Mitosis and meiosis can be challenging topics for middle school students! It troubled me some nights! I could swear I lost sleep some nights thinking about how could I make it more engaging! With years, I gathered some ideas that you may find useful as well ( if you know any middle school science teacher, please share it forward) … so let's dig right in 💃!!!
all of the ideas can be done by any science teacher with intermediate tech skills
1- Engaging 3D videos as starters
Hooks or engaging starters work like magic! They grab students attention, I play them silently and students focus and their attention is directed to the engaging video/meme/riddle.
From there, let them wonder or ask questions without answering, predicting or whatever suits you..
2- Displaying the content in an attractive form
You can find some amazing templates at slides.go, slidesmania, slidecarnival...
3- Project based learning
When students start applying their knowledge, that's when you figure out who understood and who needs scaffolding, you can use these ideas in both distance or face to face learning, and you can also use them as an assessment for learning (aka formative assessment), without further elaboration, (I tend to speak a lot 😅)
I will share with you some ideas on how to do that.
a- Comic strip (digital activity)
Comic strips are very engaging, sparks creativity and imagination!! Students have to use moveable clipart of cells, chromosomes, sister chromatids and centrosomes to create a comic strip about the story of a chromosome in cell division (works for both meiosis and mitosis)
This is a comic done by one of my students using my comic project resource! I'll link it, just incase you need it
(of course you can make it yourself as well)
b- Making a flipbook
Flipbooks uses both creativity and hands-on skills … the experience helps the students feel accomplished and helps them grow their planning skills.
Giving the students the choice on how their learning outcome would be presented, motivates them to show a better end result! (rubric and resources for each challenge is available in this resource)
c- Stop motion video
I usually assign this to high tech students or gifted students to get them working and developing editing and tech skills … the end result is usually explained wither in person or by adding a caption.... its not required of you to learn those skills, you could simple let those kids be challenged by learning through tutorials and applying over 1 or 2 sessions.. the outcome will be fulfilling for them.. one of my girls created a stop motion through google slides !! I didn't even know that was possible!d- Write a story..
"You are a chromosome in a cell that is undergoing mitosis/ meiosis!! Tell us about you adventure and all the exciting events that happened to you!! Be creative!!" And that was all I had to say! Boom! Amazing stories were told.. some even added graphics !e- Crafty around our home (LET'S RECYCLE)
In this challenge students would use recyclable material around their home to build a model for cell division. It could be on a cardboard with scraps of clothes, cartoons, pipe cleaners, stickers or even plastic plates and some straws and threads! let them be creative!
If you have any other engaging trick!! let me know😓
