In the sequence of my ecology units food chain would obviously come before food webs, so once your kids have finished this lesson, they can continue onto my lesson on food webs. This is a continuation of my prep for distance learning for next year since we don't really know what is happening. I am just taking the activities I would normally do with the kids and converting them into self-paced activities. The concept of food chains is usually familiar to my students, as they have had some exposure to it in middle school. However, the introduction of the 10% rule usually gives some of then a challenge. I also wanted to make sure I included an emphasis on relating the pyramid to biomass, as past released STAAR exams (Texas state exams) have asked students to relate biomass to energy. I don't go too in depth on the nuances of biomass, I just want them to have been exposed to the idea. Again, these activities are all on google slides, so there are built in areas for students to answer questions. After this bought of distance learning, I have found that was MUCH easier for them to figure out than trying to open a PDF with DocHub or Kami and then annotate through that. Any reduction in the number of steps it takes them to access the curriculum is a win-win situation. Also make sure to check out the video preview below! So here is a breakdown of each activity: Title Slide Slide 1: Vocabulary Connections- Student have a list of vocabulary with definitions which covers the different ways that organisms can process food (ex. herbivore), along with the trophic levels (ex. producer). Students must then drag the word/definition to either the autotroph box or the heterotroph box. The terms autotroph and heterotroph are defined, so students must connect which words fall under each category based on the definitions. Slide 2: Food Chain Introduction- A food chain example is shown with the appropriate labels. The term trophic level is covered, as well as what the arrows represent. Decomposers are also included in the food chain. Slide 3: Food Chain Literacy- Students read the article "The Earth's vast food chain under the seas" and draw a food chain from the organisms mentioned in the article. Students then drag the appropriate labels to each organism on the food chain. Slide 4: Food Chain Research- Students use the link, to pick a biome from this website (great biome review), and build a food chain for that biome, labeling it. Slide 5: Food Chains and Energy Pyramid Connection- Using an example food chain, students drag each organism in the food chain to where they would be placed on the energy pyramid. Students are guided to realize that a food chain can also be represented in this way. Slide 6: 10 % Rule- Students are introduced to the 10% rule, how to calculate it and the biological significance. Students then practice calculating 10%, and then move to filling in energy pyramids using the rule. Slide 7: Energy Pyramid- Students read about the shape of an energy pyramid and how it is related to the loss of energy. Then biomass is mentioned as well in relation to the pyramid shape. It is also mentioned that the energy not passed on to the next trophic level is lost as heat. Students use this information, as well as previous information from the past slides to fill in blanks on trophic level description, examples of organisms at each trophic level, and calculating energy lost at each trophic level. Slide 8: Energy Pyramid Extension Questions- In a series of questions, students are asked to think about the connection between decreasing biomass and energy. Students are also ask to analyze why a food chain usually consists of 5 or less levels. If you are interested in this lesson, please check out my TpT account! Thanks!
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