Relationships
Compete, Benefit, and Everything in
between
The Big Idea: Focus on Learning
“The teacher’s core aim: enhancing student
learning. To achieve this goal calls for a
willingness to rethink the planning of lessons,
together with a readiness to change the roles
that both teacher and students play in
supporting the learning process.” Black, 2004
S7L4. Students will examine the dependence of
organisms on one another and their environments.
d. Categorize relationships between organisms that
are competitive or mutually beneficial.
BIG IDEAS:
Relationship/Interaction
Competition
Mutually Beneficial
Symbiosis
“A high level of qualification in a subject is
less important than a thorough
understanding of its fundamental
principles, an understanding of the kinds
of difficulties that students might have,
and the creativity to be able to think up
questions that stimulate productive
thinking.” Eskew, 1997
National Science Education
Standards
Life Science Standard C
 As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all
students should develop understanding of
populations and ecosystems.
Fundamental concepts and principles that
underlie this standard are included in
pages157-158 of the NCES.
Understandings
Students will understand that
 There are different kinds of interactions that take place among
organisms.
 In all environments organisms with similar needs may
compete with one another for resources, including food, space,
water, air, and shelter.
 In any particular environment, the growth and survival of
organisms depend on the physical conditions.
 Organisms may interact in several ways: producer/consumer,
predator/prey, parasite/host, scavenger, decomposer.
 Some species have become so adapted to each other that
neither could survive without the other.
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
What is a relationship?
Mutualism?
Parasite/Host?
Competition?
Commensalism?
Predator/Prey?
Essential Questions
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How can organisms become independent? Or can
they?
Why is mistletoe a parasite, but Spanish moss is not?
Why are all roles necessary in an ecosystem?
Do all organisms adapt or die when a change in the
environment happens?
What determines an organism’s role in an ecosystem?
How do changes in a food web affect population?
Why can’t all organisms get along with each other?
Where does the energy come from that an organism
needs to survive?
Skills and Knowledge
Students will know
 The roles of organisms in an
ecosystem
 The relationships of
organisms in various
biomes.
 Use the language of science
correctly when explaining
relationships
 Recall examples of
organisms in different
biomes and their
relationships in an
ecosystem.
Students will be able to
 How the roles are portrayed
in a food chain
 How the roles are portrayed
in a food web
 How the roles are portrayed
in a pyramid
 How to draw arrows to
show energy flow in a food
chain, food web, and
pyramid configuration
Assessments are used to improve
instruction.
“Teachers collect information about students’
understanding almost continuously and make
adjustments to their teaching on the basis of their
interpretation of that information. They observe
critical incidents in the classroom, formulate
hypotheses about the causes of these incidents,
question students to test their hypotheses, interpret
student’s responses, and adjust their teaching plans.”
G.R.A.S.P.S.
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Goal
Role
Audience
Situation
Product, Performance, and Purpose
Standards and Criteria for Success
Assessment Task Blueprint, Workbook page 176
Understandings targeted through
this task
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There are different kinds of interactions that
take place among organisms.
In all environments organisms with similar
needs may compete with one another for
resources, including food, space, water, air,
and shelter.
Organisms may interact in several ways:
producer/consumer, predator/prey,
parasite/host, scavenger, decomposer.
Task Overview
You are a curator at an animal park. Your new project is to
design a display depicting a major biome that includes how
the organisms relate to and interact with each other.
Your display will include
1.
A research narrative with facts about a minimum of ten
organisms and their energy needs
2.
A food web of including all organisms from the narrative
including arrows showing sequence of the transfer of food
energy (See next slide)
3.
Examples of and explanations of sample symbiotic
relationships including mutualism, commensalism, and
parasitism
You will now finish a diagram of a food web
in the pond. The food web shows what
eats what in the pond system. Draw
arrows in the diagram below from each
living thing to the things that eat it. (The
first arrow is drawn for you.)
Question Number 1 - 8th Grade Science
Which of these populations is most likely to
increase if the number of grasshoppers decreases?
Plant
Frog
Praying
Mantis
Owl
Products that provide evidence of
understanding
Signs for display:
1.
Major biome, organisms listed by kingdom
2.
Choose an example of an organism from each role
in the ecosystem (predator, prey, producer,
consumer, parasite, host, scavenger, decomposer),
explain the role of that organism and its energy
(food/nutrient) needs.
3.
Diagram of energy pyramid depicting organisms
with arrows showing sequence of energy flow.
4.
Show examples of symbiotic relationships from the
biome. (commensalism, mutualism, competition,
parasitism)
Sample Rubric
Required
Items
Accuracy
Presentation
Highly
Qualified
Director
Competent
Manager
Reading the Want
Ads for a Job
Display includes
examples from all
major roles in the
biome and all
relationships are
represented.
Display includes
examples of three
major roles in the
biome and two or
three relationships are
represented
Display includes two
or less examples of
major roles in the
biome and includes
less than two
relationships.
Signs include 10 or
more facts that are
accurate, spelled
correctly and energy
arrows are in right
direction.
Signs include 5 to 9
facts that are accurate,
few misspellings, and
energy arrows are in
right direction.
Signs include less than
5 facts that are
accurate, have
misspellings, and the
energy arrows are not
correct.
Display is legible
and inviting. It
contains colorful
items and
graphics/pictures.
Display contains
required items, but is
not organized.
Display is haphazard
and/or messy. It is not
legible and contains
no color.
Criteria used to evaluate evidence
Selected
Response
Constructed
Response
Matching quiz Diagram/Web
on roles
Graph of number
Multiple choice
of organisms
test over
Short answer quiz
relationships
on relationships–
show pictures of
organisms and
students write the
relationship and
why they chose it.
Research narrative
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Performance/
Project
Informal
Assessment
Animal Park Display
Graded with Rubric
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Peer Review
Oral questioning
Self-Assessment