Year 10 have learnt the stages of mitosis from diagrams but struggle to recognise them in real cells. The teacher fixes a school tablet to the demonstration microscope with an eyepiece adapter and mirrors its camera to the board, then works through a prepared, stained slide of an onion root tip at high power. Moving the slide slowly, the teacher stops on a cell in prophase with its chromosomes condensing, one in metaphase with chromosomes lined up across the middle, one in anaphase with the chromatids pulling apart, and one in telophase with two nuclei forming, zooming the camera on each and pointing to the key feature. Students watch and draw each cell in their books as it is shown, labelled with its stage, and finish by counting the dividing cells in one field of view the teacher holds on the board, to discuss why most cells in a root tip are not dividing at any moment.
Tools: Built-in camera (slow motion and time-lapse) Nine ideas for your own version in Generate
This page is one of a growing set of PICRAT examples by cell, subject and grade. Page maintained by Andy Perryer.