Cheek Cells

Yesterday in science, we shifted gears as we move away from aquatic life forms and begin to look at the cell. To start this unit off, we took a look at our own cells. When we first started this investigation, students were not told we were looking for cells, just that we were looking for "cheek tissue".

Each group was asked to take a toothpick and gently scrap the inside of their cheek.

Next students were asked to take the toothpick and swirl it around in a drop of blue dye that will stain the tissue and better enable us to view them.

Notice the darker sections in the field of view, this is what we were looking for.

After investigating and comparing with classmates, students were able to find their own cells. As we continued in this investigation, many students started to make the connection that we were actually looking at cells. We will continue with this lesson next week, as this is a short week for us here at Noel.

Mr. McClung