Students can gain a better understanding of the differences between plant and animal cells by creating a three-dimensional model of each. Prepare two containers of gelatin and set them aside. Place equal amounts of raisins, grapes and coconut strips into a plastic sandwich bag and into a hard plastic sandwich container. Pour equal amounts of gelatin into both the bag and the container. Refrigerate the bag and container until the gelatin sets. When the students observe the two "cells," they will notice that the bag "cell," which is the animal cell, has no cell wall, while the container "cell," which is the plant cell, has a tough cell wall.
Students will enjoy making a cell model that they can eat when they are finished, such as a cell pizza. Students can either make a round animal cell, or a rectangular plant cell. Roll out the pizza dough in the required shape, then apply pizza sauce. Place pepperoni, mushrooms, olives and peppers to represent the organelles inside the cell. After the pizza is baked, the students can eat their cell while you teach them about the differences between the animal and plant cells.
A three-dimensional animal cell can be created out of clay, then sliced in half to show your students the inside view of the cell. Begin by selecting the colors of the different parts of the cell, such as making the main body of the cell blue, the nucleus red and the organelles yellow. Roll a small amount of red clay into a ball, which will be the nucleus of the cell. Wrap the ball of clay in blue clay. Drape strips of yellow clay randomly around the blue clay, then apply more blue clay on top of the yellow clay. Mold the entire structure into a round, smooth ball. When finished, slice the ball in half to reveal the inside of the cell.