KNOX  COUNTY  SCHOOLS  CURRICULUM  &  INSTRUCTION  DEPARTMENT  CURRICULUM  FRAMEWORK  

 6th Grade Science

Ecology & Energy Flow (Interdependence)

Topic: Plant and Animal Interactions

Percent of time: 15 % = 4-5 Weeks

Overview: Classifying organisms in their roles of transferring energy through the ecosystem, identifying biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) elements, and analyzing environments in biomes.

Essential Question(s):  How do living things interact with one another and with the non-living elements of their environment?  What are the major differences in characteristics of biomes?  How is energy transferred in an ecosystem?

Where does the energy in an ecosystem come from?

How does each role (producer, consumer, decomposer, and scavenger) contribute to the success of an ecosystem?

Tier III Vocabulary: producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, decomposer, scavenger, food chain, food web, energy pyramid, ecology, ecosystem, biotic, abiotic, community, population, biosphere, biome, savanna, desert, tundra, taiga, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, rainforest, marine ecosystem, freshwater ecosystem, Interdependence  

*Tier II Vocabulary should be taught as referenced in the text.

Standards (GLE and SPI): 6.2.1 : Examine the roles of consumers, producers, scavengers and decomposers in a biological community. 6.2.2 : Describe how matter and energy are transferred through an ecosystem. 6.2.3 : Draw conclusions from data about interactions between the biotic and abiotic elements of a particular environment. 6.2.4 : Analyze the environments and the interdependence among organisms found in the world’s major biomes.  SPI 06.07.2.1 Classify organisms as producers, consumers, scavengers, or decomposers according to their role in a food chain or food web. SPI 0607.2.2 Interpret how materials and energy are transferred through an ecosystem. SPI 0607.2.3 Identify the biotic and abiotic elements of the major biomes. SPI 0607.2. 4 Identify the environmental conditions and interdependencies among organisms found in the major biomes. Media/Technology Integration:

 

Websites: www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame.htm (students can take turns and justify placement), http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/nat08.living.eco.humeco.lpsymstra/symbiotic-­‐strategies/  (students  create  food  chains  online),  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/education/tech/bioengineering-­‐body-­‐parts.html  (Vacanti  Mouse  ear  graft), discoveryeducation.com, brainpop.com, studyjams.scholastic.com, thinkfinity.com, bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science, sheppardsoftware.com, cotf.edu, http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm, flocabulary.com, www.scilinks.org : Topic: Biotic/Abiotic Factors: Scilink Code: HSM0164, Topic: Organization in the environment Scilink code: HSTL1079, Topic:

Producers, consumers, Decomposers, Scilinks Code: HSM1221, Topic: Predator/prey Scilinks Code: HSM1205, Topic: Food Chains and Food Webs Scilinks Code: HSM0594, Videos: Bill Nye-Food Webs, Bill Nye-Biodiversity, Discovery Education: Planet Earth, Mr. Parr songs

 

Resources:  

Books: Textbook pages 48-119 Activities/Games: Project Wild-Oh Deer, How Many Bears Probes: Listed with particular GLEs are “probes.” These probes are formative assessments that can be used with your students. The volume and number of the probes correlate to the books Uncovering Student Ideas in Science. All four volumes are located in your school’s professional library. Probe for GLE 06.02.03: Rotting Apple, Vol 3, #18, Probe for GLE 06.02.04: Where would it Fall? Vol 4, #22

     

Cross-Curricular Connections/Applications

ELA/Literacy Standard:  CCSS.ELA.W6.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.  Application: Students should write about the impact of eliminating organisms from a food web or energy pyramid.

Numeracy Connections/Applications:  CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5 Summarize numerical data sets in relation to their context, such as by: CCSS.Math.Content.6.SP.B.5.b Describing the nature of the attribute under investigation, including how it was measured and its units of measurement.  Application: Observe and measure the various decomposition rates of organic and nonorganic materials. Resource: BottleBiology.org

ACT Standard: - Determine whether given information supports or contradicts a simple hypothesis or conclusion, and why  

Connections/Applications: - Communicate findings of an experiment and compare conclusions with those of peers - Using the “Biology in a Box” specimen sets, student pairs will create a table that allows them to hypothesize and investigate which animals are associated with various skulls, skins, feathers, etc. and to hypothesize which biome the animal lives in -Students will compare their findings with another peer pair group to discuss/support their conclusions  

 

Vocabulary Glossary Definition

Consumers Organisms that eat other organisms.

Producers Organisms that use direct sunlight to make food.

Scavengers Consumers that eat dead plants and animals.

Decomposers Organisms that get energy by breaking down dead organisms.

Food Chain One pathway showing the flow of energy through an ecosystem.

Food Web A diagram showing feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.

Ecosystem A community of organisms and their abiotic environment.

Biotic Describes the living elements in the environment.

Abiotic Describes the nonliving elements in the environment.

Biome A large area that contains plants and animals specific to its climate.

Ecology The study of interactions of organisms with one another and with their environment.

Interdependence Relying on one another: IE: Organisms relying on one another for survival

Energy pyramid A diagram that shows the representative energy levels in a food web with a single top predator at the top and the producers in that ecosystem in the bottom level.

Community The group of organisms or populations living and interacting in a particular environment.

Population A group of individuals of the same species occupying a particular area.

Biosphere The part of the earth’s crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life.

Savanna Open grasslands, usually with scattered bushes or rees, characteristic of much of tropical Africa.

Desert A region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation at all.

Tundra A cold, treeless, usually lowland are of far northern regions characterized by permafrost.

Taiga A forest located in the Earth’s far northern regions, consisting of mainly cone-bearing trees and some deciduous trees. Found just south of the tundra.

Coniferous forest Composed primarily of con-bearing, needle-leaved or scale-leaved evergreen trees; have long winters and

 

  moderate to high annual precipitation

Temperate deciduous forest A forest characterized by trees that shed their leaves in the fall.

Grassland An area dominated by grass or grass-like vegetation. Found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions.

Rainforest A tropical forest, usually of tall, densely growing, broad- leaved evergreen trees in an area of high annual rainfall.

Marine ecosystem Complex of living organisms in the ocean environment

Freshwater ecosystem Complex of living organisms in lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds.

Herbivore An organism that eats plants

Omnivore An organism that eats plant and meat

Carnivore An organism that eats meat

Review Vocabulary: adaptations, predator, prey, commensalism, mutualism, parasitism, competition, symbiotic relationship, permafrost, organism, habitat

 

Grade:  6  Domain/Subject:  Science   Module:   Ecology   and  Energy   Flow  Materials:   list  of  organisms   in   the  Temperature  Deciduous  Forest     Emerging   Learner   Grade   Level   Learner   Advanced    Learner    List  standards  here.  GLE  06.02.01  Describe  how  matter  and  energy  are  transferred  through  an  ecosystem.  

     I  Can  Statements:    I  can  draw  a  food  chain  and  identify  the  different  roles  of  the  organisms  within  it.  

 Students  will  create  a  food  web  with  at  least  10  organisms.  Each  food  web  must  include  at  least  one  of  the  following:  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  scavenger.  Students  may  choose  to  draw  the  organisms  or  write  the  name  of  the  organism.  Each  organism  should  be  on  a  card,  so  that  they  can  be  moved  and  manipulated  as  needed.  Each  organism  must  also  be  labeled  with  its  role  in  the  ecosystem  (such  as  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  and  scavenger).    Emerging  learners  will  create  the  same  food  web,  but  may  choose  just  7-­‐-­‐-­‐8  organisms  from  the  attached  list  instead  of  10.    Another  alternative  is  for  students  to  complete  a  partial  food  web.  For  instance,  they  may  be  given  the  producers  for  a  web  and  have  to  add  the  consumers.  

 Students  will  create  a  food  web  with  at  least  10  organisms.  Each  food  web  must  include  at  least  one  of  the  following:  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  scavenger.  Students  may  choose  to  draw  the  organisms  or  write  the  name  of  the  organism.  Each  organism  should  be  on  a  card,  so  that  they  can  be  moved  and  manipulated  as  needed.  Each  organism  must  also  be  labeled  with  its  role  in  the  ecosystem  (such  as  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  and  scavenger).  

 Students  will  create  a  food  web  with  at  least  10  organisms.  Each  food  web  must  include  at  least  one  of  the  following:  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  scavenger.  Students  may  choose  to  draw  the  organisms  or  write  the  name  of  the  organism.  Each  organism  should  be  on  a  card,  so  that  they  can  be  moved  and  manipulated  as  needed.  Each  organism  must  also  be  labeled  with  its  role  in  the  ecosystem  (such  as  producer,  consumer,  decomposer,  and  scavenger).    After  creating  the  food  web,  remove  one  organism  of  your  choice  and  explain  how    that  will  affect  each  of  the  other  organisms  in  the  food  web.  

Implementation    ESSENTIAL  QUESTIONS  How  do  different  organism  rely  on  each  other  for  energy  within  an  ecosystem?    Common  Misconceptions:   Students  often  think  that  the  arrows  will  point  from  the  first  organism  to  the  next,  but  the  arrows  represent  the  flow  of  energy  so  must  be  pointing  from  the  organism  that  gets  eaten  to  the  organism  that  does  the  eating.  The  size  of  an  organism  does  not  determine  what  they  eat.  For  instance,  large  animals  don’t  always  consume  meat.  Decomposers  breakdown  materials.  This  is  an  excellent  application  of  the  Law  of  Conservation  of  Energy  because  the  amount  of  energy  and  materials  are  the  same  after  the  decomposers  have  done  their  job.    Model  use  of  academic  science  vocabulary:  food  web,  consumer,  producer,  decomposer,  scavenger    Notes  to  Teacher:  Students  will  often  have  difficulty  knowing  what  organisms  will  eat.  Be  sure  to  tell  them  (and  guide  them)  that  they  need  to  choose  animals  that  would  naturally  interact  with  each  other.  For  example,  an  elephant  and  a  bear  would  probably  not  have  an  encounter    with  each  other  in  nature.  If  the  students  have  already  learned  about  the  biomes,  have  them  create  a  food  web  for  a  specific  biome.    Students  need  to  manipulate  several  food  webs  before  they  generate  their  own.  

Temperature   Deciduous   Forest   Organisms        Producers:    

Grass   Acorn   Berries                            Consumers:  

 

 Red-­‐-­‐-­‐tailed  hawk  

Squirrel   Fox  

 

               

Eats:   squirrel,   rabbit,  mouse,  snake  

Eats:  all   producers   Eats:  berries,   squirrel,   rabbit,  mouse  

 Ant   Rabbit   Mouse  

               

Eats:  all   producers    Eats:   grass,   berries  

 Easts:   grass,   berries  

   

Black   bear   White-­‐-­‐-­‐tailed  deer  

Snake  

 

               

Eats:  grass,  berries,   ant,  mouse,   squirrel,   rabbit  

 

Eats:  all   producers    

Eats:   squirrel,  mouse,   rabbit  

Decomposers:      

Bacteria   Fungi   Earthworm                          Scavenger:  

   

Turkey   vulture