LESSON
TITLE
|
Food Webs |
AUTHOR(S),
DATE, SCHOOL/DISTRICT
|
Catherine
Ryan, Mara Padrick |
SUBJECTS
ADDRESSED
|
- Food Webs
- Predator/Prey relationships
- Producers, Herbivores, Omnivores, Carnivores,
Decomposers
|
GRADE
LEVELS
|
Upper
elementary (3-5) |
STATE
STANDARDS ADDRESSED
|
This
lesson addresses Life Science standards for grades K-4,
specifically organisms and environments. |
LESSON
PURPOSE OR GOAL
|
To teach
children about food webs and how all organisms in an
environment are needed for a balanced natural system. |
LESSON
DESCRIPTION
|
- Play the food web game
- Discuss producers, herbivores, omnivores,
carnivores, and decomposers
- Explain predator/prey relationships
- Describe the fragility of a food web and how, if
one organism is removed from the web, the web can
break down due to under-population and
overpopulation of different organisms.
|
APPROX.
CLASS TIME NEEDED
|
45 minutes |
RELATED
RESOURCES
|
Web site
address: |
MATERIALS
|
- 100 ft. of string
- Pieces of paper for each child that names what
organism they are and what their organism eats,
is eaten by, or does (uses the sun's energy to
grow or breaks down matter)
- Sticky labels for each child that says what
organism they are
|
PREPARATION
|
|
INTRODUCTION
ACTIVITY
|
Play the
food web game by passing out the assigned organism name
tags and descriptions. Start with the designated first
organism (student), have the student read their
description of what they are and what the next organism
Then direct the ball of string to the next organism and
so on |
PROCEDURE
|
- Design a food web on paper that includes
producers, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, and
decomposers (making sure that each child is
touched by the web once)
- Assign each student an organism and write out a
piece of paper describing what they are and what
they eat, are eaten by, or do; also make a sticky
label with just their organism's name on it
- Go outside or clear a large space in the
classroom and have the students make a fairly
large circle (the larger the circle, the easier
it is to represent a web pattern)
- Give the ball of string to the designated first
organism and have them say what they are and what
they eat, are eaten by, or do to direct towards
the next step of the game
- (Rather than creating chaos through the throwing
of the string, it is more entertaining if the
teacher is in the center of the circle, crawling
under the web to pass the ball of string.)
- Once the web is created, show what happens when
an organism is removed from the web. Have that
student drop their segment of string to represent
that the web's tightly woven structure will be
loosened. Discuss the interconnected destruction
that occurs.
- Now explain the terms producer, herbivore,
omnivore, carnivore, and decomposer using
examples from the game
- Discuss the concept of predator eating prey and
the importance of prey and predator being present
in the food web (control of populations and
importance of nourishing themselves and young)
|
ASSESSMENT
|
- Create an overhead pictorial of the food web game
for the kids to look at and ask about a few
harmful circumstances that could occur in nature.
- Example question: If a rabbit was removed from
our game's food web, how are two other of our
game's organisms affected?
- Example answer: The coyote wouldn't have enough
food to eat and, due to the loss of its
"predator," the rabbit's favorite type
of grass would not have a control on its
population.
|
EXTENSION
ACTIVITIES
|
Watch a
"Bug's Life," and have them write about an
example of a food web from the movie. If the class is
participating in Lesson #2 and observing the relationship
between ladybugs and aphids, have them explain
observations of the insects, predator/prey relationship.
|
RELATED RESOURCES
(internet, community, commercial)
|
|
WORKSHEETS &
HANDOUTS (attachments or downloads)
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