Exploratorium: Mitosis

Details

Activity Description

In this activity, students use printable images from a time-lapse movie to make flipbooks—handheld animations. This series of images depicts the process of mitosis in the early embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. In this stage of Drosophila development, the nuclei divide very rapidly without cell division, and the divisions are synchronized. The mitosis shown took about 10 minutes from start to finish.

 

Preparation

1. Download the flipbook pages. There is a link on the right going to the downloadable PDF files.
2. Print each of the five PDF pages onto a sheet of 8.5 x 11" heavy paper (the files are in color, but you can print them in black and white, too).
3. Gather scissors and a medium-sized binder clip for each group.
4. Download and review the activity instructions (.doc).

How-To

1. Teach a lesson on Mitosis .
2. Divide the class into groups.
3. Have students cut the flipbook pages on the dotted lines, including the blank pages on page 5. (Tip: To save time, cut the edges off of each sheet first; then cut down the centerline, stack the two halves on top of each other, and cut out the individual "frames").
4. Stack the pages in order; add at least five blank pages to the end (this helps the book "flip" well).
5. Tap the stack of pages on a tabletop to make sure the right-hand sides are lined up.
6. Use the binder clip on the left side of the stack to hold your book together.
7. Have students flip the pages noting the changes that are taking place.

More Ways

• Exploratorium Museum has several classroom exploration and flipbook activities available.

Program Areas

• ASE: High School Diploma

Documents

• Mitosis.png - Screenshot of the Mitosis Lesson Plan

Subjects

• Science
  • Biology
  • Earth Science
  • Health and Life Science

Standards

• Reading
  • CCR Anchor 1 - Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.
  • CCR Anchor 7 - Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.
• Speaking and Listening
  • CCR Anchor 1 - Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Tags