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Grade:
School: Woodstock
7
LESSON MAP
Title of Lesson: Lesson 1 The Main Players within an Ecosystem
Curriculum Outcome:
- (306-3) Describe interactions between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
- (210-1) Classify organisms as producers, consumers and decomposers.
- (304-2) Identify the roles of producers, consumers and decomposers in a local ecosystem and
describe both their diversity and their interactions.
- (211-5) Defend a given position on an issue or problem on the basis of their findings.
Student Objectives:
- Students will be able to define, identify and explain ecosystems including their components and
how they interact.
- Students will be able to identify abiotic and biotic components within an ecosystem given a
description of the specific component with at least 80% accuracy.
- Students will be able to distinguish between producers, consumers and decomposers when given
a description of an organism with at least 80% accuracy.
Assessment: There will be formative assessment throughout this lesson as the teacher will assess
students understanding during the group discussions at the end of the lesson. The students will
also submit an entry from their journal that will hopefully prove their complete understanding of
the material and will meet the student objectives of this lesson. Summative assessment of the
student objectives will take place on a unit test that will follow the completed unit on ecosystem
interactions.
Time Required for this lesson: 50 minutes
Materials/ Resources: 1 Ball of Yarn, Nametags with names of biotic or abiotic factors on them,
PowerPoint Presentation, Computer with SmartBoard, Killer Fungi YouTube Video, Question sheets
for guided journal entry.
Methods / Structure: For the first activity, students will work together as a large group. For the
rest of the class they will be in groups of 4 at their respective tables.
Text/Audio/Video-based Resources:
Cordyceps: The Killer Fungi Planet
Earth
Vocabulary:
Ecosystem - A community of plants, animals and
smaller organisms that live, feed, reproduce and
interact in the same area or environment.
Biotic Any living or formerly living component of an
ecosystem.
Abiotic Non-living components of an ecosystem.
Producer Biotic component that creates its own
energy through abiotic components.
Consumer Biotic component that cannot create its
own energy therefore it must consume other biotic
components.
Decomposer Plants, animals or fungi that break down
dead plants or animals into organic material that goes
dead things are abiotic or biotic. Explain the distinction that biotic components are things
that either have lived or are currently living (ex. Cones, carcasses etc.)
Step 2 - Next, break down biotic factors into producers, consumers and decomposers.
Explain that producers create their own energy through non-living things. Explain that
consumers get their energy from producers, or other consumers that have previously gotten
energy from producers. Explain that decomposers are plants, animals or fungi that break
down dead plants and animals into organic material that goes back into the soil. Provide
examples for these different components. Most of this material will likely be new for the
students and may need more time spent on it.
Biotic
Air
Conifer Cone
Moss
Soil
Mushroom
Termite
Water
Earthworm
Deer Fly
Rock
Human
Deer
Sun
Bear
Fir Tree
Salmon
Raspberry
Consumer
Decomposer
Raspberry
Human
Moss
Fir Tree
Bear
Mushrooms
Conifer Cone
Salmon
Earthworm
Deer
Deer Fly
Termite
Phase 3: Discussion/Video and Conclusion - 12 minutes
- Discussion
- Give the students some time to think about possible answers to the following questions and
assess their understanding through their responses.
- Can someone give an example (other than one we saw during the activity) of an
interaction between a biotic and abiotic component of an ecosystem?
- Answer could be anything.
- How do we (humans) interact with abiotic and biotic factors in the environment?
- Answer could be anything.
- How do we affect abiotic and biotic factors?
- Hopefully get some answers that refer to clear cutting, and other ways humans
destroy ecosystems i.e.
overhunting, Pollution, Land Conversion, etc.
- Identify an organism that can be both a consumer and a producer? Why?
- Venus Fly Trap?
Show the students a YouTube video of the killer fungi. It will hopefully help them better
understand decomposers while providing them with some entertainment as it quite
interesting and gruesome to see how the fungi work.
Conclusion
Hand the students out a question sheet that they have the rest of the class to finish or
complete for homework. The answers are to be placed in their journal, which has been
ongoing throughout the year. The sheet is attached.
References:
Atlantic Canada Science Curriculum. (2002). Science 7. Retrieved from:
http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/curric/grade7science.pdf
New Brunswick Department of Education. (2009). Interactions within Ecosystems: Components of
an Ecosystem. Science Resource Package: Grade 7. Retrieved from:
https://moodle.stu.ca/course/view.php?id=549
Grade:
School: Woodstock
7
LESSON MAP
Title of Lesson: Lesson 2 Digging Deeper: A Look at Decomposers
Curriculum Outcomes:
(208-2) - Identify questions to investigate arising from practical problems and issues.
(209-1) - Carry out procedures controlling the major variables.
(209-4) - Organize data, using a format that is appropriate to the task or experiment.
(306-2) - Describe how matter is recycled in an ecosystem through interactions among plants,
animals, fungi, and microorganisms.
(306-3) - Describe interactions between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem.
Student Objectives:
- Students will be able to generate a specific scientific question when given parameters for an
experiment that has to do with material that has been discussed in the classroom.
- Students can follow directions to complete a simple science experiment.
- Students will be able to observe and record differences between daily observations of a simple
experiment.
- Students will be able to interpret observed differences and apply them to classroom discussion
and material.
Assessment: Student assessment during this lesson will be completed formatively as the students
are completing their ecosystems. The main goal of this class is to complete the ecosystem within
the time frame given and most of the assessment will take place after student observations are
completed on their experiment, which will take place over the next few weeks. Eventually, the
students will submit a lab write-up outlining their question, materials, procedure and observations.
This will be marked using the rubric included in this lesson plan.
their pop bottle just above where the label would be. The students will then pack their soil,
worms and leaves into the bottom of the pop bottle. Detailed instructions that will be
handed out to the students are attached.
- Clean-up and Observation Preparation 13 minutes
- Explain to the students that they will be preparing an experimental write-up that includes: a
scientific question, list of materials and procedure. This process introduces the students to
writing a formal lab report.
- Students will clean up their own workstations and be given a rubric for their experimental
write-up that will be due for marks later in the unit. It is important for the teacher to go over
the rubric so that the students know exactly what they need to include in their write-up.
- The rubric is as follows:
Got it
Nearly there
Not yet
Question is stated clearly and in Question is clear but not in a
Question is unclear.
a testable form
testable form.
Materials list includes all
Materials list incomplete.
Materials list
necessary and appropriate
incomplete and
items.
contains
unnecessary items.
Written steps are detailed and
Some steps are unclear or
Steps are not
in sequential order. Steps are
missing and/or steps are out of
accurate or there is
detailed enough that variables
order. Missing some details that
not enough detail to
are controlled. Procedure could would control one or more
replicate procedure.
be replicated.
variables during the replication.
Spelling and grammar errors are Some spelling and grammar
Spelling and grammar
absent or rare.
errors.
errors common
- The students should also be prepared to begin the next class by creating an observation
chart.
- Time will be of the essence during this class period because of the experimental set-up and
collection. It is imperative to emphasize that the students collect and construct their
ecosystem in a timely matter in order to be able to complete the task during the time
allotted.
References:
Atlantic Canada Science Curriculum. (2002). Science 7. Retrieved from:
http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/curric/grade7science.pdf
New Brunswick Department of Education. (2009). Interactions within Ecosystems: Components of
an Ecosystem. Science Resource Package: Grade 7. Retrieved from:
https://moodle.stu.ca/course/view.php?id=549
WormWatch.com. Earthworm Science. Investigation #2: Earthworms in Action. Retrieved from:
https://www.naturewatch.ca/english/wormwatch/activities/invest2.html
3. Fill the bottle with the materials you gathered from outdoors (soil, dead leaves). Write
down the order in which you place the materials in the bottle. This will go in the
procedure section of the write-up and will be important when you make observations
on the ecosystems later.
4. Pour a cup of water into the soil/leaves to moisten the ecosystem.
5. Place the worms on top of the ecosystem, put the top part of the bottle on and wrap
the bottle in aluminum foil. (Earthworms are sensitive to light and will perform better
in a dark environment)
6. Place the ecosystem in a pie plate so the water does not leak on to the counter.
School: Woodstock
Grade:
LESSON MAP
Title of Lesson: Lesson 3 Wrap-Up Decomposer Activity Explanation/Commencement of Energy
Flow.
Curriculum Outcome:
(209-1) - Carry out procedures controlling the major variables.
(209-4) - Organize data, using a format that is appropriate to the task or experiment.
(306-2) - Describe how matter is recycled in an ecosystem through interactions among plants,
animals, fungi, and microorganisms.
(111-6) Apply the concept of a food web as a tool for interpreting the structure and interactions of
a natural system.
Student Objectives:
- Students will be able to identify and explain the use of a control in a scientific experiment.
- Students will be able to properly observe elemental differences between their own experimental
trial and a control trial
- Students will be able to keep track of observations of these differences over a seven-day period.
- Students will be able to explain how photosynthesis happens with 80% accuracy.
- Students will be able to distinguish between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores if given a list of
animals and what they eat with 80% accuracy.
- Students will be able to construct their own energy flow map if given specific animals and how
they get their energy.
Assessment: Students will hand in their completed observation charts along with their
experimental write-up after 7 days of observation. This will be graded on proper completion of the
chart and according to the rubric included in the last lesson. Formative assessment will take place
during the discussion portion of this lesson and pairs will submit an exit slip with an answer to an
open-ended question as the class comes to an end.
Time Required for this lesson: 50 minutes
Materials/ Resources:
Previously constructed control pop bottle ecosystem (no worms added)
Whiteboard & Marker
SmartBoard with picture referenced in lesson plan.
Methods / Structure: Students will observe their experiments in their pairs that were formed on
the previous day. The new lesson will take place with the students discusses and sharing as groups
of 4 at their tables. The exit slips will be completed in groups of 2.
Vocabulary:
Control - A subject or a group in an experiment where the factor being tested is not applied, hence,
serves as a standard for comparison against another group where the factor is applied.
Photosynthesis - Plants take in carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil; put them
together (in the presence of light energy and chlorophyll) to produce sugar (glucose) and oxygen.
Herbivores Consumers that eat plants
Carnivores Consumers that eat other animals
Omnivores Consumers that eat other plants and animals
Instructional Strategies/ Procedure for the Class:
Phase 1: Introduction to Observation stage of the experiment 15 minutes
- Last class, the students constructed their own pop bottle ecosystems that contain
earthworms, dead leaves and soil. Present to the class a pop bottle ecosystem that is just
like the ones that they created but is void of earthworms. Explain to them that this will be
used as a control for their experiment. They will compare observations of their own
ecosystem with the control and note differences in an observation chart.
- The students will likely be unfamiliar with the term Control. Explain that a control is a
subject or a group in an experiment where the factor being tested is not applied, hence,
serves as a standard for comparison against another group where the factor is applied. Read
them the following definition from biology-online.org: In scientific experiments, the use of
controls allows to study one variable or factor at a time. It is, however, important that both
the control and other (experimental) group(s) are exposed to the same conditions apart
from the one variable under study. Doing so will help draw conclusions that are more
accurate and reliable. In this case, the control will be under all of the same conditions
except the fact that there are no earthworms (decomposers), present.
- Next, guide the students in constructing their own table that they will use to track
observations of their ecosystem. Allow the students to create their own tables with the
following things in mind: they will be tracking seven (class) days of observation and they
need to include daily differences in their own ecosystem and how their ecosystem differs
from the control. Have them create drafts of a table and when they have it approved by the
teacher, they can create a final copy.
Once they have a final copy of a table approved by the instructor, they can complete their
observations of day 1.
Explain that this is a food web and represents the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
Once the students have asked all necessary questions and the image has been explained,
have them create, in groups of two, their own energy flow map using specific examples that
they know of in real life. Ex. Gazelles eat leaves off of a tree and then, gazelles get eaten by
lions. Ask groups to share their examples aloud to the class.
The students will work in pairs to answer the following question and pass their answer in as
an exit slip. Answers only need to be 3-4 sentences long. Write the question on the board
and have them write their answer on a loose sheet of paper to hand in before they leave.
There are more herbivores than carnivores on the earth. Why do you think this is?
Hopefully, some pairs will come up with an answer that talks about the fact that carnivores
need to hunt their food and herbivores just need to find it. Some students may make a link
to the fact that herbivores only turn a fraction of the energy gained from producers into
body mass because much of it is needed for life processes such as digestion and
reproduction. This means that carnivores only get a fraction of a fraction of the energy
needed for their life processes because of the energy lost in the herbivores. The carnivore
then has to make up for this deficit in order to properly grow and sometimes this cannot
happen. This would be considered an extremely advanced answer to this question but would
be a good way to open the next class if this topic were to continue.
References:
Atlantic Canada Science Curriculum. (2002). Science 7. Retrieved from:
http://www.gnb.ca/0000/publications/curric/grade7science.pdf
New Brunswick Department of Education. (2009). Interactions within Ecosystems: Components of
an Ecosystem. Science Resource Package: Grade 7. Retrieved from:
https://moodle.stu.ca/course/view.php?id=549
Food chains and food webs online resource. Retrieved from:
http://www.vtaide.com/png/foodchains.html
Picture retrieved from: http://images.tutorvista.com/content/environment/food-chain-in-grassland.jpeg