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10-day Science Unit Plan
Jeanne Barford
Staci Landers
Jordan Riefer
Lauren Ottinot
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Table of Contents
Title
Summary of unit
Sunshine State Standards
Concept map
Unit plan by days
Daily detailed outline
Vocabulary for Unit
Day 1 detailed lesson plan
Day 3 and 4 detailed lesson plan
Day 6 detailed lesson plan
Culminating project
Resources
Page Number
3
3
4
5
6-8
9
10-19
20-23
On power point
20
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Summary of Unit
In this unit students will learn about relationships between living and nonliving
things in populations, communities, and ecosystems. Students will explore the connection
between living and nonliving things in their environment. As a culminating project given
an assigned environment the students will create a food chain contain their own animals
that could survive in their environment.
The prior knowledge needed for this unit plan is knowledge of biomes of the
world. There are references for information on biomes.
Sunshine State Standards
The standards covered in this unit are as follows:
G. How livening things interact with their environment
1. The student understands the competitive, interdependent, cyclic nature of living things
in the environment.
SC.G.1.3.4. Knows that the interactions of organisms with each other and with
the nonliving parts of their environments result in the flow of energy and
the cycling of matter throughout the system.
SC.G.1.3.5. Knows that life is maintained by a continuous input of energy from
the sun and by the recycling of the atoms that make up the molecules of
living organisms.
2. The student understands the consequences of using limited natural resources.
SC.G.2.3.2. Knows that all biotic and abiotic factors are interrelated and that if
one factor is changed or removed, it impacts the availability of other
resources within the system.
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Concept Map
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Unit plan by Days
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Introductory lesson plan: Anticipatory
activity, start vocabulary foldable.
Review prior knowledge
Introduce abiotic, biotic, and biological
organization.
Summary
Review prior knowledge
Introduce characteristics of populations.
Continuation of characteristics of
populations
Introduce interactions in communities.
Introduce food chain.
Introduce food web vocabulary.
Introduce food web.
Introduce energy pyramid vocabulary.
Energy pyramid.
Vocabulary game using all vocabulary
terms.
Teacher gives groups their environments
and using the information from the unit
students will create a food chain with
animals that will survive in their
environment.
Students will present their food chains.
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Daily Outline
 Day 1: Introduction to unit
o Introduction Lesson
 Day 2
o Abiotic and biotic factors (suggested lessons)
 http://www.esep.umces.edu/2002tunney/5elesson.html
 http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/WWC/1991/lotic.html
 http://sciencespot.net/Pages/pondsurvey.html
o Biological organization
 Biotic and abiotic factors can be arranged into layers of
organization called biological organization.
 It is organized as follows, simplest to complex
 Organism – a single individual from a population
 Population – all of the individuals of one species that live
and reproduce in the same area at the same time.
 Community – populations of different species that interact
in some way.
 Ecosystem – communities and the abiotic factors that affect
them.
 Biosphere – made up of all the ecosystems on earth.
 http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Ecology/ECL0055.ht
ml
 Day 3 and 4
o Detailed lesson plan: Characteristics of populations
 Day 5: Interactions in communities
o Symbiosis
 Great lesson for teaching symbiosis, with a worksheet and a web
page for the students to work on.
 http://www.richlandone.org/teachers/connections/grade7/sy
mbiotic_relationships.htm
o Habitat
 Web page with activities to learn about habitats
 http://www.hitchams.suffolk.sch.uk/habitats/
 Lesson for habitats
 http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/aquatich
abitats/
 This lesson is for grades 3-4, but can be modified to fit the
middle grades.
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/wildlife/reclands/horic
on/edcntr/eshabit.htm
o Niche
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
This lesson combines everything covered so far in the unit, but also
includes habitats and niches.
http://sftrc.cas.psu.edu/LessonPlans/Wildlife/Organisms.html
 Day 6
o Food chain
 This website is a great interactive site for the kids it has
assessments throughout.
https://ecokids.earthday.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reactio
n/index.cfm#
 This activity would be good for a bellwork assignment.
https://www.abcteach.com/RainforestFacts/foodchain.htm
 http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000328.shtml
 http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/F/FoodCha
ins.html
 http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.htm
 http://www.arcytech.org/java/population/facts_foodchain.html
 http://www.planetpals.com/foodchain.html
 http://www.cas.psu.edu/DOCS/WEBCOURSE/WETLAND/WET1
/balnat.html
 http://www.cyfernet.org/integrate/iowa/schain.html popcorn game.
 http://qldscienceteachers.tripod.com/junior/biology/foodchains.htm
l
 http://www.lalc.k12.ca.us/uclasp/urban_science/food_chains/intro_
chains.html
 http://www.2learn.ca/Alberta/projects/pond/Pondfoodchain.html
 https://www.planetpal.com/foodchain.html using the song “We are
family”
 Day 7
o Food web
 http://www.eduref.org/cgibin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Ecology/ECL0027.ht
ml
 Day 8
o Energy Pyramid
 Student will gain an understanding of energy pyramids
 http://www.livingston.k12.ky.us/grant/foodchainlessonpl
an.html

To demonstrate the energy pyramid and how nature maintains
population in an area, group students to prepare 10 boxes to
represent the energy pyramid. Let one group decorate 4 boxes with
pictures of the sun. Let another group decorate 3 boxes with
pictures of grass, plants, and seeds. Let another group decorate 2
boxes with pictures of plant-eating animals, such as cows, deer,
rabbits, mice, squirrels, chickens, etc. Let another group decorate 1
box with pictures of meat-eating animals, such as people, owls,
hawks, etc. Have the students build the pyramid with the 4 sun
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boxes on the bottom, the 3 boxes with plants next, the 2 boxes with
plant-eaters next, and the 1 box with meat-eaters at the top.
Reference: http://www.sd5.k12.mt.us/glaciereft/foodchk2.htm
 Day 9
o Vocabulary review
 Teacher makes matching cards with all of the vocabulary words for
the entire unit, 21 in all.
 In groups the students play the matching game to practice the
vocabulary terms.
 For homework the students are given a worksheet with a matching
activity with the vocabulary terms.
o Students will work on their projects
 See power point presentation titled Culminating Project for third
lesson plan.
 Day 10
o Students will present their projects
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Vocabulary words for whole unit
Biotic factor
Abiotic factor
Biosphere
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Symbiosis
Niches
Habitat
Population density
Limiting factors
Carrying capacity
Food chain
Food web
Producer
Consumer
Prey
Predator
Decomposer
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Day 1 Lesson Plan
Lesson Plan
Grade level: 7th
Content Area: Science
Standard(s): SC.G.1.3.4, SC.G1.3.5, SC.G.2.3.2
Brief description of instruction: Introduction to unit, place students in groups, anticipatory activity,
vocabulary introduction for the unit.
Rationale: Students will demonstrate background knowledge about how living things interact in their
environment.
Objectives
Lesson Description
Assessment
Materials
Homework
Needed
1. Students will
Student will
The teacher will
Six stations
None
demonstrate their prior complete an
asses students by
containing:
knowledge on how
anticipatory activity circling the room
Question Answer
living things interact in in groups to
during the activity sheets
their environment.
demonstrate their
and observing
prior knowledge on what the students
the objective.
are answering
correct and wrong.
2. Students will gain an
understanding of the
vocabulary terms.
Student will become Assessment will be
familiar with the
gained by
vocabulary they will homework.
encounter during the
unit through creating
a foldable
containing all
vocabulary terms
and meanings.
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Vocabulary terms
Matching activity to
review new
vocabulary
introduced.
Accommodations/Modifications:
Students will be placed in heterogeneous groups and will work on anticipatory activity together.
Students will have vocabulary words and meanings given to them, and draw an illustration for each
term.
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Anticipatory Activity Day 1 Lesson Plan
Station 1:
From the pictures list the living and non-living
things you can find.
Picture 1
Picture 2
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Station 2:
Match the animals on the left with the environments
on the right that they could survive best in.
1
A
2
B
3
C
4
D
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Section 3
For each animal tell what they eat and what, if
anything eats them.
1. Mouse
2. Hawk
3. Snake
4. Wheat
5. Trees
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Station 4
What would happen in each situation?
1.
To mice if there were no snakes.
2. To hawks if there were no rabbits.
3. To fish if there were no raccoons.
4. To deer if there were no grass.
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Station 5
Name the animals in these environments that help
each other.
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Station 6
List everything you see in this environment.
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Answer sheet
Station 1
Picture 1
Living
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Non-living
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Picture 2
Living
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
Section 2
1. ____________________
2. ____________________
3. ____________________
4. ____________________
Non-living
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
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Section 3
1.
____________________
2.
____________________
3.
____________________
4.
____________________
5. _____________________
Section 4
1.
____________________________________
2.
____________________________________
3.
____________________________________
4.
____________________________________
Section 5
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
Section 6
________________________________
________________________________
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________________________________
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Vocabulary Introduction
Foldable instructions:
Hot dog fold with six tabs.
Have students cut and paste each vocabulary word on the outside of each tab.
Then, have them cut and paste each meaning on the underside of the tab.
Next, have them draw a picture of each vocabulary word.
Biotic factor
Abiotic factor
Biosphere
Population
Community
Ecosystem
Day 3 and 4 Lesson Plan
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Lesson Plan
Grade level: 7
Content Area: Science
Standard(s): SC.G.1.3.4, SC.G1.3.5, SC.G.2.3.2
Brief description of instruction: We will be covering characteristics of populations, and introducing the vocabulary for
this section.
Rationale: The reason for this lesson is to teach the students to understand the characteristics of a population including,
limiting factors, carrying capacity, and population density.
Objectives
Lesson Description
Assessment
Materials Needed
Homework
*We will be making a foldable using
*Homework
*Paper for foldable
*Vocabulary
Day 3
1. Introduction to
the vocabulary words
*Scissors
crossword
Vocabulary
Puzzle
2. Introduction to
characteristics of
population
Day 4
3. Review of
information from
Day 3
4. Characteristics
of population
Classroom activity
*Classroom activity to show examples
of each type of population
characteristic
*Teacher
observation
*Bell work, write a journal about what
would happen to the population
density if everyone in the United
States had to move to Texas. Would
Texas have the carrying capacity?
Would there be any limiting factors?
*Teacher will
check journals
*Bowl, water, something
to represent fish
*M&M/Skittles, drink
*Army men/ something
to show population
density
*None
*Journals
*Kinesthetic Activity that involves
whole classroom, and involves
understanding of the concept of
population characteristics
Accommodations/Modifications:
*Teacher
observation
*None
*Poster-board, markers,
index cards (1 per
student)
*None
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Characteristics of Population
Across
3. Any biotic or abiotic factor that limits the number of individuals in an
environment.
5. The role of an organism within its natural environment that determines its
relations with other organisms and ensure its survival.
Down
1. The numbers of a population per unit of living space.
2. The largest number of individuals an environment can support and maintain.
4. A close association of animals or plants of different species that is often
but not always, of mutual benefit.
6. The natural conditions and environment, for example, forest, desert, or
wetlands in which a plant or animal lives.
CLASS ACTIVITY
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Day 3
Introduction to Characteristics of Population
Activity Description
In this activity you will be showing your class through 3 different stations, the concepts of population density,
carrying capacity, and limiting factors. You will divide the class into 3 groups and then have them complete
the activity at each station. At each station they need to answer the question asked at the station, and the
question, how does this affect us as people, and how does this affect the living things in the environment.
Station 1
Population Density: At this station your students will be calculating the population density of the items at the
station. You can use any items you see fit, and have handy for this activity.
Example: Write on your paper the population density of army men in the shoe- box.
*There should be at least 3 items at this station for them to calculate.
Station 2
Carrying Capacity: At this station your students will be calculating the carrying capacity of the items at the
station. Again, you can use any item you think that your students will enjoy. We used a bowl of water and
plastic fish to find the carrying capacity. We knew we had reached carrying capacity when the fish wouldn’t
fit anymore, or the water came over the top.
Example: What is the carrying capacity of the bowl of water?
Station 3
Limiting Factors: At this station your students will be figuring out what the limiting factor is in each scenario
that explains why the living creatures there cannot survive.
Example: Scenario: There is a planet on which there have been green lizard men living for many years. This
planet is covered in water, and the sun is always out. The lizard men need the sun to live because it unfreezes
the water, and helps grow their food. Lately their sun has not been coming out, and their water is starting to
freeze. The green lizards are starting to die?
What is the limiting factor?
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Characteristics of Population
Classroom Activity
Day 4
In this activity you will first divide the class into two groups. Each group will have poster board, and each
student will have an index card with a description of their group’s animal, where they live, what they eat,
population density, carrying capacity, and limiting factors. Each student’s card will be different, and will be a
part in the make up of the environment of that group.
At the beginning the students will use the posterboard to get in information from each person in the group to
describe their environment. After each group has figured out their environmental factors, it turns into a game.
Each team will be told that they are trying to take over the other’s environment. To do this, they have to figure
out the population density, the carrying capacity, and the limiting factors to better determine if it is worth the
conquest. Each team has to figure out the others factors by asking only yes or no questions. The first team to
figure out all 3 factors will be the winner, and take over the other’s environment.
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Resources
We have used all of the websites in the unit as well as the 7th grade Glenco
Science Voyages, Florida edition textbook chapter 15. As well as Quick Flip
Questions for critical thinking, flipbook based on Bloom’s Taxonomy by Linda G.
Barton, M.S. Ed.
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An additional resource for a lab for the first day
Lab
Identifying a Limiting Factor
Goals:
To observe the effects of an abiotic factor on the germination
and growth of bean seedlings
Bean seeds
soil
water
Materials:
Planting containers
labels
trowel
aluminum foil
sunny window
rulers
Recognize the Problem:
How do abiotic factors such as light, water, and temperature affect
the germination of seeds?
Form a hypothesis:
Predict how one specific abiotic factor may affect the germination of a bean seed.
Testing your hypotheses:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Collect materials.
Plant half of your bean seeds in each of the planting containers.
Place one container in the window and one across the room from the window.
Observe the plants and record your observations in your science journal over a
period of ten days.
5. As plants appear, measure them and record in your journal.
Analyze your data:
1. Graph the results of the growth of both groups.
2. Compare your results with the results of two other lab groups.
Draw conclusions:
Infer how the abiotic factor affected the germination of the bean seeds.