This resource accompanies our Rethink 5th Grade Science course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

This lesson plan contains reading, writing, and science integration. Students will view onion cells under the microscope, read and answer questions from a selection about cells, learn a note-taking strategy, and create a writing piece from their outline notes. A rubric is provided for assessment of student work.

How do cells keep us alive? Through reading and hands-on activities, students learn about parts of a cell, and their functions in carrying out processes for life. Study skills are taught and modeled as students make entries in science notebooks.

In this lesson, students compare unicellular and multicellular organisms. They will also use microscopes to examine organisms in a sample of pond water.

In this activity, students are introduced to cells. They learn that we are made up of cells and then use a microscope to observe onion cells.

In this investigation, students will observe cells from various sources of their choice. Plant, animal and bacterial cells will be observed as well as cells from multicellular organisms and single celled organisms. Students will be expected to provide written descriptions as well as detailed drawings of the cells they observed. Students will be asked to compare and contrast the cells they observed and provide a technique they would use to categorize the cells they observed.

This lesson will take an average of  2 days for 30- 40 minutes.  Students will need at least 2 days to rotate through each station. This lesson will assist students learning on how to differentiate between a unicellular (plant) and a multicellular (animal) organism. Each activity will support the different learning styles of the students.

Students investigate the living creatures in a drop of pond water under magnification.

In this lesson organized as a powerpoint presentation, students conduct investigations to identify the characteristics of single-celled organisms and play a cooperative game to explore how single celled organisms develop into multi-celled organisms. Teacher background information and teaching tips are included.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 5th Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 5th Grade Science.

In this lesson, students will learn how the components of a cell operate as a system. Students will discuss the meaning of the word "system" and then apply the definition to their observations of a paramecium, noting that the single-celled organism is only alive because all the components work together. They will also examine prepared slides of human body cells and compare to the paramecium.

This venn diagram example or sort option helps students organize their thinking of single cell vs multi- cell attributes.

In this slide presentation, students will compare single celled organisms with multi celled organisms. The slide presentation begins with definitions of single celled and multicelled organisms and continues with sise by side comparison photos of each. the presentation ends with an explanation of how single celled organisms such as viruses and bacteria can be considered living organisms.

Students will identify both unicellular and multicellular organisms and discuss their characteristics. They will categorize organisms during a picture sort, learn about cells' special structure while moving through stations, and compare and contrast the cells through creation of a collage.

Students will complete the different components of the Hyperdoc to learn more about unicellular and multicellular organisms.