Science Activity - A mnemonic story to remember the phases of Mitosis

By Inderjit Gill

Curriculum Fit: Grade 10 Science

Unit 2- Concept 2-Cell division

This activity is designed to help students memorize the phases of mitosis with ease and students can create their own mnemonic device for remembering different phases of mitosis.

Materials and Advanced Preparation: At the beginning of the activity prepare the students for the presentation of the story and ask them to relate the presentation to phases of mitosis. Have the story printed on an overhead transparency.

Description: The teacher shows the transparency containing the story to the class and reads the story. The students are asked to identify the different phases of mitosis.

The story: 1.The story is set in a pro-wrestling ring and the characters are the pro

-wrestlers and a little girl.

2. At the beginning, a pro-wrestler enters (INTERPHASE) the ring for match to start.

3.Now, we know the pro-wrestlers (PROPHASE) like to put some outfit. In this case the pro-wrestler is dressed up like a big X (a condensed chromosome).

4.After the first pro-wrestler appears, it magically replicates. Now we have two identical X-shaped pro-wrestlers in the ring. These two pro-wrestlers face each other in the middle (METAPHASE) of the ring and set up the stage for fight.

5.As the two wrestlers are ready to fight, a little girl named Ana comes to the ring to stop the fight (ANAPHASE). Ana brings several lengths of cords and roped them around the wrestlers and started pulling them apart.

6. After some struggle, she pulls the X-shaped wrestlers apart. She calls her mom to tell her about this. Now everyone knows that a telephone (TELOPHASE) looks like – two circles connect in the centre. (The teacher can draw this on the board for the students)

7. After the phone call, Ana is really tired and she wants to go home. She gets on her bicycle (CYTOKINESIS) and rides home (the two wheels of the bicycle are apart, like the newly divided cells).

Source: Phases of Mitosis-An AskERIC lesson plan. Available at http://ericri.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biology/BIO0091.html