Biology resources: Cells

Hi all,

Being a new Year 11 Biology teacher, I began my year scratching for Cell biology resources that were interesting and engaging for my students. Although The resources that I will share are aimed at Unit 1 Biology, they can be used for other secondary levels, in particular Year 10. (VELS level 6- photosynthesis and respiration; cell division (mitosis and meiosis).

First up is the Cells Alive! website, which is a fantastic site full of cell models, interactive animations, and photo galleries. This site is the first port of call for cell biology, structure and function, mitosis amd meiosis.


(A Scanning Electron Microscope image of pollen grains)

Cells Online is a GTAC based website, with a multitude of worksheets and lesson plans on microscopy and cells. A number of these worksheets have actual Scanning Electron Microscope images of cells and organelles. Since many of the organelles within cells are undetectable using light microscopes in the classroom, it offers students with a different perspective of cells.

G-TEN Astronomy Session: Australian Curriculum resources

This year's G-TEN PD sessions kicked off at the Ballarat Observatory on March the 15th.

Bruce Schmidt, Neil Rampling and Chris Wines showed us some interesting and useful ideas to use in our classrooms.

The super moon that was referred to on the night (which was visible on the 16th of March) is explained in detail here: Super moon.




Neil mentioned a number of geology resources about rocks and identification and these can be found here and here.

A site that is filled with information on plate tectonics and earthquakes is linked here. This site has a wealth of information and has interactive activities, lesson plans and a glossary of terms (great for incorporating literacy into science!).

Chris showed us some interesting resources to do with the orbit of the earth and seasons (Please keep in mind that these are Northern Hemisphere resources and need to be adjusted to suit the Southern Hemisphere.)

Chris also discussed how we can include indigenous science in this unit, including dreamtime stories that explain the path of the sun throughout the day. More on this can be found here: Embedding Indigenous Science.

Thanks to everyone involved in this session and don't forget to book the next session on the 24th of May.