MS-LS1-1 lessons
Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells, either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
The Next Generation Science Standards code MS-LS1-1 asks students to: “Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells, either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.” These Fieldbook lesson teaches it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.
Cells: The Smallest Living Things Grades 7–8
- How big is a cell? 50–60 min
Students measure tiny things they can see, count how many fit across a millimetre, and build a scale ladder from a hand down to a single cell. With a microscope or a phone and a drop of water, they look at real onion cells and estimate their size.
NGSS is used as written in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, so the code MS-LS1-1 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.
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