Primary Type: Lesson Plan
Status: Published
This is a resource from CPALMS (www.cpalms.org) where all educators go for bright ideas!
Resource ID#: 75799
Here's Hoping for Homeostasis!
Students will examine the importance of homeostasis and how the cell membrane helps the cell maintain homeostasis through a mini-demonstration,
gummy bear lab activity, a video and a vocabulary exercise.
Subject(s): Science
Grade Level(s): 6
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter,
Internet Connection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector,
Speakers/Headphones
Resource supports reading in content area: Yes
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Homeostasis, cell membrane
Resource Collection: FCR-STEMLearn Cell Biology
LESSON CONTENT
Lesson Plan Template: Learning Cycle (5E Model)
Learning Objectives: What will students know and be able to do as a result of this lesson?
Students will be able to:
1. Describe how materials move in and out of a cell.
2. Explain how the cell membrane helps the cell maintain homeostasis.
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
1. The students should have already learned about the cell theory, prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, the structure and function of all cell parts, especially the cell
membrane, as well as the basic needs of a cell.
2. Students should also know how to use a triple beam balance and how to calculate the volume of an object.
Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
1. What is homeostasis and why is it important for a cell?
2. How does the cell membrane help a cell maintain homeostasis?
Engage: What object, event, or questions will the teacher use to trigger the students' curiosity and engage them in the concepts?
**Before the mini-activity and discussion, divide the class into pairs. **
DEMONSTRATION: Balloon diffusion
1. Inside a deflated balloon, use an eyedropper to add a few drops of a liquid. (Add vanilla extract or any other type of liquid extract, but try not to let the students see
what is being added)
2. Next, blow up the balloon and tie it off.
3. Pass the balloon around, asking the students to smell the balloon.
4. The students should then share with their partner what they smell.
5. The students should then brainstorm as to why they are able to smell the extract through the surface of the balloon.
(Answer: You can smell the vanilla through the balloon due to the fact that the vanilla molecules are passing through the membrane of the balloon through diffusion.
page 1 of 3 Diffusion is the process of molecules naturally moving from an an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration.)
PARTNER/WHOLE GROUP DISCUSSION
1. Begin by having the students,with their partners, review what needs to enter and a leave a cell (nutrients and water in, waste products out)
2. As a class, review again what comes in and out of a cell. c. Students should then discuss, with their partners, how the balloon demonstration relates to materials
coming in and out of a cell.
VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
1. After the demonstration and the discussion, tell the students that by allowing materials in and out the cell is maintaining "homeostasis."
2. With their partners, have the students then make a prediction as to what the "homeostasis" means. Write a class definition on a piece of chart paper to refer back
to later.
Explore: What will the students do to explore the concepts and skills being developed through the lesson?
1. PRIOR to the lab, please make sure that all science safety rules have been reviewed and that each student has signed a safety contract. Although there are not
hazardous materials being used in the lab, students should still wear goggles and follow all safety rules. Student Safety Contract.docx
2. Students will then complete the Gummy Bear Lab Sheet.docx. This lab activity will take two days since they need some time on the first day to set up the lab, make
predictions and make the initial measurements. On day two, they will make a second set of measurements and then complete the conclusion questions.
Explain: What will the students and teacher do so students have opportunities to clarify their ideas, reach a conclusion or
generalization, and communicate what they know to others?
1. Once the students have completed the gummy bear lab. Show them the video "Homeostasis and the Cell Membrane King" **note that the website links to a page
with free educational videos, but that ultimately the link is from youtube.com**
2. Have the students answer the video questions as they watch. Homeostasis video questions.docx
3. With their partner, have the students review the class definition of the word "homeostasis" that was created at the beginning of the lesson. Based on the activities
and the video, they should then make any revisions they feel would make the definition better.
4. As a class, discuss and decide how the definition, written previously on the chart paper, should be revise and make a final class definition.
Elaborate: What will the students do to apply their conceptual understanding and skills to solve a problem, make a decision,
perform a task, or make sense of new knowledge?
Place students with a peer pair.
Provide students with the following question: "Should a person who is stranded, on a raft in the middle of the ocean, drink ocean water if they are thirsty? Explain why
or why not"
Student pairs will discuss the answer and then each will write a paragraph in their notebook answering the question.
The paragraph should include
the problem (whether or not to drink the water),
the choice they made (to drink or not to drink)
why this choice was made, (support obtained from the video and lab should be included)
(Possible Answer: In regards to drinking to drinking ocean water if stranded on a raft, I would say no.The person on the raft should not drink the salty water since
drinking salt water will cause the freshwater, still in their cells, to move out of the cells resulting in a quick death.
Summative Assessment
1. As a final activity to show their understanding of homeostasis, students will write a newscast, taking on the role of a broadcaster; this can be done individually or in
pairs. They will be reporting from the cell membrane, describing the "breaking news" of a cell maintaining homeostasis.
2. All relevant vocabulary words and definitions must be included. Students should write out the script for the newscast, but can also have the option of recording their
presentation, if technology and time allow.
Formative Assessment
1) At the end of the gummy bear lab activity, students will need to answer 5 questions based on their data and observations. Once the lab sheets are collected, the
teacher can then use the answers to these questions as a formative assessment to see how much the students are understanding homeostasis in the cell.
Answers to the student questions are located at the end of the gummy bear lab sheet.
Gummy Bear Lab Sheet.docx
2) Collecting and checking the answers to the questions from the video will also allow you to assess their understanding of homeostasis.
Homeostasis video questions.docx
Feedback to Students
FEEDBACK FOR ENGAGE PORTION:
1. The teacher will walk around and check to see that students are remembering what a cell needs to transport in and out of the cell. Ask each group what the cell
needs and have them answer the question back to you after they have discussed the answer in their group.
2. To connect the balloon to the needs of the cell, walk around and ask the students to remember how they were able to smell the vanilla through the balloon. Also, as
you walk around ask them "How does the smell connect to the needs of the cell?" Those students, who are having difficulty completing the definition for
homeostasis, can be encouraged to create a complete sentence instead of just a few words.
FEEDBACK FOR LAB ACTIVITY:
1. The teacher will walk around and make certain that the students know how to use the triple beam balance and that they are calculating volume correctly. Ask
students to show you how they are using the triple beam balance and how they are calculating the volume so that you can assess who can already complete the
calculations and who may need more instruction. If it is apparent that a student needs help either pair the student or model using the triple beam balance.
2. For the second day of the lab, walk around and have the students explain the differences in the two gummy bears. Ask them what they saw and why they saw it.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
page 2 of 3 Accommodations:
Peer Teaching: all ESE students will have a partner who can help chunk information and explain the various activities.
Peers will also be utilized in pair discussion to promote participation from the student. *Extra time will also be allowed, if needed.
Instructions will be repeated to insure students understands what is required.
Allow student to sit near the front during the gummy bear lab.
Extensions:
Students can research a device that is used everyday helps maintain homeostasis/regulate different things in our lives. Some examples are an air conditioner or an
insulin pump for those with diabetes.
Students should then write up a short research report making sure to include how the device compares with homeostasis provided by the cell membrane.
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Internet Connection, Basic Calculators, LCD Projector, Speakers/Headphones
Special Materials Needed:
Materials for demo:
1 balloon
vanilla extract
eyedropper
Materials for lab activity:
Gummy Bears
50 or 100 ml. Beakers
Masking tape
Permanent marker
Plastic forks
Waxed paper or paper plates
Distilled Water
Saturated Salt Solution
Centimeter Rulers
Triple Beam Balance
Materials for vocabulary activity:
chart paper
markers
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Sarah Armstrong
Name of Author/Source: Sarah Armstrong
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Broward
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
Access Privileges: Public
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
SC.6.L.14.3:
Description
Recognize and explore how cells of all organisms undergo similar processes to maintain homeostasis, including
extracting energy from food, getting rid of waste, and reproducing.
page 3 of 3