Back to the lesson plan builder
Lesson length30 min45 min60 min
Questions🔀 New questions

Print the plan for yourself; the student sheet prints on its own page after it.

Science lesson plan · 9th grade (Year 10 in England) · 30 minutes

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Cells, genetics and evolution

CCSS NGSS.HS-LS1-2England: GCSE Combined Science: Cell biology

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Match cell parts to the jobs they do

Leads to: Selective breeding, genetic engineering and gene editing

Materials: Microscope images or slides, Cell diagrams, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Match cell parts to the jobs they do). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which part of a cell matches this description: filled with cell sap to keep the cell firm? (cell membrane / permanent vacuole / chloroplasts / nucleus) → permanent vacuolePrompt: Think about which part controls, which part makes energy available and which part lets things in and out.
  2. What does the chloroplasts do? (where photosynthesis happens / controls which substances enter and leave the cell / contains the DNA that carries genetic instructions / a thin, flexible layer around the cytoplasm) → where photosynthesis happensPrompt: Match the name to its job, not to where it is.
  3. Muscle cells in a sprinter's legs contain huge numbers of one structure. Which? (chloroplasts / mitochondria / cell walls / vacuoles) → mitochondriaPrompt: Muscles need a lot of energy to contract.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a microscope image of cells and ask what students think they are looking at.
  • Share the objective: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Where is this found: a single loop of DNA not in a nucleus?
  • Step 1: Prokaryotes (bacteria) have no nucleus: their DNA is a single loop, often with extra rings called plasmids.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: prokaryotic cells only
  • Answer: prokaryotic cells only
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Where is this found: plasmids (small rings of DNA)? (prokaryotic cells only / eukaryotic cells only / both types of cell) → prokaryotic cells onlyPrompt: “Pro-karyote” means “before nucleus”.
  2. A bacterial cell is about 2 µm long and a cheek cell is about 60 µm. How many times longer is the cheek cell? (3 times / 30 times / 300 times / 120 times) → 30 timesPrompt: Divide the larger size by the smaller one.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Prokaryotes and eukaryotes: which statement is NOT true? (Plant cells are prokaryotic. / Eukaryotic cells keep their DNA inside a nucleus. / Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells have ribosomes. / Some bacteria have a flagellum to move.) → Plant cells are prokaryotic.Prompt: Do bacteria have mitochondria?
  2. Which organism is made of prokaryotic cells? (yeast / an amoeba / a mushroom / E. coli bacteria) → E. coli bacteriaPrompt: Which one has no nucleus?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Match cell parts to the jobs they do.
  • Use concrete materials: microscope images or slides.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Selective breeding, genetic engineering and gene editing.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-9.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Prokaryotes and eukaryotes: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Some bacteria have a flagellum to move.
    • B. Eukaryotic cells keep their DNA inside a nucleus.
    • C. Bacterial cells are much smaller than most animal and plant cells.
    • D. Plasmids are found in human cells.

  2. Question 2

    Where is this found: mitochondria?

    • A. prokaryotic cells only
    • B. eukaryotic cells only
    • C. both types of cell

  3. Question 3

    Scientists put a human insulin gene into bacteria. Which bacterial structure is used to carry the gene?

    • A. a plasmid
    • B. a chloroplast
    • C. a mitochondrion
    • D. the nucleus

  4. Question 4

    Where is this found: plasmids (small rings of DNA)?

    • A. prokaryotic cells only
    • B. eukaryotic cells only
    • C. both types of cell

  5. Question 5

    Why can antibiotics kill bacteria without harming human cells?

    • A. Human cells have no ribosomes
    • B. Antibiotics only work outside the body
    • C. Bacteria have a nucleus that absorbs the drug
    • D. They target structures or processes that only bacterial cells have

  6. Question 6

    Where is this found: cytoplasm?

    • A. prokaryotic cells only
    • B. eukaryotic cells only
    • C. both types of cell

Free from eurekami.com

for the adult only

Answer key: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells

  1. 1. D. Plasmids are found in human cells.

  2. 2. B. eukaryotic cells only

  3. 3. A. a plasmid

  4. 4. A. prokaryotic cells only

  5. 5. D. They target structures or processes that only bacterial cells have

  6. 6. C. both types of cell