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13.17 A - Food Chain
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Author: David Riddick
Date Created: 7/27/2003 10:23:21 PM PST
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Grade/Level:
4
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Students:
27 Students. 14 boys and 13 girls. 4 EO's; 6 IFEP's; 3 RFEP's; 14 ELD3-4:
GATE class - advanced learners
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Subject Area(s):
Language Arts (English), Science
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Concept(s):
Students will learn producers, consumers, and decomposers are related and
dependent on one another in the food chain.
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State
Academic Content Standard(s):
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 CA- CCTC: Aligned CSTP's and TPE's
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Standard : CSTP: Standard for Assessing Student Learning
TPE: B. Assessing Student Learning
CSTP Description: Teachers establish and clearly communicate learning
goals for all students. Teachers collect information about student
performance from a variety of sources. Teachers involve all students in
assessing their own learning. Teachers use information from a variety of
ongoing assessments to plan and adjust learning opportunities that
promote academic achievement and personal growth for all students.
Teachers exchange information about student learning with students,
families, and support personnel in ways that improve understanding and
encourage further academic progress.
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CSTP Key Element : Using the results of assessments to guide
instruction.
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 Question : use assessment information
to determine when and how to revisit content that has been taught?
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CA- California K-12 Academic Content
Standards
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Subject : English Language Arts
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Grade : Grade Four
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Area : Writing
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Sub-Strand 1.0: Writing Strategies
Students write clear, coherent sentences and paragraphs that develop a
central idea. Their writing shows they consider the audience and purpose.
Students progress through the stages of the writing process (e.g.,
prewriting, drafting, revising, editing successive versions).
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Concept : Organization and Focus
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Standard 1.1: Select a focus, an
organizational structure, and a point of view based upon purpose,
audience, length, and format requirements.
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Subject : Science
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Grade : Grade Four
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Area : Life Sciences
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Sub-Strand 2: All organisms need energy and matter to live and
grow. As a basis for understanding this concept:
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Standard a: Students know plants are the
primary source of matter and energy entering most food chains.
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Standard b: Students know producers
and consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and decomposers) are
related in food chains and food webs and may compete with each other
for resources in an ecosystem.
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Objective(s):
Cognitive: Students will know producers (plants) and consumers (herbivores, carnivores,
omnivores) and decomposers are related in food chains and depend on one
another for survival.
Observable: Students will create posters as a pre-write activity to
understand the different types of producers and consumers. Students will
complete a journal assignment reflecting their understanding of the food
chain.
Criteria: Given a written summary the students will assume the perspective of
a plant wishing it could be a consumer. The students will be a able to obtain
a score of 3 or 4 on the established criterion rubric to indicate a
satisfactory effort and an understanding of the assignment.
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Prerequisite Background Skills/ Knowledge:
Students should be know an ecosystem is a living community which depends on
each member and its surrounding environment. The living part of an ecosystem
is sometimes called a food chain.
Every participant in an ecosystem has an important part to play and if one
becomes more dominant than the others, the ecosystem can develop problems.
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Vocabulary/Language Skills:
Listening: Students listen to verbal instructions given on how to draw
pictures and describe producers and consumers.
Speaking: Students participate in lesson by discussing what they observe from
their research.
Writing: Students write what they observe in their science journals.
Reading: Students read instructions on the board with teacher.
Vocabulary: producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, food chain,
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Materials:
1) Pencil & Paper
2) Transparencies
3) Transparency pen
4) Magazines
5) Art Supplies
6) Glue sticks
7) Markers
8) Internet connection
9) Printer
10) Poster Paper
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Classroom Management:
During directed lesson, students are seated in assigned seats, which are
2-person desks.
I will give out extra credit points for students who participate and
cooperate with lesson.
Extra credit points for actively engaged students
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Models of Instruction:
Learning Cycle
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Procedure
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Open:
As an attention getter, ask students to name what they ate for dinner the previous
night. Extend the question by asking students to name what each animal might
eat in the wild.
Dog -
Bear -
Raccoon -
Fish -
Spider -
Hawk -
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Input:
1st: Point out standards and objective for the lesson. Explain the
progression that animals eat and are eaten creates a food chain. An example
food chain would be:
Person - Fish - Grasshopper - Grass
2nd: Explain plants are at the bottom of the food chain. Personify the plant.
How does the plant feel being consumed by everyone else. Perhaps is wishes it
could be more. Maybe it's happy because it realizes all the consumers will
one day end up back in the ground.
3rd: Read the handout: "Food Chain" with students.
4th: Create a T chart on the overhead. While reading, stop to draw pictures
of the producers or consumers. Students draw them in their science journals.
Producer: (Plants) Draw pictures of a variety of plants
Consumer:
- Herbivore: Draw pictures of a deer, cows, etc.
- Carnivore: Draw pictures of a tiger, snake, eagle
- Omnivore: Draw picture of a human, bear.
Decomposer: Draw pictures of fungus, mold, bacteria.
5th: Students search through magazines for pictures to cut out and place on a
poster. Students will re-create the T-chart we made on the overhead.
6th: Once students have created the posters, allow time for students to share
their posters.
7th: Students will write in their journals why it is difficult being a
producer or why it is great to be a producer. Students will compare being a
producer to a consumer. Would they like to be a decomposer?
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Guided Practice:
Display flow chart to display information of the food chain.
Explain the progression that animals eat and are eaten creates a food chain.
Review vocabulary words students need to know: ecosystem, producer, consumer,
decomposer.
Allow students time to reflect on lesson.
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Independent Practice:
Students will illustrate their findings and create food chains by gluing
their pictures on a piece of poster paper while drawing lines with arrows to what
is being eaten.
Students will create posters as a pre-write activity to understand the
different types of producers and consumers. Students will complete a journal
assignment reflecting their understanding of the food chain.
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Close:
Students share their posters and explain if they would like to be a producer
or a consumer.
In a grand conversation, students will reflect on what they learned and their
surprises.
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Assessment/
Reflection
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Assessment:
Students will obtain a score of 3 or 4 on the established criterion rubric to
indicate a satisfactory effort and an understanding of writing a summary from
the perspective of a plant wishing it could be a consumer.
Rubrics:
Food Chain
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Reflection:
The objective of the lesson was achieved. Students were able to utilize a criterion
rubric to write a summary form the perspective of a plant wishing they could
be a consumer. The anticipatory set was highly engaging and motivating for my
students. All students were able to make a connection to the questions, What
did you eat for dinner last night? I was excited to see students who
typically struggle to stay on task and engage in this lesson.
The key element of the Assessing Student Learning domain, uses the results
of assessments to guide instruction, has been a challenge for me thus far in
the Cal Teach program. I often find myself using assessment to determine a
grade, but not necessarily to plan and adjust learning opportunities. In this
lesson, I developed strategies to insure I use assessment to revisit the
concepts that were taught. The poster activity was used as a pre-write to
assess which students would have difficulty understanding and writing the
summary of a producer wishing it could be a consumer.
High Achieving students conducted a mock interview of a producer and a
consumer to provide details about why they are classified as such.
Intermediate students looked for sensory detailed words to explain the
benefits of being a producer or a consumer.
I worked with students who were struggling through a kinesthetic activity. I
called on students to act out either an animal or a plant. The other
students guessed if they were a consumer or a plant. They had to explain why
they guessed consumer or plant. As an extension to the activity, students
suggested adding whether the producer or consumer was alive or decomposing.
If I were to teach this lesson again, I would have added the importance of
the sun to the food chain. The sun is the primary source of energy for all
living things in the food chain and should have been emphasized more at the
beginning of the lesson. This lesson was on grade level and appropriate
because of my ability to use the results of instruction to guide instruction.
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