Mississippi Science BIO.1E.4
The Standard
- BIO.1E
- Students will develop and use models to explain the role of the cell cycle during growth, development, and maintenance in multicellular organisms.
Enrichment: Use scientific literature to investigate the role of stem cells in regeneration and asexual reproduction, and research applications of stem cells used to solve human medical conditions. *
2026 Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science · Cells as a System
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students read scientific studies about planarian stem cells and blood stem cell transplants. They use evidence to explain how stem cells rebuild missing parts after a planarian splits and restore blood cell production in some patients. They distinguish established treatments from uses still being tested.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain how planarian neoblasts make the cells needed to regrow a head or tail after fission. They can cite a study finding and explain why a blood stem cell transplant helps some patients with leukemia.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think each planarian piece only grows bigger, rather than replacing missing body parts. They may assume every stem cell treatment is a proven cure because blood stem cell transplants are used in hospitals.
How to Assess It
- Give students two short article excerpts, one on planarian fission and one on blood stem cell transplants. Ask: “Name one finding from each excerpt and explain what stem cells do in both cases.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Cut a paper planarian into two pieces, then use colored sticky dots as neoblasts to show where new heads and tails form.
Read a printed excerpt from a planarian neoblast study, then write: “Which finding shows neoblasts make new tissue?”
Sort three claim cards: “neoblasts rebuild heads,” “transplants restore blood cells,” and “stem cells cure paralysis”; label each supported or unsupported.
Use a hospital’s bone marrow transplant handout to explain why a leukemia patient may receive healthy blood stem cells after chemotherapy.
Free download
Printable BIO.1E.4 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to BIO.1E.4, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- FSL.1.4
Enrichment: Research, analyze, explain, and communicate the influence of society, including cultural components, on the direction and progress of science and te...
- GEN.2B.5
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to research the current status of genetic technology and personalized medicine, then propose and test targeted med...
- BIO.3C.5
Enrichment: Investigate current biotechnological applications in the study of the genome (e.g., transcriptome, proteome, individualized sequencing, and individu...
- HAP.3.4
Enrichment: Use an engineering design process to design and model/simulate effective treatments for skin disorders (e.g., tissue grafts). *
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson