How to Make a Chart on Interphase and Mitosis

Help your biology students tackle the challenging topic of cell division by making a chart explaining Interphase and Mitosis. This chart works as a handy reference tool since it contains separate sections depicting different stages in the process of interphase and mitosis.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Format a new document using any graphics software. Put the document in portrait orientation. Title it, "Chart on Interphase and Mitosis."
2. Draw a cell and its nucleus. Identify the picture as representing interphase. Explain that the cell is anticipating mitosis and that the chromosomes cannot be seen.
3. Duplicate the same cell next to the one in Step 2. Add sister chromatids. Clarify this as the process of prophase with chromosomes coming together while the nucleolus disappears.
4. Insert another cell. Identify it as showing the prometaphase process. Show how the centrioles ascend and form the mitotic spindle.
5. Add a larger cell as the fourth picture. Name this "metaphase" and draw the mitotic spindle at the top. Explain that cell fibers line up with chromosomes in the center of the cell.
6. Include a fifth cell showing the "anaphase" process. Draw arrows to the left of the picture that point up and down. Explain that this process forces sister chromatids to opposite ends of the cell.
7. Finish the chart with the sixth cell picture. Present it as one large cell that is pinched in the middle. Describe this process as "telophase and cytokinesis." Demonstrate that nuclei are pinching the cell's equator and forcing the cell to separate into two cells.