Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)

Lesson Idea Name: Flow of Energy

Content Area: Science
Grade Level(s): 4th

Content Standard Addressed: S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of
organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
b.) Develop simple models to illustrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with
sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Technology Standard Addressed: 4. Innovative Designer

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new,
useful or imaginative solutions. Students:
a.) Know and used a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative
artifacts or solving authentic problems.
b.) Select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design constraints and
calculated risks.
Selected Technology Tool: Discovery Education

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☐ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

The Universal Design for Learning principles can extend and support the learning experiences for all students
because they are based on providing the best learning experiences for all students. The UDL principles focus
on the what, how, and why of learning. The “what” of learning focuses on providing multiple means of
representation. This activity will allow students to perceive and comprehend information in different ways by
having the students take the information from the book and displaying it in a visual map. The “how” of
learning is about providing multiple means of action and expression. Students will be physically placing the
information into the visual map in an organized manner. The “why” of learning is about providing multiple
means of engagement. This form of learning is about how students prefer to learn. Allowing students to work
on their own or in small groups lets them work in a way that is best suited to them.
Lesson idea implementation:
As the standards are addressed, the teacher will first display the Discovery Education board on to the smart
board. The students will watch the video and read the information, and the teacher will then display the
Popplet map on the board to display the teachers example of the energy flow of a food chain. The students
will have previously discussed food chains on several different occasions, so this will be somewhat of a review
day. The students will then be instructed to create their own food chain energy flow charts.
The students learning will be assessed based on the energy flow charts they create. The teacher will do this by
determining if from the students flow charts, they have an understanding of the topic. The final product will
be used to inform students of how the food chain works. This activity could be extended by having students
add more producers, consumers, and decomposers to the chain to create an ecosystem. By doing this,

Spring 2018_SJB
 Beyond-the-Basic Productivity Tools (BBPT)
students will also be extending their learning to a higher level. The teacher will provide feedback on the
students work by writing notes about their specific food chain diagrams and adding things in that the students
could do to improve the food chain.

Reflective Practice:
After designing this lesson, I feel that this activity could extend students learning by giving them a hands-on
approach to how food chain works. They will not only be looking at and reading about food chains, but also
creating one themselves. To further extend students learning, the teacher could use this assignment to go
into the next portion of the standard. The teacher could physically remove a part of the food chain so
students can begin learning about what would happen to an ecosystem, demonstrating the effect of change.
Another technology tool that could be used is PowerPoint. Students could create a slide per part of the food
chain to show how their individual food chain works.

Spring 2018_SJB