Ecosystems:

Food Chains

Part 1: Classroom Information

Grade: 5 Content Area: Science Group Size: 32 Lesson Length: 75 minutes

Part 1: Planning for the Lesson
A: Standards
i. Key Content Standard:
5-LS2-1. Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals,
decomposers, and the environment.

ii. Related ELA and ELD Standard:

SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and

teacher led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
a) Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly
draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore
ideas under discussion.
c) Pose and respond to specific questions by making comments that contribute to the
discussion and elaborate on the remarks of others.
d) Review the key ideas expressed and draw conclusions in light of information and
knowledge gained from the discussions.

ELD.PI.5.1 Exchanging Information/Ideas - Expanding

Contribute to class, group, and partner discussions, including sustained dialogue, by following
turn-taking rules, asking relevant questions, affirming others, and adding relevant information

ELD.PI.5.6a Reading/Viewing Closely - Expanding
a) Explain ideas, phenomena, processes, and text relationships (e.g., compare/ contrast,
cause/effect, problem/solution) based on close reading of a variety of grade-level texts
and viewing of multimedia, with moderate support.

B. Objectives
i. Learning Objective/Goal: The students will (DO __) to (LEARN ___).
Student will be able to describe how organisms transfer energy within food chains.

ii. Language Objective (transfer this from "Incorporating Academic Language"):
Students will describe how organisms transfer energy within their constructed Food Chains, using
descriptive compound sentences within oral discussion and written responses.




C. Assessments:
i. Informal assessment strategies you will use during class (What informal assessment
strategies will you use, what specific evidence will you see and/or hear and how will you
note it?)
Assessment Strategy Evidence of Student Learning
Student volunteers will demonstrate
their knowledge of unit terms by
correctly stating the meaning of the
previously taught vocabulary. If students
Vocabulary review and new vocabulary state incorrect definitions during the
introduction review or struggle to understand the
new vocabulary terms, the teacher will
re-teach the term(s) with additional
visual support (drawn pictures/charts).

Students will be assessed on whether
they understand the objective of the
game and whether they are playing
according to the games rules given.
Monitor students during Decomposer
Questions or misconceptions students
Game
have about the directions, the concept of
a food chain, trophic level, etc., will be
addressed in real-time.

Through questioning and probing,
students will be able to explain and
understand the concept that producers
are at the beginning of every food chain.
In addition, students will be able to
explain why the bottom of the pyramid is
Class discussion on the Food Chain Cards
larger (indicating there are more plants,
or producers, than consumers) and how
the model of a pyramid supports the
idea of the importance of plants in any
given ecosystem.

Students will be assessed on whether
they understand the objective of the task
and whether they understand the
Assess students as they construct food concept of the food chain: the food chain
chains with their groups and as they includes organisms within the same
describe the steps in The Energy Cycle as biome, it begins with a producer, cards
it relates to the Food Chain they created are organized according to their trophic
level, the transfer of energy is
represented with arrows in between
organisms. Students will also be ale to
 explain the role of the sun in the food
chain and how carnivores in the food
chain uses energy in the sun to move and
grow. Students who may be confused or
have any misconceptions about the
concept of a food chain, trophic levels,
etc., will be re-directed and anecdotal
notes of the students struggling will be
taken.

ii. Written assessment you will use to determine, for each individual student, to what extent
they have met your learning objectives. (What evidence will you collect?)

The written assessment for this lesson will be the Food Chains worksheet that students will
complete after constructing a food chain with their group. On the worksheet, students will
draw and label the food chains that the group created, demonstrating their understanding of
how energy is transferred beginning with the sun and between organisms and will write a
written response describing how energy/matters flows through their Food Chain they created.
Students should make sure to label each organism in their food chain with their trophic level
and include the trophic levels in their explanations. Student worksheets will be collected and
analyzed by the teacher who will record their notes on the students mastery of the concept in
their anecdotal records.

D. Lesson Resources/Materials:

One copy for each student of Luna Lovebug Discovers What Matters in Ecosystems - Lab
Scenario p.1
Energy Pyramid diagram (hand-drawn or printed) p.2
One copy for each team of Decomposer Food Chain Game Rules p.3
One copy for team of each of the following cut-out cards beforehand): Aquatic Biome Food
Chain Cards (p.4-12); Tundra Biome Food Chain Cards (p.13-20); Desert Biome Food Chain
Cards (p.21-30); Forest Biome Food Chain Cards (p.31-38); Grasslands Biome Food Chain Cards
(p.39-47)
One copy for each team of Food Chains Fact Cards - p.48-52
Projected information about Trophic Levels from CK12 for class discussion
One set for each team of assorted food chain cards (biome & trophic level not on the card),
hole-punched for string to weave through (cut-out cards beforehand) p.53-54
One set for each team of 4 cut-out arrows, hole-punched for string to weave through
One 5ft long piece of yarn for each team
Food Chain Worksheet (lesson assessment) p.56
Anecdotal chart of student progress and understanding p.58
Intro and body of the lesson adapted from: http://betterlesson.com/lesson/635013/day-one-
of-plaid-pete-gets-decomposed
 Part 2: Instructional Sequence - Engaging Students in the Learning Process

Introduction (10 minutes): Describe how you will 1) make connections to prior knowledge, tap into
their experiences and interests or use a hook, AND 2) let students know what the objective of the
lesson is.
Explain to students that this lesson that will help them pull together some of the important
concepts they have been learning about ecosystems.

Introduce Scenario:
Tell students they will look at a scenario where a 5th grader named Luna Lovebug is trying
to collect information for her model ecosystem that she wants to develop.
Give students the lab scenario handout and have them follow along as you read the
scenario aloud.

Learning Objective:
After the read-aloud, share the learning objective with the class.
o Learning Objective: I can describe how organisms transfer energy within food
chains.
Extra Support for ELL/IEP students: Write the objective and success criteria on
the board so it is visible for the duration of the lesson as a reference.
Explain to students that following this lesson, they will take a look at food webs and what
factors contribute to a healthy ecosystem

Review Vocab (5 min)

After their worksheets have been collected, tell students, "Now we are going to get ready
to play the game Decomposer. Before we can do that though, we need to review our
vocabulary from our previous lessons in the unit.
Review the vocabulary on the Ecosystems Word Wall in the classroom: ecosystem, abiotic
factors, biotic factors, community, producers, decomposers, consumers, population,
habitat, carnivore, omnivore, herbivore. Ask student volunteers to recall the meaning of
each vocabulary word
o Assess/Extra Support: monitor student answers and re-teach any terms students are
having difficulty understanding

Body of the Lesson (55 minutes): Describe step-by-step what the teacher and the students will be
doing during the lesson.

Engage - incorporate background knowledge; prior learning; experiences; interests
Introduce New Vocabulary (5 min):
Introduce vocab they should know before the game begins: food chain, trophic level
Give a brief overview of the terms and write the definition on the board or poster for
students to read
Food Chain:
 o Ask students to Think-Pair-Share how they would define a food chain. Have a class
discussion and give students the definition of food chain, drawing an example of a
food chain on the board.
o Tell students that a food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how
nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains begin with
plant-life, and end with animal-life. Some animals eat plants; some animals eat
other animals. A simple food chain could start with grass, which is eaten by rabbits.
Trophic Level:
o Tell students they are actually already familiar with the names of the different
trophic levels.
o Explain to students that a trophic level is any of the sequential stages in a food
chain, occupied by producers at the bottom and in turn by primary, secondary, and
tertiary consumers. Decomposers (detritivores) are sometimes considered to
occupy their own trophic level.
o Write the definition on the white board and draw out the pyramid chart to
represent each trophic level
Tell students theyll learn more about trophic levels after they play their game.

Explore hands-on exploration with the with the science phenomena and material
Introduce guided exploration activity the Decomposer Food Chain Game (18 minutes):
Divide class into 5 teams (group heterogeneous should include students at various levels)
Give each team the 5 Food Chains Fact Cards and the corresponding Forest Biome Food
Chain Cards, Grasslands Biome Food Chain Cards, Desert Biome Food Chain Cards, Tundra
Biome Food Chain Cards, and Aquatic Biome Food Chain Cards (One set per team).
Have students read through the fact cards with their group
Tell students that each column is one food chain.
Give each team the Decomposer Rules handout and explain the rules to the game to the
class. Directions:
o The game is played similar to the card game, Rummy. Students use the Food Chain
Fact Cards as a reference source. The object is to construct Food Chains with at
least 3 cards. Each food chain must begin with a producer. For food chains where
students later get a tertiary or quaternary consumer, they may add to their food
chain when it is their turn. The object of the game is to use up all of your cards to
construct food chains, and end with a single card to discard - saying you are
"balanced" and have therefore won the game. The remainder of the players have
been decomposed.
Model the game on a projector or have the class watch as you demonstrate with another
student
Safety concerns: there are no safety concerns with this activity however, instruct students
to use their materials appropriately
Instruct the teams to begin playing.
 o Assess: Monitor students as they play the game and address students if there are
any concerns or questions
o Additional Support: review the terms on the fact sheet or game cards with any ELL
or IEP students needing additional support at their desks. Review the concept of
the game if needed.
Tell students, "This has been a terrific introduction to the concept of food chains, but as
Luna Lovebug has said - there is more to the story. Let's get ready to hear some more
information about food chains and how energy or matter, transfers between organisms."

Explain - students, with guidance from the teacher/facilitator explain the concepts they have been
exploring.
Discuss Food Chains Cards (12 min):
Ask students what they learned or noticed as they played the game
Tell students lets examine the trophic levels on the Food Chains Cards closely.
Ask students in different teams to compare and contrast them to the cards and the trophic
levels.
Ask students whats at the beginning of every food chain. Probe students further so they
make the connection that producers are the beginning of every food chain
After, conduct a shared, close reading of the text on the fact cards and have students pay
particular attention to the idea that 90% of the energy is lost when moving from one
trophic level to another.
Project the following information about Trophic Levels from CK12 and focus on the
decrease in both energy and matter when moving from one level to the next
Ask students the following questions:
o Why is the bottom of the pyramid larger (indicating there are more plants, or
producers, than consumers)?
o How does the model of a pyramid support the idea of the importance of plants in
any given ecosystem?
Additional Support: provide sentence frames for ELL students and IEP
students if needed.

Elaborate students elaborate on the learning and make connections to other related concepts
Team activity (10 min):
Give teams the string, cut-out arrows, and the new set of food chain cards that dont
include the organisms biome or trophic level (the food chain cards and arrow cards should
have two punched holes at the top for students to weave the string through). Each group
with one piece of yarn about 5 feet long, 4 arrow cards, and one set of the food chain
cards
Tell students that with their teams, they will create one food chain using the food chain
cards just given to them. Explain that numerous different food chains can be created using
the cards provided but they will only create one which must include at least three
 organisms. Encourage students to challenge themselves and incorporate four organisms in
their food chains.
Tell students that after they have planned the food chain out, they will run the string
through the holes at the top of the cards so that they create a hanging food chain. Remind
students that they must place an arrow between each organism card in the food chain or
it will not be correct.
o Safety concerns: there are no safety concerns with this activity however, instruct
students to use their materials appropriately

During the team activity:

Assess and monitor the students move between the teams - questioning, prodding, and
ensuring that students are understanding the objective
As you circulate around the teams, ask students to explain their food chains, specifically:
o Explain the role of the sun in your food chain
o How do the carnivores in your food chains use energy from the sun to move and
grow?
Prompt English Language Learners in particular to use compound and complex sentences
in their oral discussions with me and their peers
o Provide additional scaffolding to students who are struggling, including sentence
frames to individuals as needed who need support including the ELL students and
students with language IEPs.
Re-direct any students who may be confused or have any misconceptions about the
concept of a food chain, trophic levels, etc. Then re-teach if necessary

Evaluate(Assessment) Assess student learning - process and/or content

Individual Written Assessment (10 minutes):
After groups are finished with their food chains, instruct students to complete the food
chain worksheet independently. Tell students that for the worksheet they will draw and
label the food chain they created and will describe in a written explanation, how energy is
transferred between each of those organisms.
o Additional support: Ask probing questions to help students make sense of the
concept and provide additional scaffolding to students who are struggling,
including sentence frames to individuals as needed.

Closure (5 minutes): Describe how you will prompt the students to summarize the lesson and restate
the learning objective.

Reflection:
Remind students of the objective: Students will be able to describe how organisms transfer
energy within food chains.
Explain to students that when we combine what we have learned about trophic levels, and
the information from the video about food chains - it explains how energy is transferred
 through an ecosystem - and it all begins with the Sun - and plants! We have a name for this in
Science, and it is called "The Energy Cycle." it describes how energy is transferred through an
ecosystem. We have to remember though, that 90% of the energy is lost as heat in each
transfer.
Ask students to turn and talk in their teams and describe the steps in The Energy Cycle in
ecosystems as it relates to their food chains they created with their teams.
o Assess: call upon student volunteers to share what they discussed with their groups
and assess their understanding of the concept.
o Additional Support: provide sentence frames for ELL students and IEP students if
needed.
Tell students that food chains are just one model to understand the natural world and that
model is part of a larger, more complex model of food webs which they will explore further in
the next lesson.

Part 3: Incorporating Academic Language

1. Describe the rich learning task(s) related to the content learning objective.

The first rich learning task that students participate in is playing the Decomposer game where
students construct Food Chains with at least 3 organisms (cards) from 5 different biomes.
Students have to begin each Food Chain with a producers and ends with either a tertiary or
quaternary consumer. The object of the game is to use up all of your cards to construct food
chains, and end with a single card to discard - saying you are "balanced" and have therefore won
the game. The remainder of the players have been decomposed. Following the game, the groups
work together to compare and contrast the game cards, making observations on the organisms
trophic levels. This activity allows students to observe how energy is transferred between
organisms and in order to create a healthy, functioning ecosystem, there has to be balance within
the ecosystems Food Chains.

For the second rich learning task, students are working in teams to construct two food chains
using the non-labeled Food Chain cards. The groups participate in oral discussions regarding the
role of each of the organisms a part of their Food Chains and describe the steps in The Energy
Cycle in ecosystems as it relates to their Food Chains.

2. Language Function: How will students be communicating in relation to the content in the learning
task(s)? Identify the specific function (purpose or genre) you want to systematically address in
your lesson plan that will scaffold students to stronger disciplinary discourse. The language
function will always be a verb. Some examples are: describe, identify, explain, justify, analyze,
construct, compare, or argue.
Describe.

3. Language Demands: Looking at the specific function (purpose or genre) your students will be
using, what are the language demands that you will systematically address in this lesson?
Vocabulary:
 Key to this lesson: Ecosystem, abiotic factors, biotic factors, community, producers,
decomposers, consumers, population, habitat, carnivore, omnivore, herbivore, food chain,
trophic levels

Syntax1: descriptive compound, complex sentences
The trophic levels in the ___ biome are similar to the trophic levels in the ___ biome
because ___.
The trophic level of the (organism) from the ___ biome is different from the (organism)
in the ___ biome because ___.
The first step of the energy cycle in our Food Chain is ___ which transfers energy to
___ and then lastly transfer energy to ___.
Discourse2: oral discussion, written responses

4. Language Objective: What is/are the language objective(s) for your lesson? (The students will
(FUNCTION) (LANGUAGE RELATED TO CONTENT) (SYNTAX AND/OR DISCOURSE)
For example: The students will compare different types of parallelograms using transition words
such as similarly, different from or by contrast.
Students will describe how organisms transfer energy within their constructed Food Chains, using
descriptive compound sentences within oral discussion and written responses.

5. Language Support: What instructional strategies will you use during your lesson to teach the
specific language skill and provide support and opportunities for guided and independent
practice?
Instruction Guided Practice Independent Practice
Students will be instructed and Students work within groups, Students will individually
given a demonstration of how as the teacher circulates complete the Food Chain
to complete the learning tasks. around the room, prompting worksheet, creating
Target vocabulary and syntax students and groups with representations of their Food
to describe their food chains questions to encourage them Chains and how energy is
will be modeled by the to describe and make transferred from organism to
teacher during instruction and connections with whats organism. Students will also
then practiced by the students taking place in their Food complete a written response
as they participate in the Chains. The one ELL student where they explain how
lessons activities. and other students with a energy/matter flows through
language IEP will receive their Food Chain. The teacher
support from their group will provide additional
members as well as additional scaffolding to students who
instructional support as are struggling (i.e., sentence
needed. frames) to individuals as
needed.