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6th grade · Science · Unit 4 of 10

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.

New York State Learning 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 New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 4 of 10 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: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

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 is NOT made of cells?

    • A worm
    • A mushroom
    • A tree
    • A rock

  2. Question 2

    Which evidence shows a pond sample has living things?

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

  3. Question 3

    Which tool lets scientists see most cells?

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

  4. Question 4

    What is the smallest unit of life?

    • The cell
    • The atom
    • The organ
    • The tissue

  5. Question 5

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

    • Cell membrane
    • Mitochondria
    • Cell wall
    • Nucleus

  6. Question 6

    If a cell's membrane were damaged, the cell could not…

    • be seen
    • contain DNA anywhere
    • have a shape ever
    • control what enters and leaves

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