Cell Organelles Activity: 8 Hands-On Stations for Teaching Plant and Animal Cell Organelles (TEKS 8.13A)

Chris Kesler · 8 min read

Ask your 8th graders what mitochondria do and you'll get the right answer half the time. "Powerhouse of the cell." Ask why plant cells need both chloroplasts AND mitochondria, and the room goes quiet. Most kids assume that if a plant has chloroplasts to make energy, it doesn't need mitochondria too.

That's the gap TEKS 8.13A closes. Eight organelles, two kinds of cells, and a list of jobs that look simple on a worksheet but get tangled fast in real biology. The cell membrane controls what goes in and out. The cell wall is rigid and only in plants. Chloroplasts make food. Mitochondria release energy. Vacuoles store stuff. Nucleus runs the show. Ribosomes make proteins. Cytoplasm holds it all together.

The Cell Organelles Station Lab for TEKS 8.13A walks kids through this in one to two class periods. They examine plant and animal cell models side by side, look through microscopes (or images) at real Elodea and cheek cells, and identify mystery organelles from clue cards. By the end, they can tell you what every organelle does and why both kinds of cells need them.

⏱ 1–2 class periods 📓 8th Grade Science 🧪 TEKS 8.13A 🎯 Built-in differentiation 💻 Print or Digital

8 hands-on stations for teaching cell organelles

A station lab is a student-led activity where small groups rotate through 8 stations (plus a 9th challenge station for early finishers) at their own pace during one to two class periods. You become a facilitator instead of a lecturer. You walk around, spot-check, and break misconceptions while kids work through the rotation.

The Cell Organelles Station Lab has four input stations (where students take in new info on each organelle and its job) and four output stations (where they show what they learned). Here's what's at each one.

📷 Image slot 1 — add screenshot

📷 Image slot 2 — add screenshot

4 input stations: how students learn cell organelles

🎬 Watch It! —

A short YouTube video clip (3:12 to 8:15) covers the structures and functions of cell organelles. Students answer three questions: which organelle keeps the cell stable by controlling what comes in and out, what mitochondria produce during cellular respiration, and which organelles are found only in plant cells. The third question primes them for the plant-vs-animal comparison they'll do at the next stations.

📖 Read It! —

A one-page passage called "The Cell Factory" walks students through every organelle as a different worker or location in a factory. Nucleus = control room. Cell membrane = security gate and shipping dock. Ribosomes = assembly lines. Mitochondria = powerhouses. Vacuoles = storage warehouses. Chloroplasts = solar panels. Cell wall = cinderblock fencing. Three multiple-choice questions follow plus five vocabulary terms (organelle, ribosome, mitochondria, vacuoles, chloroplast). Comes in two reading levels (Dependent and Modified) plus a Spanish version.

🔬 Explore It! —

This is the heart of the lab. Students examine a labeled plant cell model and animal cell model side by side, then look through microscopes (or printed images included in the download) at Cell 1 (a plant cell — Elodea-style with visible chloroplasts and rectangular cell walls) and Cell 2 (an animal cell — cheek cells with no walls, irregular shape, visible nuclei). They answer six questions about what's similar, what's different, what organelles they can identify, and what shape the plant cells take. The microscope work is what makes the difference real.

💻 Research It! —

Students examine 15 reference cards: visual cards showing the nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes, chloroplast, vacuoles, cell wall, and cell membrane in plant and animal cells, plus seven "Mystery Organelle" cards (Organelle A through G) with description clues. Each mystery organelle gives structural clues ("double-membraned with inner folds called cristae"), color clues ("orange-brownish in real life"), location clues ("found in both plant and animal cells"), and function clues ("produces ATP"). Four questions check whether they can identify each one, find the organelle whose structure varies by cell type (vacuole), explain why plants need both mitochondria and chloroplasts, and describe how organelles work together.

📷 Featured station deep-dive — add screenshot of the Explore It! task card

4 output stations: how students show what they learned

📋 Organize It! —

A three-column card sort with Organelle, Function, and Type of Cell. Kids match cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, ribosome, vacuoles, cytoplasm, mitochondria, and chloroplast with their function ("surrounds the cell and allows materials in and out," "control room of the cell that holds genetic material," "releases energy to the cell in the form of ATP") and the right cell type. The cell wall and chloroplast are plant-only. Everything else is in both. Easy to spot-check at a glance.

🎨 Illustrate It! —

Students draw quick analogies for all 8 organelles. The example given is the school building representing the cell wall (the walls give shape and structure). Kids come up with their own analogies for cell membrane, ribosomes, cytoplasm, nucleus, vacuole, chloroplasts, and mitochondria. This is the station where you'll get a parking lot for cytoplasm, a principal's office for the nucleus, and a kitchen for the chloroplast. The analogies stick way longer than the textbook definitions.

✍️ Write It! —

Three open-ended questions: why ribosomes are important for a cell's survival, why plants need additional organelles like the cell wall and chloroplast, and which organelle they think is most essential to the cell with reasoning. The third question is a thinking question with no single right answer. This is the writing practice middle schoolers need and rarely get in science class.

📝 Assess It! —

Eight multiple-choice and fill-in-the-paragraph questions tied to TEKS 8.13A vocabulary (organelle, ribosome, mitochondria, vacuoles, chloroplast). Includes "which organelle stores water, nutrients, and waste," the chloroplast function question, and a cytoplasm description question. The fill-in paragraph weaves all five vocabulary words into one passage about plant and animal cell differences. If you're grading the lab, this is the easiest station to grade.

Bonus Challenge It! station for early finishers

🏆 Challenge It! —

Four optional extensions: create a social media profile for one of the cell factory workers (organelle), write a paragraph about how mitochondrial DNA can identify relatives, write a daily diary as a protein touring the cell, or build a paper chain with one organelle and its facts on each link. Requires teacher approval before they start.

How this fits into a complete cell organelles unit

This Station Lab is the Explore day of our full Cell Organelles Complete 5E Lesson for TEKS 8.13A. The complete two-week unit follows the 5E method of instruction and includes an Engage hook, the Cell Organelles Station Lab for Explore, PowerPoint slides and interactive notebook pages for Explain, student choice projects to Elaborate, and an Evaluate assessment.

Most teachers grab the full 5E because the Station Lab lands hardest with the days around it. But if you just need a strong hands-on day on plant and animal cell organelles, the Station Lab on its own does the job.

Two options

Full 5E Lesson $13.20 Get the 5E Lesson

Just the Station Lab $7.20 Get the Station Lab

Materials needed to teach cell organelles

Materials beyond what's in the download:

Plant cell and animal cell models for the Explore It! station — labeled foam or plastic 3D models if you have them. If not, the printed cell anatomy diagrams in the download work fine.
Microscopes plus prepared slides of Elodea and cheek cells (or onion skin and cheek cells) — if you don't have microscopes, the download includes printed images of Cell 1 (plant) and Cell 2 (animal) you can use instead.
Colored pencils or markers for the Illustrate It! station — kids draw analogies for all 8 organelles, so a few colors really help.
Scissors and a small basket or envelope for the Organize It! sort cards (cut and laminate before the first rotation, then reuse).
Pencils and the printed answer sheets (included)
A device with internet for the Watch It! station

Standard covered: Texas TEKS 8.13A —

Identify the function of the cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, ribosomes, cytoplasm, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles in plant or animal cells.

See the full standard breakdown →

Grade level: 8th grade life science

Time: One to two class periods (45–110 minutes total). Plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab.

Common student misconceptions this lab fixes

"Plants make energy in chloroplasts, so they don't need mitochondria."
Plants need both. Chloroplasts perform photosynthesis (using sunlight, water, and CO2 to make glucose). Mitochondria perform cellular respiration (breaking glucose down into usable ATP energy). Without mitochondria, the plant has stored food but no way to use it. The Research It! mystery organelle question 3 ("why do plant cells need both mitochondria and chloroplasts?") is built around exactly this misconception. The Watch It! video also calls it out directly. Watch the Write It! plant organelles answer. If a kid says plants only need chloroplasts, they're stuck on this one.
"The cell membrane and the cell wall are the same thing."
Different structures, different jobs. The cell membrane is a thin, flexible barrier around every cell (plant and animal) that controls what comes in and out. The cell wall is a thick, rigid structure made of cellulose, found only in plant cells, that gives the plant its shape and structural support. The Read It! passage uses two different analogies (security gate vs. cinderblock fencing) to keep them separate. The Organize It! card sort puts them in different rows with different cell-type labels. The Explore It! plant model shows them side by side so the difference is obvious.
"Plant cells don't have vacuoles. That's an animal cell thing."
Both have vacuoles. Animal cells have many small ones that store water, nutrients, and waste. Plant cells have one large central vacuole that stores water (it's actually one of the biggest things you can see inside a plant cell). The Research It! Organelle C card is built around this exact point. Question 2 asks them to identify the organelle whose structure varies based on cell type. If kids say "plant cells don't have vacuoles" on the card sort, they missed the lesson. Spot-check this on Organize It!
"All cells look basically the same shape."
Plant cells are rectangular and rigid because of the cell wall. Animal cells are round, irregular, or whatever shape they need to be because they only have a flexible cell membrane. The Explore It! station's microscope (or printed image) work makes this immediately obvious. The Elodea cells look like green bricks stacked together. The cheek cells look like fried eggs scattered on the slide. Question 5 ("how would you describe the shape of plant cells compared to animal cells, and what organelle contributes to the shape of the plant cells?") nails the connection between the cell wall and the rectangular shape.

What you get with this cell organelles activity

📷 Inside-the-product — add screenshot of Read It passage or sample answer sheet

When you buy the Station Lab, you get a single download with everything you need:

Print version at two reading levels (Dependent for on-grade, Modified for additional support) plus a Spanish Read It! passage
Digital version as PowerPoint files (works in Google Slides too) at both levels — for 1:1 classrooms or Google Classroom
Teacher Directions and Answer Key for both versions, all keys included
Station task cards ready to print, laminate, and drop in baskets at each station
Reference cards for the Research It! station (visual cards plus 7 mystery organelle clue cards)
Sort cards for the Organize It! station (8 organelles, 8 functions, plant or animal cell labels)
Plant and animal cell anatomy diagrams for the Explore It! station (use if you don't have 3D models)
Plant cell (Cell 1) and animal cell (Cell 2) microscope images for the Explore It! station (use if you don't have microscopes)
Student answer sheets for each level

No login required. Download once, use forever. Reprint as many times as you want.

Tips for teaching cell organelles in your 8th grade classroom

Two things make this lab go smoother the first time:

1. Pre-stage the Explore It! station with the cell models AND the microscope images.

Even if you have microscopes and prepared slides, put the printed Cell 1 and Cell 2 images at the station too. That way if a kid can't get the microscope to focus or the slide is smeared, they can still answer the questions. The Explore It! station is the longest by design (it has six questions), so any tech delay can blow up a rotation. Having both options ready saves you.

2. Spot-check the Organize It! cell type column.

The most common error on the Organize It! card sort is putting the cell membrane in the plant-only column or the cell wall in both. Stand near Organize It! during the first rotation, glance at the third column, and call out anyone who got those two mixed up. Five seconds of correction now saves you from grading the same wrong answer 30 times on Assess It!

Get this cell organelles activity

Cell Organelles Station Lab for 8th grade life science — TEKS 8.13A

Buy the Station Lab — $7.20

Or if you want the full two-week experience with the Engage hook, Explain day, Elaborate extension, and Evaluate assessment all included:

Buy the full 5E Complete Lesson — $13.20

(Station Lab is included)

Frequently asked questions

What does TEKS 8.13A cover?

Texas TEKS 8.13A asks 8th grade students to identify the function of the cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, ribosomes, cytoplasm, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles in plant or animal cells. Students should be able to name each organelle's job, recognize it in a plant cell vs. an animal cell, and tell which structures are unique to plants (cell wall and chloroplast).

Do I need microscopes for this lab?

No. The download includes printed microscope images of a plant cell (Cell 1) and an animal cell (Cell 2) you can use instead. If you do have microscopes, the lab works great with prepared Elodea slides for Cell 1 and cheek cell slides for Cell 2 — kids love the real thing. Either way works.

How long does this cell organelles activity take?

One to two class periods (45 to 110 minutes total). The Explore It! microscope and model station is the longest, so plan for two periods the first time you run a station lab. Once your class has the routine down, most groups can finish all 8 stations in one period.

Do I need to provide my own materials?

If you have plant and animal cell models and microscopes, great. If you don't, the download includes printed anatomy diagrams and microscope images that work just as well. Beyond that, you only need colored pencils or markers and scissors. Total cost for a class of 30: under $5 if you don't already have these supplies. The Watch It! station also needs a device with internet.

Can I use this in a 1:1 digital classroom?

Yes. The full digital version (PowerPoint or Google Slides) works in 1:1 classrooms and Google Classroom. Students drag and drop the sort cards on screen instead of physically. The Explore It! microscope work translates to the digital cell images included in the download.