Virginia SOL LS.2.c
The Standard
similarities and differences between plant and animal cells determine how they support life processes
Virginia Standards of Learning for Science · The student will investigate and understand that all living things are composed of one or more cells that support life processes, as described by the cell theory. Key ideas include
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students compare the structures found in plant and animal cells. They explain how each structure supports processes such as obtaining energy, moving materials, storing water, and maintaining shape.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Given cell images or diagrams, students can identify plant and animal cells and cite structural evidence. They can connect chloroplasts, cell walls, vacuoles, mitochondria, nuclei, and membranes to specific jobs.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think plant cells lack mitochondria because they have chloroplasts. They often confuse the cell wall with the cell membrane or assume every plant cell has chloroplasts. They may also treat textbook cell shapes as exact.
How to Assess It
- Show one plant cell diagram and one animal cell diagram. Ask: “Identify each cell, give two pieces of evidence, and explain how one differing structure supports life.”
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Examine prepared Elodea and cheek cell slides, sketch each, and label visible boundaries, nuclei, chloroplasts, and cell arrangement.
Write: How do cell walls and chloroplasts help plants meet needs that animals meet differently?
Play an organelle sort by placing structure cards under plant, animal, or both, then matching each structure to its job.
Compare wilted and firm celery, then explain how cell walls and water-filled vacuoles affect plant support.
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Printable LS.2.c Worksheet
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Related Standards
- 4.2.b
plants and animals have different structures and processes for obtaining energy; and
- LS.3.a
patterns of cellular organization support life processes;
- 4.2
The student will investigate and understand that plants and animals have structures that distinguish them from one another and play vital roles in their ability...
- LS.2.b
cell structure and organelles support life processes;
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