Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms

Use Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms first so students see why cells specialize. Follow with Levels of Organization, and ask students to add one more example at each level.

Sort 12 organisms such as amoeba and oak tree into unicellular and multicellular columns. The directions on the page read: Read the passage, study the drawings and read the organism facts. Then answer the questions on page 2. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 6th Grade living things, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with from cells to organisms. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

A unicellular organism is one cell that does every job needed for life, such as an amoeba. A multicellular organism has many specialized cells that depend on one another, such as an oak tree or a human.

From smallest to largest the levels on this sheet are cell, tissue, organ, organ system and organism. In a human, muscle cells form muscle tissue, tissues form the heart, and the heart and blood vessels form the circulatory system.

Yeast and mushrooms are both fungi, but a yeast is a single cell and a mushroom is made of many cells. Unicellular and Multicellular Organisms uses this pair to show that a group can include both.