Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
Science Grade 04 Unit 08 Exemplar Lesson 02: Food Webs
This lesson is one approach to teaching the State Standards associated with this unit. Districts are encouraged to customize this lesson by
supplementing with district-approved resources, materials, and activities to best meet the needs of learners. The duration for this lesson is only a
recommendation, and districts may modify the time frame to meet students’ needs. To better understand how your district may be implementing CSCOPE
lessons, please contact your child’s teacher. (For your convenience, please find linked the TEA Commissioner’s List of State Board of Education
Approved Instructional Resources and Midcycle State Adopted Instructional Materials.)
Lesson Synopsis
Students will develop food webs and food chains and discover how interactions between living organisms and nonliving components impact an
ecosystem.
TEKS
The Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) listed below are the standards adopted by the State Board of Education, which are required by Texas
law. Any standard that has a strike-through (e.g. sample phrase) indicates that portion of the standard is taught in a previous or subsequent unit. The
TEKS are available on the Texas Education Agency website at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148.
4.9
Organisms and environments. The student knows and understands that living organisms within an ecosystem interact
with one another and with their environment. The student is expected to:
4.9B Describe the flow of energy through food webs, beginning with the Sun, and predict how changes in the ecosystem
affect the food web such as a fire in a forest.
Scientific Process TEKS
4.2
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses scientific inquiry methods during laboratory and outdoor
investigations. The student is expected to:
4.2F Communicate valid, oral, and written results supported by data.
4.3
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student uses critical thinking and scientific problem solving to make
informed decisions. The student is expected to:
4.3C Represent the natural world using models such as rivers, stream tables, or fossils and identify their limitations, including accuracy and size.
4.4
Scientific investigation and reasoning. The student knows how to use a variety of tools, materials, equipment, and
models to conduct science inquiry. The student is expected to:
4.4A Collect, record, and analyze information using tools, including calculators, microscopes, cameras, computers, hand lenses, metric rulers,
Celsius thermometers, mirrors, spring scales, pan balances, triple beam balances, graduated cylinders, beakers, hot plates, meter sticks,
compasses, magnets, collecting nets, and notebooks timing devices, including clocks and stopwatches materials to support observation of
habitats of organisms such as terrariums and aquariums.
GETTING READY FOR INSTRUCTION
Performance Indicators
Grade 04 Science Unit 08 PI 02
Using the diorama of the ecosystem created earlier, select a member to remove from the ecosystem. Write a mock interview with one of the remaining members about how
this has affected its life and its home. Write a news report based on the interview.
Standard(s): 4.2F , 4.9B
ELPS ELPS.c.3E , ELPS.c.4G , ELPS.c.5F
Key Understandings
Changes to an ecosystem can affect the flow of energy through food webs.
— How do nonliving elements of an ecosystem interact with living organisms?
— How do nonliving elements of an ecosystem interact with other nonliving objects?
— What is being passed on in a food chain or food web?
Vocabulary of Instruction
energy
photosynthesis
food chain
food web
producer
consumer
primary consumer
secondary consumer
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Sun
niche
change
page 1 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
Materials
chart paper (to record information about different ecosystems, per class)
charts created by students (from the Elaborate section of Lesson 01)
colored pencils (1 pack per pair of students)
index cards (enough for 1 per student in the class)
paper (chart, 1 piece per class) – Optional
paper (lined, 2–3 sheets per student)
paper (plain, 1 sheet per pair or small group)
paper clip (to hold vocabulary cards, 1 per students
prepared diorama (from previous Performance Indicator)
scissors (1 pair per teacher)
scissors (1 per pair of students)
yarn (1 skein per class)
Attachments
All attachments associated with this lesson are referenced in the body of the lesson. Due to considerations for grading or student assessment,
attachments that are connected with Performance Indicators or serve as answer keys are available in the district site and are not accessible on the
public website.
Optional Handout: Creating Food Chain (from previous lesson, see Advance Preparation, 1 per teache
Teacher Resource: Food Chains and Food Webs
Handout: Vocabulary Flash Cards (1 per student and 1 for projection)
Handout: Ecosystem Elaboration (1 per student)
Teacher Resource: Ecosystem Elaboration Model KEY
Teacher Resource: Ecosystem Elaboration Example KEY
Teacher Resource: Changes to the Environment
Optional Handout: Making Connections (1 per student)
Teacher Resource: Making Connections KEY
Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator Instructions KEY
Resources
None Identified
Advance Preparation
1. Write the name of organisms on index cards, or cut out the organisms from the Handout: Creating Food Chains from Lesson 01 and glue onto
index cards.
2. Preview the instructions on the Teacher Resource: Food Chains and Food Webs. Students will be engaged in a web building activity.
3. Locate and preview either a book or a video about change to an ecosystem.
4. Prepare attachment(s) as necessary.
Background Information
Within the living environment, students know and understand that living organisms within an ecosystem interact with one another and with their environment. Students will
recognize that plants and animals have basic needs and that basic needs are met through a flow of energy known as food chains, food webs, or food pyramids.
This lesson bundles SEs that address food webs and the consequences of change in an ecosystem.
During this lesson, students will be investigating the distinctions between the basic needs of producers and consumers. Students will be looking more deeply into ecosystems
by extending their descriptions to include food webs. The content of this lesson directly provides the foundation for Readiness Standards in Grade 5 that addresses the way in
which organisms live and survive within an ecosystem, as well as describing the flow of energy derived from the Sun.
INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES
Instructional Procedures
Notes for Teacher
ENGAGE – Food Chains and Food Webs
NOTE: 1 Day = 50 minutes
Suggested Day 1
1. Remind students to make and record observations of the descriptive investigation that
the teacher set up for observation from the previous lesson. Additionally, students
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Materials:
page 2 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
should make and record observations of their terrarium from Lesson 01.
2. Using the Teacher Resource: Food Chains and Food Webs as a guide, conduct the
activity on creating food webs.
3. When the food web is complete, ask the following guiding questions:
In what way is our model of an ecosystem realistic? It shows the interactions
between species, shows the interactions between plants and animals, and has
some diversity.
What are the limitations of our model? It does not represent the diversity of a
real ecosystem. It has living components, but no nonliving components. There is
only one or two of each organism; whereas in a real ecosystem, there would be
several of one species present.
What do you think would happen if one species was removed from the
web? Allow several students to answer.
How does the energy flow in this system? The energy flows from the Sun to
the producer (plants) and then to consumers (primary, secondary, and possibly
tertiary).
index cards (enough for 1 per student in the class)
yarn (1 skein per class)
scissors (1 pair per teacher)
charts created by students (from the Elaborate
section of Lesson 01)
Attachments:
Optional Handout: Creating Food Chains (see
Advance Preparation, 1 per teacher)
Teacher Resource: Food Chains and Food Webs
Instructional Note:
Students should be recognizing that the removal of an organism
from a food chain has many negative effects and the removal of the
same organism from a food web can be catastrophic for the
ecosystem.
4. Instruct one student to release their strand of yarn (the grass, for example). Next,
instruct the organisms who were connected to the grass to let go of their piece of yarn
(for example, the deer or the grasshopper). Follow that with instructions for any
organism who was connected to the primary consumer to let go of their piece of yarn.
Continue to have students drop the yarn if they were directly connected to the
previous organism.
Ask:
Science Notebooks:
Students should add a reflection about the consequences of
removing one organism from an environment.
What does the releasing of the yarn represent? It represents the chain
reaction in an ecosystem, if even one organism’s population is changed. The entire
community of organisms has been altered.
5. Instruct the producers to wind up their length(s) of yarn and return them to you. In
addition, students should return the organism name cards (or pictures) to you.
6. Display one of the food web charts that a student group created in the previous
lesson. Verify that energy flow arrows were included. If they were not, ask students to
add them to the chart.
Ask:
What do the arrows represent in a food chain or food web?They represent
the flow of energy from one source to the next. All food chains should start at the
Sun, flow to the producer, and then to the various consumer levels.
What are the consequences if _______________organism is removed from
the food chain? (Choose an organism to remove.) Students should
communicate the changes in terms of increasing or decreasing populations.
In the example above, if the rabbit was removed, the fox would rely on frogs as its only source of
energy. The frog population would decrease and eventually, the fox population would decrease
because of lack of food. The grass population would increase because there are fewer rabbits
relying on it as an energy source.
7. Ask:
What are the consequences if _______________organism is removed from
the food web? (Choose an organism to remove.)
In the example above, if the rabbit was removed, the fox would rely on frogs as its
only source of energy. The frog population would decrease and eventually, the fox
population would decrease because of lack of food. The grass population would
increase because there are fewer rabbits relying on it as an energy source.
Additionally, the hawk would have to rely on the snake for its source of energy. The
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page 3 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
snake population would decrease. The decrease in the snake population would
lead to roadrunners needing to rely on frogs, lizards, and grasshoppers as food
sources. The frog population had already decreased, so the grasshopper and
lizard populations would now decrease. Since the frog, grasshopper, and lizard
populations have decreased, the ant population would increase. The grass
population would also increase because there are fewer animals relying on it as a
source of energy.
ENGAGE/ EXPLORE – Vocabulary Terms
Suggested Day 2
1. Pair students with a work partner. The students are in pairs to collaborate and
communicate with each other about the terms.
2. Distribute the Handout: Vocabulary Flash Cards and a paper clip to each student.
Instruct students to carefully cut out the cards, and create verbal/visual cards for the
terms shown. The term is at the top of the page. Students should create a visual that
represents the term on the card.
Materials:
paper clip (to hold vocabulary cards, 1 per students
scissors (1 per pair of students)
colored pencils (1 pack per pair of students)
paper (chart, 1 piece per class) – Optional
3. Once all the visuals are completed, instruct students to clip their cards together. They
will be using them again during this class session.
Attachments:
4. Project the Handout: Vocabulary Flash Cards. Using a method compatible with your
students’ mode of learning, facilitate the development of a definition for each of the
words on the handout (see Instructional Notes). Record the definitions of each term as
they are developed by the students. The definitions could be recorded on chart paper
or another visual form for students to view.
5. Once all the terms have been defined, instruct students to unclip the verbal/visual
cards and write the appropriate definition on the back of each card (Write the
definition that corresponds to the term on the front.).
Handout: Vocabulary Flash Cards (1 per student
and 1 for projection)
Check For Understanding:
This activity can be used as a formative assessment of student
understanding.
6. During the remainder of the lesson, students should have multiple opportunities to
review the terms.
Instructional Notes:
There are many methods of vocabulary instruction to choose from,
such as the Frayer model and six-step process by Robert Marzano
and using meaningful word parts, brainstorming, or vocabulary
discussions.
Science Notebooks:
Students can store the terms in their science notebooks by creating
a pocket directly in the notebook.
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN – Changes in an Ecosystem
Suggested Days 3 and 4
1. Remind students to continue to make and record observations of the descriptive
investigation that the teacher set up for observation. Additionally, students should
make and record observations of their terrarium from Lesson 01.
Materials:
chart paper (to record information about different
ecosystems, per class)
2. Say:
We have been learning about food chains in different ecosystems.
As a review, let’s recall the different ecosystems that you have learned
about and could describe.
Before we discuss this as a class, I want you to record in your science
notebooks as many different ecosystems as you can recall.
3. Allow 3–5 minutes for students to create a list. If students need an example to get them
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Attachments:
Handout: Ecosystem Elaboration (1 per group)
Teacher Resource: Ecosystem Elaboration
Model KEY
Teacher Resource: Ecosystem Elaboration
page 4 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
Example KEY
started, you could remind them of the ecosystems they discussed in the last lesson,
such as desert and pond ecosystems.
4. After students have created their lists, choose several students to identify and
describe one feature of an ecosystem. As students provide the information, record the
information on the chart paper. A 2-column T-chart would be an appropriate organizer
for this information. The name of the ecosystem should be on the left. More
information will be added as the EXPLORE/EXPLAIN progresses.
Instructional Notes:
Some ecosystems that students may recall include: polar, tundra,
forest (deciduous forest, evergreen forests, tropical rain forests,
temperate rain forests and taiga), chaparral, desert, grassland
(savanna and prairies), aquatic (freshwater and marine), island, and
urban.
5. Ask:
What events would cause change in an ecosystem? Student answers will
vary, depending on background knowledge and experiences. Some events may
include fires, floods, volcanic eruptions, climate changes (warmer or cooler), and
environmental disasters (oil spills, pesticide pollution).
6. Record the events as students make suggestions; these will be used as the
EXPLORE/EXPLAIN progresses. The information should be recorded on the same
chart where the ecosystems were listed.
When scientists talk about changes to an environment
(disturbances), they are sometimes classified into two categories:
disasters and catastrophes. Disasters do not wipe out everything in
an ecosystem; in fact, turning over a rock can be a “disturbance” in a
smaller ecosystem. Generally, in a catastrophe, there is no adaptive
response for the organisms. Some examples may include volcanic
eruptions or strip mining.
7. In order to provide students with more background information, locate and preview
either a book or a video about change to an ecosystem. Oil Spill! and Forest Fire! are
two books that would be appropriate choices.
Students learned about rapid changes (such as volcanic eruptions
8. After reading the book or viewing the video, discuss the event that caused change and and landslides) in Grade 3.
the effects of the change on the ecosystem’s food web. 9. Say/Ask:
Check For Understanding:
An ecosystem includes all of the living organisms and nonliving elements
in a particular place and their interactions with each other.
There is usually a finite amount of resources.
What do we mean by “finite”? Finite means there is a specific amount. When
the resource is used up, there is no more.
Some of the resources in an ecosystem include water, food or nutrients,
space, and sunlight.
In a healthy, balanced ecosystem, each organism has a niche.
What do you think “niche” means? (Allow students a few moments to think, and
then ask for responses before answering the question.) A niche is the role or
function of an organism has in an ecosystem.
The Claims/Evidence/Reasoning chart could be used as a formative
assessment of student understanding.
Science Notebooks:
Using claims, evidence, and reasoning (predictions and
explanations) helps students increase scientific reasoning skills.
10. Divide the class into groups of 3–4 students. Distribute a copy of the Handout:
Ecosystem Elaboration to each group.
11. Instruct the groups to describe the food web on the Handout: Ecosystem Elaboration
with the members of their group.
12. Project the Teacher Resource: Ecosystem Elaboration Model KEY.
Ask:
What organisms have been removed? (The bird and caterpillar have been
removed.)
What are the niches of the organisms in the ecosystem? Students should be
able to discuss the roles of the organisms in terms of energy supply.
What would happen to the other organisms if you removed the rabbits
from the food web? Tell them their choices are: increase (I), decrease (D), or
unchanged (U). Answers may vary. Allow students to respond before revealing an
answer.
13. Walk the students through the rabbit example as shown on the Teacher Resource:
Ecosystem Elaboration Example KEY.
Ask:
What factors might cause an organism to be removed from an ecosystem?
Too much competition between organisms, a fire, a flood, or other natural disaster
How might a fire affect the organisms living in an ecosystem? Some
organisms will die, and then there will be fewer of that organism to be consumed by
consumers.
How might a flood affect the organisms living in an ecosystem? Some
organisms will die, and then there will be fewer of that organism to be consumed by
consumers.
14. Assign each group an organism to remove. Have the students record what organism
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page 5 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
they removed on the Handout: Ecosystem Elaboration. Then, have them predict
what they think will happen to the other organisms. Have them use the table and use
the appropriate letters (I, D, or U) to indicate their prediction.
15. Once they have made their predictions, have the groups write a paragraph explaining
why they make those predictions. Show them your rabbit example.
16. Then, instruct groups to predict what they think will happen to the nonliving
components of the ecosystem.
17. After each group has completed their assignment, instruct students to write their
findings in their science notebooks.
18. One organizer that students may wish to use when planning the paragraph is a
Claims/Evidence/Reasoning chart.
ELABORATE- Events that Cause Change
Suggested Days 5 and 6
1. Project the Teacher Resource: Changes to the Environment. Students will use this
as a guide to record information about how changes to an environment would change
the food web. (The teacher may want to provide a copy of this resource for students
who need accommodations or support.)
Say/Ask:
What are some organisms you might find in a forest? Record the organisms
that students name in the column “organisms in the ecosystem.”
Imagine there was a forest fire in the ecosystem.
What do you think would be the effect on the food web? The response will
depend on the organisms that students selected.
Materials:
paper (plain, 1 sheet per pair or small group)
Attachments:
Teacher Resource: Changes to the Environment
Optional Handout: Making Connections
Teacher Resource: Making Connections KEY
Instructional Notes:
English Language Learners and special needs students may need
extra help.
The Handout: Making Connections is provided in case your
students need additional instruction before they manipulate the data
on their own. Use it if needed.
2. If the organisms in the example were used, students should be able to communicate
the effects on the food web because of the removal of one organism.
3. You may wish to do one more example together as a class before assigning groups to
complete the others. (Additionally, you may need to provide resources about the
various changes if students are not familiar with them.)
4. Divide the class into pairs or small groups. Distribute one piece of paper to each pair
or group. Assign each group or pair one of the changes to the ecosystem.
5. Instruct students to follow these directions:
Say:
Write the name of the ecosystem and some of the organisms in the
ecosystem.
Describe the event that occurred.
Describe the food web before the event that caused change and the
effect on the food web as a result of the change.
Student pairs or groups should construct a food web for their ecosystem.
It could be presented with just the names of the organisms or
accompanied by an illustration.
Misconceptions:
Students may think that when an animal eats food
(plants or other animals), one hundred percent of
the energy in that animal is transferred to the new
organism.
Students may think that all large animals are
carnivores. (A better indicator of the classification of
the animal is what the animal eats or how their teeth
are formed rather than their size.)
Students may think that a species high on the food
web is a predator to everything below it.
Check For Understanding:
The Optional Handout: Making Connections could be used as a
formative assessment of student understanding.
6. After students have completed the changes to the ecosystem, they should present this
Science Notebooks:
information to the rest of the class. (This supports the student expectation:
Communicate valid oral and written results supported by data.)
Students should write a reflection about the effect of change (in
7. Students should answer the following three questions on their paper:
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general) to a food web in an ecosystem.
page 6 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08
Lesson: 02
Suggested Duration: 8 days
How do nonliving elements of an ecosystem interact with living
organisms?
How do nonliving elements of an ecosystem interact with other nonliving
organisms?
What is being passed on in a food chain or food web?
8. As a final review of food webs, distribute the Optional Handout: Making
Connections. The Teacher Resource: Making Connections KEY provides a
suggested answer.
EVALUATE – Performance Indicator
Suggested Days 7 and 8
Grade 04 Science Unit 08 PI 02
Materials:
Using the diorama of the ecosystem created earlier, select a member to remove from the ecosystem.
Write a mock interview with one of the remaining members about how this has affected its life and its
home. Write a news report based on the interview.
Standard(s): 4.2F , 4.9B
ELPS ELPS.c.3E , ELPS.c.4G , ELPS.c.5F
1. Refer to the Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator Instructions KEY for
information on administering the assessment.
prepared diorama (from previous Performance
Indicator)
paper (lined, 2–3 sheets per student)
Attachments:
Teacher Resource: Performance Indicator
Instructions KEY
Instructional Notes:
The writing in this Performance Indicator supports the Grade 4
ELAR TEKS:
(4.18) Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts
to communicate ideas and information to specific audiences for
specific purposes. Students are expected to:
(A) Create brief compositions that:
(i) establish a central idea in a topic sentence
(ii) include supporting sentences with simple facts, details, and
explanations
(iii) contain a concluding statement
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page 7 of 20 Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
Creating Food Chains
©2012, TESCCC
12/07/12
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Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
©2012, TESCCC
12/07/12
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Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 01
All images courtesy of Microsoft clip art.
©2012, TESCCC
12/07/12
page 3 of 3
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Food Chains and Food Webs
1. This activity needs to be conducted in a large, unobstructed area in the classroom or outdoors.
2. Assign each student a role for this activity. The roles include the Sun (1 person), producers,
primary consumers, or secondary consumers. Students should have a card with their “role” on it.
This could be one of the picture cards from the previous activity, or the name of the organism
written on an index card.
3. Instruct students to look at their role and then identify their energy (food) source(s). Students
should raise their hands when they have identified it and are standing next to their energy source.
Instruct students to choose only one energy source, if the organism has more than one.
4. Hand a ball of yarn to one student (the roadrunner, for example). They should hold onto the end of
the ball of yarn. Ask them to identify their energy source. (It could be the lizard or mouse.) The
roadrunner should hold onto the end of the strand of yarn, but hand the ball of yarn to their energy
source (the lizard, for example). The two are now connected. The lizard should identify its energy
source (the ant, for example). The lizard should hold onto their section of the yarn, but hand the
ball of yarn to their energy source (the ant). The roadrunner, lizard, and ant are now connected.
The ant should identify its energy source (a plant), and the plant will identify its energy source (the
Sun). This entire chain should be connected with a single piece of yarn. Once the yarn gets to the
Sun, cut it off and start again in another place.
5. Continue building the web, making the relationships as complex as time and the number of
organisms allow. As students are making the connections to their energy source, they should also
say if they are a producer, primary consumer or secondary consumer. In some cases there may
be tertiary consumers. (It is not expected that students memorize this term.)
6. After the food web activity is completed, ask the following guiding questions:
 In what way is our model of an ecosystem realistic? It shows the interactions between
species. It shows the interactions between plants and animals. It has some diversity.
 What are the limitations of our model? It does not represent the diversity of a real
ecosystem. It has living components but no nonliving components. There is only one or two of
each organism, whereas in a real ecosystem, there would be several of one species present.
 What do you think would happen if one species was removed from the web? Allow
several students to answer
©2012, TESCCC
12/10/12
page 1 of 1
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Vocabulary Flash Cards
carbon dioxide
consumer
(primary)
consumer
(secondary)
ecosystem
energy
organism
photosynthesis
producer
Sun
©2012, TESCCC
12/10/12
page 1 of 1
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Ecosystem Elaboration
Image courtesy of A. Venegas
©2012, TESCCC
12/10/12
page 1 of 2
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Ecosystem Elaboration
owl
rabbit
mouse
cricket
wheat
grass
owl
X
rabbit
mouse
cricket
wheat
grass
X
X
X
X
X
What organism did you remove? ___________________________________
KEY
X
D
I
U
Does not apply
Decrease
Increase
Unchanged
Using the KEY above, predict what your group thinks will happen to each of the organisms in the food web
when your organism is removed. In the space below, explain why you made those predictions. Also,
predict what you think will happen to the nonliving components of the ecosystem.
©2012, TESCCC
12/10/12
page 2 of 2
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Ecosystem Elaboration Model KEY
grass
Sun
wheat
mouse
rabbit
cricket
owl
©2012, TESCCC
Images courtesy of Microsoft clip
art
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page 1 of 1
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Ecosystem Elaboration Example KEY
owl
rabbit
mouse
cricket
wheat
grass
owl
X
D
rabbit
mouse
cricket
wheat
grass
X
D
X
I
I
I
X
X
X
What organism did you remove? rabbit
KEY
X
D
I
U
Does not apply
Decrease
Increase
Unchanged
Using the KEY above, predict what your group thinks will happen to each of the organisms in the food web
when your organism is removed. In the space below, explain why you made those predictions. Also,
predict what you think will happen to the nonliving components of the ecosystem.
Owls would decrease because they eat rabbits.
Mice would decrease because the owls would eat more of them.
Crickets may increase because there are not as many mice. (Remember, the mice are now the owl’s
main and only dish.)
Wheat and grass may increase because they are not being eaten by rabbits anymore.
The additional crickets will eat more wheat and grass.
There may be less erosion of the soil because there will be more wheat and other grasses to hold
the soil in place.
©2012, TESCCC
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page 1 of 1
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Changes to the Environment
Change to the
Ecosystem
Name of Ecosystem
and
Organisms in the Ecosystem
Effect on the Food Web
forest fire
oil spill
volcanic eruption
flood
drought
pollution
climate change
humans’ actions
©2012, TESCCC
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Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Making Connections
Use the word box
to fill the squares
with organisms
that will fit into the
food web.
Then, draw arrows
to indicate the
direction that the
energy is flowing.
Words to
connect:
scorpion
cricket
sunflowers
roadrunner
antelope
lizards
snake
coyote
great horned owl
elf owl
spiders
pocket
mouse
butterflies
caterpillars
grasses and seeds
©2012, TESCCC
sagebrush
12/10/12
page 1 of 1
Grade 4
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Making Connections KEY
Use the word box
to fill the squares
with organisms
that will fit into the
food web.
Then, draw arrows
to indicate the
direction that the
energy is flowing.
Words to
connect:
scorpion
cricket
sunflowers
roadrunner
antelope
lizards
snake
coyote
roadrunner
great horned owl
elf owl
coyote
scorpion
snakes
lizards
spiders
pocket
mouse
antelope
cricket
butterflies
caterpillars
grasses and seeds
©2012, TESCCC
sunflowers
12/10/12
sagebrush
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Grade 04
Science
Unit: 08 Lesson: 02
Performance Indicator Instructions KEY
Performance Indicator
Using the diorama of the ecosystem created earlier; select a member to remove from the
ecosystem. Write a mock interview with one of the remaining members about how this has
affected its life and its home. Write a news report based on the interview.
(4.2F; 4.9B)
3E; 4G; 5F
Materials:
prepared diorama (from previous Performance Indicator)
paper (lined, 2–3 sheets per student)
Instructional Procedures:
1. Allow students to access the diorama they created in the previous Performance Indicator (Unit 08
Lesson 01).
2. Instruct students to choose one organism to remove from their ecosystem and another organism
to mock interview. Students should write a series of questions and answers explaining how the
removal of the one organism has affected the entire ecosystem, from the perspective of the
organism being interviewed.
3. Students should then prepare a news report based on the interview to share with the class.
4. Share Performance Indicator rubric or expectations with students prior to students beginning the
assessment.
5. Answer any questions students may have regarding the assessment.
Instructional Notes:
The writing in this Performance Indicator supports the Grade 4 ELAR TEKS:
(4.18) Students write expository and procedural or work-related texts to communicate ideas and
information to specific audiences for specific purposes. Students are expected to:
(A) Create brief compositions that:
(i) establish a central idea in a topic sentence
(ii) include supporting sentences with simple facts, details, and explanations
(iii) contain a concluding statement
©2012, TESCCC
05/28/13
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