Biology Standard 3: Objective 2

Title: Organization of Organisms

Description: In this activity students will be introduced to some of the important vocabulary associated with organ systems. This can be a group or an individual activity.

Materials needed: student sheets, textbook

Time Needed: 1 class period

Teacher Procedures:

1.  Write the following words on the board: organ, organ system, tissue, homeostasis, structure, function. Have the students fill them in the center of the boxes on their student sheets.

2.  Give students time to research the meaning of each word and fill in the charts. The area for drawing may represent an actual representation or it may be a symbol or abstraction that helps the student remember the meaning of the word.

3.  Handout the reading selection and explain to student that they need to fill in the missing words from the vocabulary words they just defined.

Student Page Name______

Title: Organization of Organisms

Purpose: To build vocabulary needed to understand a reading selection about how living things are organized.

Materials: textbook

Procedures:

1. Fill in the circle in each box with one of the following words: organ, organ system, tissue, homeostasis, structure, function.

2. Use your book to complete each box for the word in the circle.

3. Use this knowledge to fill in the blanks on the Reading Selection.

Organization of Living Things

Every cell in the human body is alive but it cannot live without other cells of the body. A collection of cells that perform the same function is called a ______. An ______may be composed of several different tissues, all of which help it to perform it’s single function. An example would be the heart. Muscle tissue, connective tissue, nerves and blood all contribute the beating of the heart. The heart is part of a larger group of organs that have closely related functions. The ______that the heart belongs to also contains arteries, veins and capillaries.

Organs can be described what they do or their ______. They can also be described by their shape, size and what they are made of or their ______. You can look at an organ like the heart and guess it is a pump because of it’s muscular ______and the arteries and veins attached to it.

Most ______in vertebrate animals are similar to each other. The ______that sense the environment for a dog are similar to those in a cat or fish. Some organs from one species have even been transplanted into other species because they are so similar.

All organisms must keep the cells in their bodies in a constant environment. Cells need a constant temperature, fluid level, food supply and waste disposal. The process of ______must occur so that the needs of cells are met. If the needs of cells are not met, they may die, damaging ______, then ______and then the ______. An organism needs all systems to maintain life.