Units of Inquiry

In Unit 1: Cell Inquiry, students will explore the content of cell theory - that all living things are made of cells - through the concept of systems. This is the first of six units that will be covered this year. This unit will explore questions like:

• What is a cell?
• What are the characteristics shared by all living things?
• How do scientists use models to represent and explain the natural world?

Students will use compound microscopes to examine a variety of materials to determine the criteria for distinguishing living from nonliving things. Students will also explore how scientists communicate their ideas and use evidence to support their claims. At the end of this unit, students will demonstrate their learning on an in-class assessment that will ask them to identify and make a claim about which of two microscopic images is a living thing. Then they must describe the evidence that supports that claim based on the observations they made in the labs and conclusions they drew about the characteristics of all living things.