Quite a few of the analogies compared cells to a city, which is one that is commonly used but I think the understanding of the analogy is better if students think of it and explore the commonalities themselves.

Most of the students went with the “cell is like a city” analogy, followed closely by the “cell is like a factory” – pretty commonly used analogies for a cell but I suppose that’s because they are effective for helping to visualize not only the anatomy of a cell but also the cellular processes. There were also some unique analogies like “A cell is like a beehive”. The best one was “A cell is like the human body” not just for the analogy but also for the quality of the presentation that was given to explain it.

Some afterthoughts – I think I gave them too much class time to do the research but that’s because I left the research topic too broad so they took more time to find some information. I told the students to make some notes about the important parts of the cell but let them decide what is important. I was hoping that would elicit some good thinking and comparing the different parts of the cell and their relative importance. Instead, I think students went for a shotgun (i.e. search in google for “cell parts” and check the first 5 results) approach. Next time I think I’ll give them a list of the organelles that they should research.

Despite the shortcomings of the project (meaning my requirements, not their work) I think I’ll give it another try with some further refinements. Sadly, I’m not teaching any more biology this year so I’ll have to wait until the next school year to test it out again.

Any advice would be appreciated!

(wife) “Don’t forget to call Grampa today”
(me) “Ok”
(Now the B.S.O.D. kicks in)
1. Get up to go to the phone
2. Oh look, the coffee pot light is on
3. Pour cup of coffee, turn to get sugar, BUT
4. The cat is at your feet telling you he needs fresh water
5. Set coffee cup down and fill cat water dish
6. Notice that kitchen floor is dirty
7. Go to get swiffer mop.
8. On the way, notice that the bathroom light was left on
9. Go into bathroom to turn light off but, wait, the toothpaste cap is off the tube.
10. Reach for tube and phone rings.
11. Leave bathoom (with light on and cap off of toothpaste tube) to answer phone.
12. Answer phone to be asked by wife if you have called Grampa yet.
13. Hang up phone and start to dial Grampa’s number only to see that the dog needs to go potty.
14. Hang up phone to let dog outside.
15. Notice that the bird feeder is empty.
16. Go to wood shop to get bird feed using an old coffee can. Fill feeder, return to wood shop to return empty coffee can only to notice that last week you left the roofing hammer in the wood shop.
17. Hammer in hand, go to main shop to return hammer to correct place. On your way, you hear the phone ring in the house.
18. Run to get phone, but miss it by one ring. Oh look, the bathroom light was left on.
19. Start to turn light off only to see that someone left the cap off of the toothpaste tube. Start to put cap back on, only to see your perscription meds on the sink that you forgot to take.
20. Take meds to kitchen to get water to take them with. Oh look, theres your coffee on the counter! Did you put sugar it in? Don’t remember, so pour coffee in sink only to hear dog scratching at the door to come back inside.
21. Go to door to let dog in, but can’t open the door because you have a hammer, a coffee cup, a bottle of meds and a tube of toothpaste in your hands.

Thanks for the suggestion for how to organize feeds. If/when I start subscribing again, I think I’ll give your idea a try.