Science · Stage 6

Cells to Systems

Zoom in on anything alive — a leaf, a fish, even you — and you find the same tiny building block: the cell. Discover why the cell is called the smallest unit of life, and how cells build up into a whole body.

✦ Science📘 Stage 6 · S6⏱ ~12 min🧒 Ages 10–12★ Free to start

I can explain that the cell is the unit of life.

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Kavi Shrinks Down to See a Cell

Kavi presses one eye to a microscope and gasps — a single drop of pond water is ALIVE with tiny swimming specks! "Whoa… what ARE these?" Each speck is a cell — the tiniest living building block there is. Kavi grins, "If I zoomed right into YOU, or a leaf, or my own feather, I'd find cells too — billions of them! Every living thing is built from cells, and that is why the cell is called the unit of life. Come shrink down with me and look inside one!" 🔬

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What your child will learn

1Look inside a cellA cell is tiny, but it is fully alive — it has special parts that each do a job. Tap each part to learn what it does.

2Plant cell vs animal cellBoth are real, living cells. What is the same, and what is different? Tap each card.

3From one cell to a whole bodyYour body is built from the bottom up. Tap each level in order, from the tiniest to the whole you.

4Why the cell is the unit of lifeUse what you know to predict. Then tap to check! Tap Next test for more.

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A peek inside

Under a microscope, Kavi sees a tiny amoeba in pond water — swimming, eating and growing, all by itself. Is the amoeba a living thing, and how many cells is it made of?

The amoeba does the jobs of life — it moves, eats and grows — so it is living. It is a one-celled living thing: the whole amoeba is a single cell. That one cell IS the smallest unit of life.

Try this at home: What is the smallest unit of life?

Ready to play and learn?

Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.

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Part of Science · Stage 6 · S6 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.