Pathfinder: Cells and Organelles

Step 1: Define your task: Look at the assignment/essential question.

Step 2: What materials might be useful for the project? Books, Encyclopedias, Online Encyclopedias, Websites.

Step 3: Find the material.

Books with information about cells have been placed on a cart.

• Macmillan’s four part biology encyclopedia has an entry on most organelles (R 570 Bio) Pictures and drawings are available.
• The Illustrated Science Encyclopedia has entries on several organelles (R 503 Rai 1997)
• The World Book Encyclopedia has entries on most organelles. R 031 Wor

e-books: Biology (Macmillan Reference USA, 2002) includes extensive information about each organelle.

Subscription Databases:

• Grolier’s online encyclopedias Cells and organelles are covered to varying extents in the different Grolier encyclopedias. A search for “cell structure” will retrieve articles in Encyclopedia Americana and The New Book of Popular Science with details about most organelles
• Gale’s Student Resource Center includes several Gale science encyclopedias. Do a subject search for cells and scroll down each article to the section on your organelle. Search for specific organelles as keywords. If this doesn’t work, try a full-text search. Look for listings under the “Reference” tab.
• Gale’s Science Resource Center includes several Gale science encyclopedias. Enter the specific organelle in the searchbox. Look for listings under the “Reference” tab.

Websites:

• Dictionary of Cell Biology:  http://www.mblab.gla.ac.uk/dictionary/graphic.html
• Rader's Biology4Kids.com http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_main.html
• The Biology Cell Project: http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/pev/page3.html
• Cells Alive:  http://www.cellsalive.com/
• Animal Cells from Eureka! Science (click links at the bottom of the page for information about plant and bacterial cells:http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/animal_cells.htm
• Animal and Plant Cells:  http://www.purchon.com/biology/cells.htm
• Cells and Organelles: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/cells.htm
• An Introduction to Cell and Virus Structure from Florida State University: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/index.html
• Online Biology Book:  Cells II:  Cellular Organization: http://www.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/BioBookCELL2.html
• Cell Biology from the University of Arkansas: http://www.cytochemistry.net/Cell-biology/ Scroll down to the "Cell biology topics by organelle system" list. Note: a lot of organelles are listed under "protein synthesis and sorting."

Step 4: Use the material. Read it and take notes. CITE YOUR SOURCES!!!

Step 5: Synthesize the information: Prepare and present the skit, poster, power point, song, poem, or other approved product. PREPARE YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Step 6: Evaluate: Does the paper you wrote answer the essential question? Have you met the requirements for the assignment?

"This web page contains links to one or more web pages that are outside the FCPS network. FCPS does not control the content or relevancy of these pages."

Web Curator: Les.Jones@fcps.edu

Last Update: November 14, 2007

Web Page Designer: Kathy Noble