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6th grade · Science · Unit 3 of 6

Cells: Life's Building Blocks

All living things are made of cells.

What your child practices

Practices evidence that living things are made of cells, the parts of plant and animal cells and their jobs, and how the cell works as a system.

Alaska content standards learning standard: MS-LS1-1; MS-LS1-2 · living things are made of cells, and the parts of a cell work together

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. All living things are made of cells. Most cells are seen with a microscope.
  2. Cell parts have jobs: the nucleus holds the instructions and mitochondria release energy from food.
  3. Similar cells working together form a tissue. Tissues form organs.

Example: Which cell part releases energy from food? The nucleus is the control center. Mitochondria are the cell's power plants. Answer: mitochondria

Cells: Life's Building Blocks in Alaska

In the Alaska content standards, this is unit 3 of 6 in 6th grade Science, after Our Senses and before Thermal Energy & Insulation.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which structure is found in plant cells but not animal cells?

    • Cell membrane
    • Nucleus
    • Cell wall
    • Mitochondria

  2. Question 2

    Humans are made of…

    • one cell
    • no cells
    • ten cells
    • trillions of cells

  3. Question 3

    A group of similar cells working together forms a…

    • molecule
    • organelle
    • tissue
    • organism

  4. Question 4

    Which tool lets scientists see most cells?

    • A thermometer
    • A telescope
    • A microscope
    • A balance

  5. Question 5

    Which evidence shows a pond sample has living things?

    • The jar is clear
    • The water is wet
    • Cells seen under a microscope
    • It smells like mud

  6. Question 6

    An onion skin cell has a cell wall but no chloroplasts. Why no chloroplasts?

    • It is not alive
    • It grows underground, away from light
    • It is an animal cell
    • It has no nucleus

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