Ok, year 7 homkework again. seriously bizarre - all suggestions gratefully recieved!

[seeker]

A model of a cell. That's it. No other brief. This is science not sociology so I presume a room with bars on the windows isn't what's wanted. How in the name of Blessed St Polycarp do you make a model of a cell?

It sounds like a biology cell, nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes. If it's a plant cell in needs 2 membranes, an animal cell needs 1 plasma membrane. Nucleus contains DNA, animal cells have golgi body, centrioles, rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and cytoplasm. BBC web site should have a picture. I'd do a 2D model. This does not need to be in for tomorrow does it?

No. not til after half term! Dd was thinking of doing complicated things with cling film and beads on wire. She gets enthusiastic about this sort of thing, I doubt if she'll be persuadeded to go 2d!

Yup, I would go with this. If you do a search for KS3 model cell or similar, you'll come up with teaching plans and ideas for making 2D models of cell types using coloured paper and that kind of thing.

"Model" in this instance, most likely doesn't mean anything 3D. They use the word "model" for diagram type representations.

My dd is also in Y.7 and she had to do this, but they were given a picture to go from. I helped her do a 3-d model with some plasticine in different colours which we just happened to have in the house (I never throw anything away!). Turned out quite well actually.

An addendum: do have a go with plasticine or something similar if she's got her heart set on 3-D. It wasn't difficult and she just moulded some little ovals out of one colour and pushed them into a squarish shaped piece which is what surrounds the ovally bits, then made cell walls out of another colour (hard to explain but it didn't take long at all). It was a plant cell, I think.

DD made a beautiful model of a cell out of CLAY. We had just brought some modelling clay and IIRC dd used it all up on yr 7 science homework. Let it dry and paint it.

I did exactly the same thing in year 7 and that was getting on for 15 years ago now - think I made something vaguely crap with a margerine tub but some people's were amazing and involved jelly.

Oh go, I do hope my dd doesn't read this - she LOVES a project! SHe has a 30 minute bus ride to school - I shudder to think what would happen to the jelly.......

DS2 made one. It was a sweet (as the nucleus) surrounded by green jelly. Very effective but incredible sticky .