Grade 6 · Science · Lesson 17

Cells and Microscopes (intro)

Every living thing — a tree, a fish, your dog, you — is built from tiny units called cells. A cell is so small that you cannot see it with your eyes alone. We need a tool called a microscope to make it look bigger. Once we look closely we discover that each cell is a busy little factory, with its own parts that each do a different job. Cells are the basic building blocks of life.

What this lesson teaches

1Describe a cell as the basic building block of every living thing
2Identify the main organelles of a plant or animal cell
3Explain the job of the nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, and cell membrane
4Name the main parts of a light microscope and what each part does

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