What Did You Eat Today?

Fourth Grade Life Science Unit

Content StandardS4L1. Students will describe the roles of

organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.

a. Identify the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.

b. Demonstrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including producers, consumers, and decomposers.

c. Predict how changes in the environment would affect a community (ecosystem) of organisms.

d. Predict effects on a population if some of the plants or animals in the community are scarce or if there are too many.

Big Ideas

Ecosystem

Roles

Related Content

S4L2. Students will identify factors that affect the survival or extinction of organisms such as adaptation, variation of behaviors (hibernation) and external features (camouflage and protection).

a. Identify factors that may have lead to the extinction of some organisms.

How Students Learn ScienceS4CS3. Students will use tools and instruments for observing, measuring, and

manipulating objects in scientific activities utilizing safe laboratory procedures.

a. Use computers, cameras and recording devices for capturing information.S4CS4. Students will use ideas of system, model, change, and scale in

exploring scientific and technological matters.a. Observe and describe how parts influence one another in things with many parts.b. Identify patterns of change in things—such as steady, repetitive, or irregular

change—using records, tables, or graphs of measurements where appropriate.S4CS5. Students will communicate scientific ideas and activities clearly.c. Make sketches to aid in explaining scientific procedures or ideas.d. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects and events.S3CS8. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific

inquiry.Students will apply the following to inquiry learning practices:• Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what

things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.

• Clear and active communication is an essential part of doing science. It enables scientists to inform others about their work, expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and stay informed about scientific discoveries around the world.

Enduring Understandings Ecosystems include living and nonliving things. Living things depend on each other for food and protection. Living things add to and take away from an ecosystem. Almost all kinds of animals’ food can be traced back to plants. Some source of “energy” is needed for all organisms to stay alive

and grow. Over the whole earth, organisms are growing, dying, and

decaying, and new organisms are being produced by the old ones.

Conditions of a particular habitat can limit what kinds of living things survive.

All living things are eventually food to other living things. (Even predators are “eaten” by decomposers when they die.)

Nature recycles materials in an ecosystem through growth, death, and decay.

Producer-Consumer RelationshipFinding understandings Take a common lunch menu: cheeseburger, fries,

and chocolate milkshake. On chart paper write down each of the meal items

across the top. Describe what is in each part of the meal and

where it came from. Trace all food items back as far as you can.

For example, the bun is made of flour, flour is made of wheat, and wheat is a plant.

Cheese is made from milk, milk is made by cows, cows eat grass, and grass is a plant.

“Plants are producers—anything else is a consumer.”

Essential Questions

What do plants eat? How do organisms determine what to eat? How would your daily actions make a difference in

an ecosystem? Are you a food producer or a food consumer?

What Students Should Know

The correct vocabulary to use. The roles of organisms in a community. How to identify organisms for each role in a

community. Recognize and identify what can affect the

balance in an ecosystem.

What Students Should Be Able To Do Observe a community over time. Keep a record of the number of organisms in

the community over time. Make a model of a food chain. Make a model of a food web.

Official Wildlife of Georgia Bird: Brown Thrasher Butterfly: Tiger Swallowtail Fish: Largemouth Bass Flower: Cherokee Rose Fossil: Shark's Tooth Insect: Honey Bee Marine Mammal: Right Whale (endangered) Reptile: Gopher Tortoise (threatened) Tree: Live Oak

What happens next? Stage 2-- Evidence

Day 2 – Focus on Balanced Assessment How do I know what students understand? How good is good enough?

Stage 3– Unit Design Days 3 and 4– Focus on Instructional Decisions

and Unit Design How do I provide learning opportunities? When do I revisit, reteach, and reinforce understanding?

Previews of Coming AttractionsStage 2– Evidence (4 types)Informal Assessment Observe students as they sort cards with

organisms pictured on them and discuss their decisions.

Have students keep an ecology journal about a plot on the playground.

Which list below best shows how energy moves in a food chain?

A. Grass cows humans Sun

B. Sun grass cows humans

C. Humans cows grass Sun

D. Cows grass Sun humans

Selected Response

Selected Response

In a food chain, the green plants are Producers Predators Decomposers Prey

Selected Response

Green plants Insects Frogs Snakes

Frogs in the above food chain get their energy directly from Eating insects Being eaten by snakes Eating other frogs Eating green plants

Selected Response

Sun Green plants Mice Snakes Hawks

Which population would most likely decrease if the number of mice greatly increased?

A. Green plants

B. Mice

C. Snakes

D. Hawks

Selected Response

If all green plants died, would foxes survive? Yes, foxes do not eat green plants. Yes, foxes could still eat other animals. No, the animals that foxes eat need to eat green

plants. No, they would have no more plants to eat.

Selected Response

11 Which picture represents a decomposer?

12 Which picture represents a producer?

The arrows show the source of energy for these living creatures. For example, the arrowpointing from the fish to the seal shows that the seals eat fish as a source of energy.

18 What do marine birds eat as a source of energy?A. Berries B. Fish C. Leaves D. Mushrooms19 According to this diagram, what do insects and fish eat as a source of energy?A. Meat eaters B. Plant eaters C. Plants D. Decomposers20 For a source of energy, arctic foxes eatA. grass. B. flowers. C. insects. D. seals.

Constructed Response Choose an organism and research its life cycle

including how it gets energy and produces energy for other organisms.

Sketch an ecosystem and label the organisms as producers, consumers, or decomposers.

Finish a diagram of a food web in a pond. The food web shows what eats what in the pond system. Draw arrows from each living thing to the things that eat it.  

Tell why it is important for dead animals and plants in a pond system to be broken down.   

Performance Assessment A Your group will plot a square meter in the school

yard and record the living and non-living things that are found there. Keep a tally chart of the population information. (For example, use random sampling for ant colonies instead of counting all of the ants.)

Sort populations by roles. Make a poster of a food chain or web in your plot. Make a presentation of your findings

Brochure Multimedia Booklet

Share your findings with other groups. Share your information with a group from another

region who is doing the same project.

Performance Assessment B Research a region and the organisms that live there. Create a

visual food chain or food web showing the interrelationships of organisms in the selected ecosystem.

Choose one major producer, consumer, or decomposer in the ecosystem for focus on and organize their food chain or web so that it shows how this organism is connected to other organisms.

Imagine the selected organism has suddenly disappeared from the ecosystem: How might the other organisms be affected? Do you think the food chain/ web can continue without this

organism? How would you describe the relationships among the organisms

in food chains and food webs? Present a visual, written, oral, or multimedia presentation to

present to the class.

Sample Rubric1 2 3 4

Engagement of Learner

(Participation)

Refused/did not join in task

Watched others work on task

Worked on task part of the time

Stayed on task until completion

Cooperation Would not share with or listen to others (caused a disturbance)

Did not participate Shared/listened part of the time

Listened and shared with others

Science Knowledge

Did not show any concept of understanding

Tried but did not show correct understanding

Showed partial understanding of concept

Demonstrated an understanding of concept

Science Language Did not use any science vocabulary

Used vocabulary incorrectly

Used some of the vocabulary correctly

Used all vocabulary correctly

Productivity Did not accomplish goal Barely accomplished task

Just did what he had to do

Was highly productive

Effective Use of Time

Time without purpose Got off track frequently

Did well once ideas were clear

No wasted effort—stayed on target

Instructional Decisions

If I want students to know the roles of organisms in an ecosystem, what learning opportunities will I build into my unit plan? Resources and materials Time for students to learn (Calendar) Activities connected to the goal Different types of evidence showing student

understanding

Resources Georgia Wildlife

Federation http://www.gwf.org

Georgia Museum of Natural History Science Box Program http://museum.nhm.uga.ed

u/htmldocs/scienceboxes/scibox.asp

Georgia Science Links http://www.georgiasciencet

eacher.org/links.htm

Georgia Wildlife Web http://museum.nhm.uga.e

du/gawildlife/gawwregions.html

Georgia Learning Connections http://www.glc.k12.ga.us

National Wildlife Federation http://www.nwf.org

eNature http://www.enature.com