BIOLOGY PARTNERSHIP GRANT
LESSON PLAN
GADSDEN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
EAST GADSDEN HIGH SCHOOL
TITLE: FOOD CHAIN & FOOD WEB
LENGTH: 100 MINUTES
COURSE: 10TH GRADE BIOLOGY (REGULAR & HONORS)
GROUP MEMBERS: ARNEL DELA CRUZ, MELVIN FLORES, LARIE LAUDATO, GLENN SOLTES
MENTOR: LISA DAVIS
MOTIVATION:
Part I Short Video Clip on Food Chain
The teacher can download the short video clip using YouTube downloader at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHwfgdntfN0
SC.912.L.17.9
Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers. Explain
the pathway of energy transfer through the trophic levels and the reduction of available energy
at successive levels.
SC.912.L.18.7
Identify reactants, products and basic functions of photosynthesis.
Part I – Pre – Test
Food Chains and Food Webs Pre-Test
1. Primary consumers are also known as
A. carnivores
B. herbivores
C. decomposers
D. scavengers
Correct Answer: B SC.912.L.17.9
2. Producers make their own food by
A. using chemical energy to make carbohydrates
B. absorbing light energy to make carbohydrates
C. converting oxygen to carbon dioxide
D. breaking down organic matter to make carbon dioxide
Correct Answer: B SC.912.L.18.7
3. Which of the following organisms does NOT rely on energy from the sun to produce their
own food?
A. chemosynthetic bacteria
B. an oak tree
C. phytoplankton
D. daisies
Correct Answer: A
SC.912.L.18.7
4. Which of the following describes the relationship between trees found in a forest and
bacteria found near a
hydrothermal vent?
A. both perform chemosynthesis to make their own food
B. both perform photosynthesis to make their own food
C. both produce carbohydrates and oxygen
D. both produce carbon dioxide and oxygen
Correct Answer: C SC.912.L.18.7
5. Which is the correct order for the transfer of energy within an ecosystem?
A. producer  decomposer  herbivore  carnivore
B. carnivore herbivore  decomposer  omnivore
C. omnivore  carnivore  herbivore  primary consumer
D. producer  herbivore  carnivore  decomposer
Correct Answer: D SC.912.L.17.9
6. Which of the following describes how all consumers get their energy?
A. directly from the sun
B. from eating primary producers
C. from inorganic chemicals like hydrogen sulfide
D. from eating organisms that are living or were once living
Correct Answer: D SC.912.L.17.9
7. About 10% of energy from one trophic level is available to the next trophic level. What
happens to the remaining energy?
A. It is lost from as heat.
B. It is destroyed in chemical reactions.
C. It is converted into biomass.
D. It is absorbed during cellular respiration.
Correct Answer: A SC.912.L.17.9
8. How much energy is available at the third
trophic level if the first trophic level has
250,000 kilocalories of available energy?
A. 250,000 kilocalories
B. 25,000 kilocalories
C. 2,500 kilocalories
D. 250 kilocalories
Correct Answer: C SC.912.L.17.9
9. Which organism in this forest food web has
the least amount of energy available>
A. rabbit
B. kite
C. jackal
D. lion
Correct Answer: D
SC.912.L.17.9
10. Which of the following is a correct food chain in the forest food web?
A. tree  rabbit  jackal  lion
B. tree  rabbit  goat  jackal
C. lion  jackal  goat  tree
D. tree  snake  kite  lion
Correct Answer: C SC.912.L.17.9
Part III Cognitive Frayer Model
Ask the students to write “Food Chain” in the circle and let them complete the Frayer Model
below.
NEEDED MATERIALS & SET-UP:
This is a whole class activity. Students’ movement is limited to standing in a circle and
introducing themselves as the plant or animal they represent. The student with the sun picture
should stand in the center. Students should look around and ask themselves:
Who in the circle could I give my energy to? (Who might eat me?)
Who in the circle could give me energy? (Whom could I eat?)
To minimize movement, each student will be given (1) organism that he/ she can represent.
After the activity, students will go back to their seats and the teacher will collect the pictures of
living organisms.
For this activity you will need the following:
1. Ball of yarn ( one ball of yarn for the entire class)
2. Activity Sheets 1- 8 (pictures of prairie plants and animals) (1 picture per student)
3. Tape to attach pictures to clothing
4. Space for the class to form a large circle
RESOURCE PERSON: (Optional Activity)
The teacher can invite a resource person from a reputable university or college to make a
presentation on Ecology. This presentation may include a discussion on food chain, food web
and food pyramids and a related hands-on activity. The resource person may also focus on
current environmental concerns like the current problem on Invasive Species.
OUTCOMES:
SC.912.L.17.9: Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and
decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and the
reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels.
SC.912.L.18.7: Identify the reactants, products, and basic functions of photosynthesis.
Scientific and Engineering Practices:
 Asking questions and defining problems.
 Developing and using models
 Constructing explanations and designing solutions
Disciplinary Core Ideas:
 LS 2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Crosscutting Concepts:
 Patterns
 Cause and Effect: Mechanism and explanation
 Stability and Change
Common Core Literacy Standards:
 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
 Research to Build and Present Knowledge
 Comprehension and Collaboration
 Conventions of Standard English
Specific Learning Outcomes:
Using ball of yarn and pictures of prairie plants and animals, students will be able to accurately
1. construct a food chain and explain how energy flows through the chain.
2. explain how all living things depend directly or indirectly on green plants for food.
3. create a food web that includes the Sun, green plants, herbivores, omnivores, and
carnivores.
4. describe the role of animals, plants, and other organisms in cycling energy and matter
through a food web.
5. predict what might happen if one organism is removed from a food web.
PRESENTATION & PARTICIPATION:
Behavior: Lecture/ PowerPoint Presentation
Using PowerPoint presentation, introduce to the class the concept of Food Chain and Food Web
(refer to the attached PowerPoint presentation).
Use the following information to introduce the topic to the class.
The PowerPoint presentation was taken from www.pearsonsuccess.net
http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/iText/products/0-13-320155-4/index.html
(See attached PowerPoint presentation
Summary:
 Green plants get their energy from the sun. They can change light energy into chemical
energy in food. They are known as the primary producers.
 Animals which eat only plants are called herbivores.
 Animals which eat only meat are called carnivores.
 Some animals eat both meat and plants. They are called omnivores.
 A food chain indicates what feeds on what; it also shows how energy flows from one
living thing to another. A chain will always start with a plant (a primary producer). In any
habitat, lots of different food chains will be present and many will be interlinked
forming food webs. An example of some of the links in a woodland habitat food web is
given below.
PRE-LAB ACTIVITY:
Students will define the following :
VOCABULARY/ GLOSSARY
 Carnivore
 Community
 Energy
 Food Web
 Food Chain
 Herbivore
 Interact
 Omnivore
Procedure: (Application/Simulation)
Activity
1. Copy Activity Sheets 1 – 8 and cut apart. Have students tape one picture each to their chests.
2. Tell the students that they will make a food web. Have them stand in a circle and introduce
themselves as the plant or animal they represent. The student with the sun picture should
stand in the center. They should look around and ask themselves:
 Who in the circle could I give my energy to? (Who might eat me?)
 Who in the circle could give me energy? (Whom could I eat?)
3. Explain that the ball of yarn represents sunbeams or energy from the sun. Ask the student
representing the sun to hold the end of the yarn tightly and toss the ball to someone who can
use that energy (a green plant). When a student representing the green plant catches the ball
of yarn, he or she should hold a piece of the yarn and throw the ball to someone else that could
use the energy. For example, the sun might throw the yarn to the grass, the grass to the
grasshopper, and the grasshopper to the meadowlark. After the yarn reaches a carnivore, break
it off to represent one food chain. (Explain that humans, bears, raccoons, etc. are omnivores
and can end a food chain, or they could be eaten by a carnivore.)
4. Return the yarn to the sun to start another chain. This time the sun might throw its energy to
the grass, the grass to the field mouse, and the field mouse to a great horned owl. Again, break
the yarn, throw it back to the sun, and have the sun start another chain. Continue making
chains until every student holds at least one strand of yarn.
http://forces.si.edu/main/pdf/2-5-WeavingTheWeb.pdf
Adapted from Project LEAP: Learning about Ecology, Animals, and Plants, College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
USDA – Ag in the Classroom-www.agclassroom.org
Weaving the Web-Grades 2-5: T-6
QUESTIONS:
1. How would you describe the ecosystem that you choose and the organisms you used?
(Level 2: Comprehension)
2. What would happen if all of the fox was removed from the ecosystem? Justify your
answer. (Level 4: Synthesis)
3. What would happen if all the green plants died? Cite an example.
4. How could we show what could happen if one kind of plant, such as all the clover died?
If all the clover is gone, who may have trouble getting enough food?
5. Why should we be concerned about each kind of plant or animal?
REFLECTION:
Teacher will give post-test to the students. The post test is the same questions as the pre-test.
The results will be recorded and the paper will be given back to the students during the next
meeting.
Additional Question (for POST TEST only)
Answer the question below in less than 5 sentences.
1. What are primary consumers? Can a food chain present quaternary consumer without
having secondary or tertiary consumers? Can a tertiary consumer of one chain be a
primary or secondary consumer of another chain? Justify your answer. (Level 6:
Evaluation)
2. Can the amount of available energy in a given trophic level be larger than the available
energy in inferior trophic levels? What does that condition means to the conformation
of the energy pyramids? Justify your answer. (Level 6: Evaluation)
SAFETY:
Before the whole class simulation, reiterate to the students the importance of observing the
“Laboratory Safety Rules”. Remind the students specifically of the following:
1. Never eat, drink, or smoke while working in the laboratory.
2. Read and follow the procedure carefully.
3. Do not use any equipment unless you are trained and approved as a user by your
teacher.
4. Wear safety glasses or face shields when working with hazardous materials and/or
equipment.
5. Keep the work area clear of all materials except those needed for your work.
6. Students are responsible for the proper disposal of used material if any in appropriate
containers.
7. Clean up your work area before leaving.
TRANSFORMATIVE:
On Level: Logical Learners (Reinforcing Effort)
Ask students to write a paragraph explaining what would happen to the other organisms
if disease were to kill off one of the second-level carnivores in your food web. Which organisms
would increase in population? Why? Which organisms would decrease in population? Why?
What might happen over time if one species increases too much? (Think about how the
population will obtain food.)
Less Proficient Readers: (Cognitive)
As an extension to this activity, students may add their own choices to their mobile and/or
construct a staggered mobile.
Students can learn about the plant or animal they represented in the food web activity and
write a report, tell a story, or make an illustration about the plant or animal to share with the
class.
For ESOL
Visual Analogy: What role does energy play in the diagram, and how is it represented?
This activity was taken from www.pearsonsuccess.net
http://www.pearsonsuccessnet.com/snpapp/iText/products/0-13-3201554/index.html
UTILIZE:
Reteaching:
After the assessment, students who failed to describe the role of animals, plants, and other
organisms in cycling energy and matter through a food web, will identify food chains from
other ecosystems (forest, wetland, marine, etc.) and make pictures of the plants and animals
from that ecosystem, using arrows to indicate the flow of energy.
The students may use the information they have provided in their “Frayer Model” as their
final answer here.