Grade 6 Science: Cells and Living Systems
Free Grade 6 Science unit on Cells and Living Systems: 10 lessons in order, starting with Introduction to cells. Includes practice questions and answer keys.
10 lessons in this unit
Introduction to cells
Learn that all living things are made of cells too small to see without a microscope, how Robert Hooke first named cells in 1665, how microscopes work, and the sizes of cells compared with everyday objects.
Lesson 2Cells as basic units of life
Learn the cell theory: all living things are made of cells, cells are the basic units of life and new cells come from existing cells, and link cells to the seven life processes.
Lesson 3Plant cells
Learn the parts of a plant cell, cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole and chloroplasts, their jobs, and how plant cells are specialised.
Lesson 4Animal cells
Learn the parts of an animal cell, cell membrane, cytoplasm, nucleus and mitochondria, compare them with plant cells, and see examples of specialised animal cells such as nerve, red blood and muscle cells.
Lesson 5Basic cell structures
Learn the jobs of the main cell structures together, nucleus, cytoplasm, membrane, mitochondria, ribosomes, cell wall, chloroplasts and vacuole, using an analogy of a factory or school, and see how structure fits function.
Lesson 6Cell functions
Learn the main jobs cells do, take in materials, release energy by respiration, make new substances, remove waste, and grow and divide, and how substances move into and out of cells by diffusion and osmosis.
Lesson 7Unicellular organisms
Learn that unicellular organisms are living things made of a single cell, such as bacteria, amoeba, paramecium and yeast, and how one cell carries out all life processes. Observe only via photos, prepared slides or video.
Lesson 8Multicellular organisms
Learn that multicellular organisms are made of many cells that are specialised and work together, why bigger bodies need specialised cells, and how cells of different types depend on each other.
Lesson 9Tissues and organs introduction
Learn that similar cells form tissues, tissues form organs, and organs work together in systems, with examples in humans and plants such as muscle tissue, the heart and the circulatory system.
Lesson 10Organisation of living systems
Learn how the levels of organisation connect from cell to ecosystem, how systems depend on each other in the human body and plants, and apply the idea to a case study.