Cell City WebQuest.(TRIED AND TRUE)

When faced with a dwindling budget and supplies, I began using more online resources to provide students with engaging, affordable activities. WebQuests, online activities that require students to read, analyze, and synthesize information found on the web, are one of my favorite ways of facilitating instruction and student inquiry. In this article, I will describe how I use a WebQuest called Cell City to teach students the names and functions of all the major cell organelles.

City in a cell

Prior to the activity, I save the URL of the WebQuest in the Favorites folder on each of the computers students will be using. Each group of four or five students will need access to at least one computer. As part of the WebQuest, students are asked to construct their own cell city, so I make sure that storage space is available for their creations.

To begin, I divide students into groups and ask them to review the WebQuest online (see summary of activity in Figure 1). The WebQuest takes students through a series of worksheets that help them learn the names and functions of cell organelles. The worksheets contain internal and external links for students to follow--no time is wasted aimlessly surfing the web. Each link (vetted for accuracy and appropriateness), provides definitions, images of organelles, and explanations of how the organelles function. Other links take students to the worksheets and grading rubrics (Figure…