Cell Organelles Graphic Organizer

A blank box for each organelle: write its job, then whether plant cells, animal cells or both have it.

Press a line to type on it.

Name:Date:NucleusIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:RibosomesIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:Endoplasmic reticulumIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:Golgi apparatusIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:MitochondriaIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:LysosomesIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:VacuoleIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:ChloroplastsIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:Cell wallIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:Cell membraneIn plant cells, animal cells or both?Job:
Cell organelles graphic organizer: job and cell type Ten boxes, one for each organelle or cell part. Write its job, then whether plant cells, animal cells or both have it.
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How it works

This cell organelles graphic organizer asks two things of every part of the cell: what it does, and which cells have it. The second answer is where plant and animal cells come apart.

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Jobs first, cell type second

Fill in every job from the textbook or a diagram before deciding plant, animal or both. Most parts on the sheet turn out to be in both, so the few that are not stand out.

The cell as a city

An analogy shows understanding only when the reason is written down. Calling the nucleus city hall proves little; adding that it controls the cell's activities shows the job is known. A school, a factory or a ship works as well as a city.

  • Lysosomes are left off the tick chart: animal cells have them and plant cells rarely do, so neither box is quite right.

Questions and answers

What is an organelle?

A structure inside a cell with a job of its own, much as an organ has in the body. The nucleus stores genetic information, mitochondria produce chemical energy and ribosomes assemble proteins.

What do plant cells have that animal cells do not?

A cell wall, chloroplasts and one large vacuole. Animal cells have no cell wall, and their vacuoles are generally small. In turn, animal cells have centrioles, which the cells of flowering plants lack.

Is the cell wall an organelle?

Strictly, no. The cell wall and the cell membrane surround the cell and are not counted as organelles. They are on these sheets so that one page covers the whole cell.

What is the powerhouse of the cell?

The mitochondrion, by its popular nickname. Mitochondria generate most of the chemical energy a cell needs and store it in a small molecule called ATP.

All 12 organizers

The organelles 6

  • Blank organelle chart: name, job, cell type Ten rows with nothing printed, for a textbook's own list of organelles, with a column for the job and one for plant, animal or both.
  • Cell organelles graphic organizer: job and cell type Ten boxes, one for each organelle or cell part. Write its job, then whether plant cells, animal cells or both have it.
  • Draw a plant cell and an animal cell Two tall boxes side by side, each a drawing space over lines for a list of the organelles drawn, and a box at the foot for what only the plant cell has.
  • Four organelles that make and ship a protein Nucleus, ribosome, endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus in numbered boxes joined by arrows, each asking for its part in making a protein that leaves the cell.
  • One organelle on a page One organelle named in the middle, with a space to sketch it and boxes for its job, where it is found and an organelle it works with.
  • Organelle exit slips, two to a page Half sheets to cut apart, three short boxes each: one organelle, its job, and which cells have it.
Show all 12 organizers (6 more)

Plant or animal 1

  • Plant cell, animal cell or both? Eleven parts to tick Eleven cell parts down the side, from nucleus to centrioles, with a box to tick for a plant cell and a box for an animal cell. Tick both where both have it.

The cell as a city 2

  • Cell analogy with a setting of your own The same eight boxes under a line for a setting the student chooses, such as a school, a factory or a ship.
  • The cell as a city: eight organelles A box for each of eight organelles: name the part of a city it is like, then give the reason.

Filled-in samples 3

  • Answer key: plant cell, animal cell or both The eleven rows ticked. Centrioles are ticked for the animal cell only: the cells of flowering plants have none.
  • Sample cell city, filled in The eight boxes of the city sheet as one student might fill them in. Another part of a city is just as right when its reason fits the organelle's job.
  • Sample cell organelles organizer, filled in The ten boxes of the opening sheet with each job and cell type written in.

How this list was compiled: Our own layouts and wording; no publisher's organizer is copied. What each organelle does and which cells have it, in the samples and the answer key, were checked against the Wikipedia articles Organelle, Plant cell, Cell nucleus, Ribosome, Endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, Mitochondria, Lysosome, Vacuole, Chloroplast, Cell wall, Cell membrane, Cytoplasm and Centriole, and against the Talking Glossary of the National Human Genome Research Institute (genome.gov), read October 14, 2026. The city analogies in the sample are our own. Licence: own work

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