Cell Division Jeopardy is a simple way to engage students while increasing their exposure to vocabulary words and images of mitosis and meiosis. Using PowerPoint create a series of questions for each of six topics. The easiest questions are valued at 100 points and the most difficult are valued at 500 points. Divide the class into two teams and flip a coin to see which team goes first.
Reveal the categories and allow the first team to pick the category and question level. Show the first question and give the student who raises his hand first 30 seconds to answer. If answered correctly, the team receives the points and the student picks the next category. If the student's answer is wrong, allow the other team's players a chance to answer. If no one answers correctly, the teacher picks the next category and point level. After time runs out, or all questions are answered, the team with the most points wins.
Encouraging students to behave like chromosomes during cell division provides a different perspective on the phases of meiosis and promotes teamwork. Divide the class into two teams and assign one member the role of team captain to oversee the activity.
Allot 30 minutes for the students to develop a plan to clearly act out the phases of meiosis, permitting them to use diagrams or their books as necessary. Each team will demonstrate the phases of meiosis to the class, with the team captain providing a narrative of each formation.
The teacher judges the demonstration based on formations for each phase, correct arrangement of chromosomes and organelles within a phase and the efficiency in which the team completes the entire cell division process.
A race to collect pieces and complete a phases of meiosis puzzle challenges students to understand the process of cell division and to recognize each phase by the arrangement and number of chromosomes and organelles within a cell.
Begin by developing a series of questions related to meiosis, as well as flashcards showing pictures of each phase occurring within a cell. Intersperse the flashcard deck with direction cards such as "draw again" or "take a card from the other team".
Divide the class into two teams. Students must answer a question to begin the game. If the answer is correct, students may draw a phase flashcard, opt to take the other team's turn, or take one of the other team's phase flashcards. The first team to collect all the cards and place them in the correct order wins.
Building vocabulary skills is an important aspect of teaching life sciences. Crossword puzzles and word searches are games that students can play that increase their familiarity with important words and concepts associated with cell division. A number of online versions of these games are available to download and use within the classroom. Teachers can also build their own with online applications, to ensure that the materials focus on the topics that students are having trouble remembering.