Ride on the Magic School Bus! (Teacher Talk)

So why does every student remember that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?

THIS IS AMAZING. EVERY KID KNOWS THIS.

However, for many, the concept is almost purely word association. Ask them the question in a different way "What organelle provides energy for the cell?" and you'll be faced with a room full of blank stares.

Nevermind trying to get them to recall that cellular respiration is the whole process behind that, and how glucose is an energy source but in a way that is different than ATP and that it's the energy that is transferred rather than any element or molecule.

A fun matching game is to get kids early in the year to label molecules, elements, and organelles. Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell but also apparently an element as well.
Every kid is a language learner in Biology.

Oh also we took a break from test review and had our kids make biology raps about said mitochondria and cellular respiration using flocabulary.com tools. It was a blast.