Name:                  Robin L. Lewis

Subject:               Biology I- Ecology (Day 1)

Period:                                 3^rd

Approximate Time: 50 minutes

Objective(s):

The Student Will...

1.       Describe the six levels of ecological organization and give examples of each. (MSF Biology I 7c)

2.       Differentiate between food chains and food webs. (MSF Biology I  7d)

3.       Identify trophic and consumer levels in food chain and food webs.  (MSF Biology I  7d)

Materials:

Notecards, markers, pencils, pens, eraser, dry erase markers

Set:

Name two activities that you like to do.  Where do you think you got the energy to perform these activities?  (food)  Have the students share their responses with the class.   Today we will explore ecology.  We will describe the six levels of ecological organization and give examples of each, differentiate between food chains and food webs, and identify trophic and consumer levels in food chain and food webs.

Procedures:

1.       Follow Set.

2.       Discuss the root meaning of the word “ecology”.

a.       The study of house.

3.       Introduce and define the six levels of ecological organization – species, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere.  Instruct the students to write the six levels of ecological organization and their definitions in their notebooks.

a.       Organism-a single member of a species

b.      Population-members of a species that live in 1 place ex. Cottonmouth in northern ms

c.       Community-all interacting species living in an area.  Ex. fish, turtles, frogs, living in a pond

d.      Ecosystem-all communities and abiotic (non-living) factors in a particular place

e.   Biome-a physical environment that has a seto f plants and animals that is characteristic of that environment

f.      Biosphere-part of the Earth with living things are found and includes all abiotic and biotic factors

4.       Write the terms autotroph, producer, heterotroph, consumer on the board.  Ask students to define the words.  Can you group these words into categories?  Do any of these words overlap in meaning?  Ask for student examples for each term.

5.       Reintroduce set. Now let’s investigate the last meal you ate.  Can you trace backward to determine where your food came from?  For example I had cereal this morning.  The wheat in the cereal came from plants and the milk came from cows that ate plants.  Have students share answers aloud and/or put answers on the board.  What do you notice about each of these examples? (They should all go back to a plant).  Say, “Plants make up the first level of a food chain.  Plants are a type of autotroph/heterotrophy?  Let’s reword my last statement by replacting plants with producers.  Have a student say the sentence.

6.       Discuss producers.  Where do producers get their energy from?  What process do plants go through to make chemical energy?  Where is this chemical energy stored?

7.       Discuss energy flow.

a.       Energy is transferred when one organism eats another organism.  In food chains/webs energy only flows in one direction.

b.      Trophic levels show an organism’s position in the series of energy transfers.

8.       Introduce food chain-single pathway of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.  Draw a food chain on the board.  Grass, mouse, snake, hawk.  Draw a line between each word, but now an arrow.  Have students reflect on the last energy statement, then question which ways should the arrow go.  (arrow points toward the organism that was feeding)  Have the students revisit their last meal info and draw a food web from that information.

a.       Food Webs-just like food chains except they show interrelated food chains.

                                                               i.      Incorporate a rabbit, a tree, grasshopper, lizard, and a fox

b.      Each consumer is labeled in the order in which they received energy: mouse-1^st , snake-2^nd, hawk-3^rd .

9.       Pass white paper.  Students will create a food web using organisms in their local ecosystem.

10.   Collect those who are finished.  Allow those who aren’t to complete food web for homework

Closure:

Five student volunteers will come to the front of the room and be given a note card with one of the five levels of ecological organization. Students will then arrange themselves from smallest, most specific level to largest, most inclusive level with the help of their peers still in their seats.  Activity will be repeated with a second group of volunteers with the instructions to move quickly into positions – this time from largest to smallest.  Students that have not yet volunteered will be requested to give an example of each level of organization.   Teacher will question the difference between a food web and food chain.  Teacher will also ask how the words autotroph, heterotroph, consumer, and producer are related.  Say, “Today we learned how to describe the six levels of ecological organization and give examples of each;  differentiate between food chains and food webs; and Identify trophic and consumer levels in food chain and food webs.  Tomorrow we will use food chains and trophic levels to see the biomass in a given organism.

Assessment/Evaluation:

The teacher will review student notebooks (M) in order to see whether students can describe the six levels of ecological organization and give examples of each level (C).  The teacher will also grade(M) the food web quiz(C) and place that grade in the gradebook (D).