KU Lesson Plan Format Template

Teacher Candidate: Leah Engle

Cooperating Teacher:
Group Size: 20

Date: 11/17/15

Mrs. Ashman Coop. Initials

Allotted Time 30 mins Grade Level 5

Subject AND Topic: Science: Food Chain & Energy Pyramid Section 936

I.

Objectives and Standards

A. Standard(s): PA Common Core/PDE SAS
PA Core Science:
3.1.5.A2: Describe how life on earth depends on energy from the sun.
S5.B.3.1: Describe the relationships between organisms in different ecosystems.

B. Performance Objectives (Learning Outcomes)

II.

As a result of this lesson, the student will be able to explain how energy moves in
an energy pyramid by creating and labeling an energy pyramid.

As a result of this lesson, the student will be able to explain the difference
between a food chain and energy pyramid.

As a result of this lesson, the student will be able to explain why there is less
energy as you move to the top of the energy pyramid and that all energy comes
from the sun.

Instructional Materials

A. Teacher:

whiteboard and markers

pictures of grass, mouse, snake, and hawk

Energy Pyramid paper (24, each student plus extra)

Land 1 paper (6, one per student in group plus extra)

Land 2 paper (6, one per student in group plus extra)

Marine 1 paper (6, one per student in group plus extra)

Marine 2 paper (6, one per student in group plus extra)

Exit Ticket (24, each student plus extra)

B. Student

III.

writing instrument

Energy Pyramid paper (provided by teacher)

Land 1, Land 2, Marine 1, or Marine 2 paper (provided by teacher)

scissors (in supply desk)

glue (in supply desk)

Exit Ticket (provided by teacher)

Subject Matter Explanation

A. Prerequisite Skills

Students know the general process of photosynthesis and how plants get
their energy from the sun.

Consumer

Producer

B. Key Vocabulary

producer: organism that serves as a source of food for other organism in

the food chain. Often produce through photosynthesis.

consumer: organism that feeds on other organisms in a food chain

prey: an organism that is hunted and killed by another for food

predator: an animal that lives by preying on other organisms

C. Big Idea

As animals move up on the energy pyramid, the amount of energy

decreases.

D. Additional Content

IV.

Implementation

ENGAGE
A.

Introduction
1. Teacher will engage students in a discussion about how they got their energy for
the day. (Students may mention lunch foods, etc)
2. The teacher will ask students where what they ate for lunch got its energy (the
sun, plants, other animals)
3. The teacher will now ask the students if they think they obtained all of the foods
energy, or just part of it.
4. The teacher will ask students to classify these foods as producers or consumers.
5. The teacher will now reference the food chain on the board. (Grass-MouseSnake-Hawk) The teacher will ask students to turn and talk and brainstorm how
energy flows through the food chain

EXPLORE
B.

Development
1. The teacher will ask students to share their ideas about how energy flows
through a food chain. If students are struggling, the teacher will ask students
what animal on the chain eats the other and ask students how they think the
energy flow relates to that.
2. The teacher will draw arrows on the food chain to show the flow of energy
3. The teacher will now ask students where each animal gets its energy from, until
they get to the plants. The teacher will now ask students where plants get their
energy from (the sun) and add the sun next to the food chain with an arrow
pointing to the grass.

4. The teacher will now ask the students to turn and talk about where all of the
animals energy ultimately comes from and how they can prove it.
5. The teacher will now ask for students to share their ideas, encouraging answers
such as; from the plants that get their energy from the sun.
6. The teacher will now draw a pyramid on the board next to the food chain.
7. The teacher will ask students to turn and talk about how the food chain and the
pyramid may relate.
8. The teacher will ask for volunteers to share their ideas, emphasizing ones that
get close to the idea of the energy pyramid. (plants at the larger bottom, hawk at
the smaller tip) Guide the students who are struggling by sectioning off the
pyramid into four groups, asking again how the food chain relates to the pyramid.
9. The teacher will now ask the student what part of the chain goes in the bottom of
the pyramid (plants) and so on (mouse, snake, hawk)
10. The teacher will now instruct students to turn and talk about what the pyramid
shape might indicate. What is going on in the pyramid? Why is the section for
plants so much larger than the section for the snake?
11. If students seem to be struggling with the idea, guide them with questions such
as How many hawks are there in an environment compared to the number of
grasshoppers? (the population of animal or plant decreases as one goes up the
pyramid)
12. The teacher will tell student that the pyramid is missing a key element, and ask
students if they have any ideas (sun).
13. The teacher will now ask students what the pyramid shape tells us about the
amount of energy moving from level to level. Ask students to turn and talk and
come up with ideas
14. The teacher will now ask a few students to share their ideas. If students are
struggling with the concept, ask them to think about the population of the animals
that move up the pyramid.
15. The teacher will now ask students to think about the sun and its energy passing
on the plants. Will all of the suns energy be directed on to the plants? Where
can the suns energy be lost?
16. The teacher will now ask students to think about the plant and its energy. Would
the mouse eating the plant get all of the plants energy? (no) Where is energy
lost? (during photosynthesis, while the plant grows)
17. Ask the students to turn and talk about how this can be applied to the other levels
of the pyramid (snake and hawk)

18. The teacher will now ask for student volunteers to explain what is happening with
energy in the other levels (mouses energy is lost through moving and living,
snake eats it and only gains some energy from the mouse, snake loses energy
through moving and living, hawk eats the snake and only gains some energy
from the snake)
EXPLAIN
19. The teacher will now tell student they will be working in groups to create a food
chain and energy pyramid. The teacher will show the class the pyramid
worksheet and the picture of animals that belong on the chain. The teacher will
emphasize that the animals are not in the correct order and will need to be
moved around to create the chain and the pyramid.
20. The teacher will now show an example with the animals already discussed (see
attached)
21. The teacher will pass out papers will pictures of animals on them, with a title
Land 1, Land 2, Marine 1, Marine 2.
22. The teacher will put all of the students with Land 1 papers on one side of the
class, and spread all other groups across the room.
23. The teacher will instruct students to cut out the animals and glue them on their
correct spot on the food chain. The teacher will now ask them to transfer that
over to the energy pyramid and show where each animal/plant belongs, which
way the energy is flowing, where all energy can be traced back to, the population
of animals at each level, and any other observations or relationships the student
might see among the animals.
24. The teacher will walk around and monitor group work, making sure students are
on the right track, and asking guiding questions
ELABORATE
C.

Closure
1. Once all the groups are done, the teacher will ask Land 1 and Marine 1 to
combine, as well as Land 2 and Marine 2, and share their food chain and
pyramid. The teacher will tells student to explain their reasoning for placement of
the animals/plants and explain the different elements.

EVALUATE
2. The teacher will now ask the Land and Marine groups to combine and compare
their work. Were they the same? Different? Why? How did the other groups
reasoning differ?
3. The teacher will ask students to go back to their seats.

4. The teacher will now pass out the exit ticket (see attached) and have students
complete it before they leave.
5. The teacher will collect the exit ticket and each students energy pyramid and
food chain.

D.

Accommodations/Differentiation Plan

Struggling Learners
o

Struggling students will be given Land 1 or Land 2 energy pyramid which

contains organism they will be more familiar with.

ELL students: There are photos of each type of animal during the energy
pyramid activity if students are unfamiliar with the word.

Student will have an aid assisting them during class.

Advanced Learners
o

V.

Advanced learners will be given Marine 1 or Marine 2 energy pyramid

which contains organisms that will challenge the student.

Assessment of Students
A. Formative:

The teacher will gauge for student understanding of energy moving through
the pyramid and correct placement of organisms on the food chain/energy
pyramid while they are completing the pyramid worksheet and review when
necessary.

B. Summative:

The teacher will look at the energy pyramid for correctness and
understanding of how the energy pyramid represents the flow of energy
through the ecosystem.

The teacher will assess the exit ticket for student understanding of the
differences between energy pyramids and food chains, as well as why there
is less energy as you move to the top of an energy pyramid.

VI.

Reflective Response
A.

Report of Students Performance in Terms of Stated Objectives

(Reflection on students performance written after lesson is taught,
includes remediation for students who failed to meet acceptable level of
achievement.)

B.

Personal Reflection (Questions written before lesson is taught. Reflective

answers to questions recorded after lesson is taught.

1. After teaching this lesson, is there a more inquiry based way to

help students discover how the energy pyramid shows energy
flow.

2. Did comparing an energy pyramid to a food chain help the

students grasp the concept? Did the comparison help or hurt
student understanding of an energy pyramid?

3. Was the differentiation of the energy pyramid activity helpful for

students? Were the organisms on the land food chain as easy as I
thought while making them? Or were they still challenging?

VII. Resources (in APA Format)

Food chains:
In class= Sun-Grass-Mouse-Snake-Hawk
Group food chains= Land 1&2: Sun-Phytoplankton-Krill-Fish-Dolphin
Marine 1&2: Sun-Grass-Earthworm-Chicken-Human

Energy Pyramid
You must show:
where each animal/plant belongs
which way the energy is flowing (using
arrows)
where all the energy can be traced back
to
the population of animals at each level
any other observations or relationships
you may see among these animals

Marine

Marine Food
FoodChain(dont
Chain(dont
Land
forget to show energy flow!

Land

Name: ____________________________
All energy in an ecosystem comes from the: __________
There is _______ energy as you move to the top of an energy
pyramid because
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
________
How are energy pyramids different than food chains?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
________________

Name: ____________________________
All energy in an ecosystem comes from the: __________
There is _______ energy as you move to the top of an energy
pyramid because
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
________
How are energy pyramids different than food chains?
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
_______________