look different. For example, why does a root cell look different from a leaf cell? While they don’t need to know the specifics, the students should understand that the cells do different things, thus they look different (shape, size, and color are typical differences). This concept is only introduced at 4^th grade.

12D(3-5)#2: Make sketches to aid in [reporting observations and] explaining procedures or ideas.

12A(3-5)#1: Keep records of their investigations and observations and not change the records later.
12C(3-5)#3: Keep a notebook that describes observations made, carefully distinguishes actual observations from ideas and speculations about what was observed, and is understandable weeks or months later.

Summative Assessment of Sketches and Observations: Cells within a Living Thing Observation Sheet
Use Drawings and Observations Checklist to assess students’ skills.

(Both items are teacher-generated sheets)

• Do students’ drawings and written observations indicate they observed very different cells within one organism?

Criteria to formally assess:

• Do the drawings show that the student has in fact observed an object and drawn what was seen?
• Does each drawing have an “individual character” and is not a stereotype of what the student expected to find?
• Do the drawings show relative size, shape, texture, shading, position, and complexity?
• Do students’ written observations describe relative size, shape, texture, color, and other relevant details?
• Do students refrain from changing their observations (written and sketches) once class sharing has occurred?
• Do students record observations, not inferences, ideas, or speculations?