Best Free Animal Cell Worksheets: With Answers & Easy Print!

Trying to help your student master the foundation of biology and desperately need an animal cell worksheet?

Whether you need some help with supplementing your science program or just looking for a fun science worksheet, you are in the right place!

These animal cell worksheets will help you teach, review, and quiz your students on everything from cytoplasm to Golgi apparatus!

****The free instant download animal cell worksheets are at the bottom of this post if you prefer to scroll now. Continue to read to find out how to best use this resource and for more lesson plan ideas to bring biology to life for your student!

Animal Cell Worksheet: What Does It Teach?

The below worksheets include a word bank that lists the major organelles:

• Nucleus
• Golgi apparatus
• Cytoplasm
• Mitochondria
• Lysosome
• Vacuoles
• Cell Membrane
• Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum
• Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

The beginner worksheet (possibly for younger students) has a description of the animal cell organelles that will help prompt the student. The word bank is there to help with spelling and recall. 

A more challenging worksheet is available for older students that has the descriptions of the organelles removed. 

There is a colorful answer key provided for quick grading, reference, or to display in the classroom.

How To Best Use These Animal Cell Worksheets

1. Break out some sharpened coloring pencils and have your students start coloring the parts of the cell as you go over the unique characteristics of each organelle.

2. Cut out the word bank and have your student practice putting the names in the proper place – like a matching game! Let them grade themselves and make corrections where needed with the answer key.

3. Use the worksheet with the descriptions removed for an extra challenge, quiz, or to check for mastery.

4. Make this an interactive worksheet by describing an organelle’s job and have the student locate it on the worksheet (the one without descriptions) and write in the name from the word bank. 

5. Play Jeopardy with your students! Say the name of an organelle and have your student respond with a question. For example, you say, “Nucleus” and your student says, “Which organelle is called the brain of the cell?”

6. If you want to get crazy, remove the word bank from the bottom of the worksheet and see how your kids do!

More Lesson Plans for Animal Cells

If you are looking for more ideas to bring cell biology to life for your students, consider some of the following ideas:

1. Make It Visual With An Engaging YouTube Video

My kids have learned so much from Youtube videos over the years. Definitely take advantage of all the high-quality, free science videos out there!

I love this video – Eukaryopolis: City of Animal Cells. It does a great job of describing animals cells as cities, and it uses a lot of humor. The cell membrane is the border police, etc.

2. Make An Animal Cell Cake

This is a hugely effective way to get kids to remember, appreciate, and love animal cells!

My kids made one a couple of years ago and it was so much fun. Hop on over to this fun website for an easy explanation of how to make an animal cell cake, pick up your supplies at the dollar store, and enjoy some hands-on science!

3. Help Your Student Critically Think With Discussion Questions

I find kids learn so much through discussion, and not so much through being “talked at.”

Use the following questions as a great way to dig deeper into this biology lesson:

• Does an animal cell have a cell membrane or cell wall? Why?

Cell membrane. Plant cells have cell walls to give them structure. It serves as a sort of skeleton to keep them from falling over. An animal cell does not need a cell well because they either have endo or exoskeletons to give them structure.

• Are all living things made up of cells?

Yes! Of course, not all are made of animal cells, but all living things are made up of cells.

• What is the difference between eukaryotic cells and prokaryotic cells? Which one does the animal cell fall under?

There are many different types of cells, but one of the biggest differences is whether it has a nucleus. Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus, and prokaryotic cells do not. That means that animals cells are a type of eukaryotic cell. 

• What is the easiest part of the cell for you to remember? Which is the hardest? Why?

Just answering this question might help some kids to remember better!

• What are some tricks we can use to remember the jobs of the parts of the animal cell?

I have always loved the little memory tricks to help me to remember the cellular organelles jobs. 

For example, the mitochondria are “mighty” because they are the powerhouse of the cell. 

Lysosome sounds a lot like “Lysol” to me, and that helps to remember that the lysosome is responsible for cleaning the cell.

What memory tricks can your kids come up with?

The Animal Cell Worksheets You’ve Been Waiting For!

Click the below images for an instant download and printable version of the worksheets. Feel free to photocopy them for homeschool and classroom use only. 

Enjoy!

 

Need a plant cell worksheet too? Stay tuned! 

I’ll have some more free printables coming soon!

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