Ecosystems and Biodiversity Lesson 2 : It's All Connected!
Lesson Overview
Students work in small groups to research, identify, and label food webs on the Michigan DNR Non-Game Wildlife posters. Students then predict the possible consequences of removing one component of the food web.
Five extension lessons related to this lesson are provided: The Energy Flow Scavenger Hunt and Who Am I? lessons are found in this notebook, immediately following this lesson. The Energy Flow Game, Sandwich Super Sleuth, and The Great Lakes Food Web Drama lessons, can be found on the MEECS Ecosystems & Biodiversity CD. All of these lessons reinforce the concept of food chains and food webs.
Students answer the essential question: How do living things obtain the energy they need to live?
Subject/Target Grade
Science
Upper Elementary & Middle School (4-6)
Duration
one or two 45-minute class periods – Classroom setting
Materials
per class
• teacher lunch as example
per small group
• 15 feet of yarn
• student scissors
• transparent tape
• sticky notes (or note cards and tape)
• 1 Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Non-Game Wildlife Poster (Coastal Dunes, Wetlands, Michigan Forests, Jack Pine Forest, or Rivers) – teacher should laminate these before using
• It’s All Connected (optional student activity)
• Who Eats What in Michigan Ecosystems chart (matching the group’s poster)
Michigan Grade Level Content
Expectations
Science:
• Describe the effect humans and other organisms have on the balance of the natural world. S.RS.04.18, S.RS.05.17, S.RS.06.17
• Identify organisms as part of a food chain or food web. L.EC.04.11
• Explain how environmental changes can produce a change in the food web. L.EC.04.21.
• List examples of populations, communities, and ecosystems including the Great Lakes region. L.EC.06.11
• Predict how changes in one population might affect other populations based upon their relationships in the food web. L.EC.06.23
• Predict possible consequences of overpopulation of organisms, including humans. L.EC.06.42
• Classify producers, consumers, and decomposes based on their source of food (the source of energy and building materials). L.OL.06.51
• Distinguish between the ways in which consumers and decomposers obtain energy. L.OL.06.52