© 2012 Alston Publishing House Pte Ltd ScienceSMART Teacher’s Guide Grade 6 Chapter 3 Lesson Plans
Lesson Plans
Chapter 3: Food Chains
Total number of periods: 14 periods
Overview of Lesson Plans
How Do Organisms Get Their Energy? (2 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.1 / Pupils should:
-know animals get energy directly from plants or indirectly from animals that eat plants
-know and understand the terms ‘producer’ and ‘consumer’
-recognise that plants are food producers and the ultimate source of energy is from the Sun
-know the different types of food consumers / Collect evidence in a variety of contexts to answer questions or test ideas. (Ep1)
Make generalisations and begin to identify simple patterns in results. (Eo5) / Observing
Analysing
Inferring / Work independently
Be self-directed learners / 2
How Is Energy Transferred Between Organisms? (4 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.2 / Pupils should:
-know how food chains can be used to represent feeding relationships in a habitat and present these in text and diagrams
-know and understand the terms ‘predator’ and ‘prey’
-explore and be able to construct food chains in a particular habitat / Collect evidence in a variety of contexts to answer questions or test ideas. (Ep1)
With help, think about collecting evidence and planning fair tests. (Ep3)
Observe and compare objects, living things and events. (Eo1)
Make generalisations and begin to identify simple patterns in results. (Eo5) / Observing
Classifying
Inferring
Organising
Communicating
Comparing / Reason effectively
Use systems thinking
Be self-directed learners
Solve problems / 4
What Happens When Living Things Die? (4 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.3 / Pupils should:
-know what happens when living things die and get decomposed / Observe and compare objects, living things and events. (Eo1) / Observing Analysing
Inferring / Use systems thinking / 4
What Are Food Webs? (4 periods)
Lesson / Specific Instructional Objectives / Cambridge Primary Scientific Enquiry Skills / Process Skills / 21st Century Skills / Number of Periods3.4 / Pupils should:
-know what food webs are and be able to construct them / Collect evidence in a variety of contexts to answer questions or test ideas. (Ep1)
Observe and compare objects, living things and events. (Eo1)
Make generalisations and begin to identify simple patterns in results. (Eo5) / Observing
Organising
Communicating
Comparing
Inferring
Predicting / Communicate clearly
Think creatively
Reason effectively
Use systems thinking
Environmental literacy / 4
Main Lesson Plans
Lesson 3.1
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / ResourcesEngage:
Inquiry-based questions are posed to pupils to get them thinking about life and energy
Explain: Explanation is given to throw light on a new concept
Evaluate: Pupils’ understanding of previously learnt topics is tested through the discussion
Elaborate:
Pupils extend their understanding by exploring newly learnt concepts through a project / Chapter opener
Background:On Earth, there are various habitats where there are all kinds of plants and animals. Living organisms are interdependent and have food relationships which can be expressed by food chains. Two or more food chains form a food web. Some animals eat plants only, some eat other animals only, while some eat both plants and animals. Decomposers are useful to break down the dead bodies and excretory products of animals into simple materials. These materials may be used as nutrients for plants and thus complete the cycle of nutrients. In this chapter, pupils should be taught the skills and techniques in the exploration of various participants in the food web of a particular habitat. They should also learn how to construct food chains.
Pupils have already learnt about plants and animals inGrade3, and also about their life processes, including nutrition. They learnt about environments and habitats in Grade 4. In the previous chapter (Chapter 2), they learnt about energy. In this chapter,pupils will learn about the transfer of energy from one living thing to another living thing, which is expressed in food chains.
Teaching Tip:Use the scene in the chapter opener to give a brief introduction to the concept of feeding relationships between animals.
Ask pupils:
- What do we eat?(Answer: Plants, animals and animal products.)
- How is energy transferred from one organism to another? (Answer: Energy is transferred when one organism feeds on another.)
- What will happen if the energy transfer is stopped?(Answer: All living things will die.)
- What is the ultimate energy source for all organisms?(Answer: The Sun.)
Teaching Strategies:Relating to real life, Comparing and contrasting
Process Skills:Observing, Analysing, Inferring
Teaching Tip: Explain that feeding is a kind of transfer of energy.
Tell pupils that they are going to learn about the transfer of energy among living organisms. Some animals eat plants. Some animals get energy from eating other animals.
What’s In This Chapter?, What Will I Learn?
Emphasise to pupils what their learning journey will be like for this chapter.
- Food chains can be used to represent feeding relationships in a habitat.
- Food chains begin with a plant (the producer), which uses energy from the Sun.
- Energy is transferred in food chains, which are made up of food producers and food consumers.
How Do Organisms Get Their Energy?
Background:Pupilslearnt in Grade 3 Chapter 4: Introducing… Roots, Leaves, Stems and Flowers!about plants using energy from the Sun for growth. This energy is transferred from one organism to another when an animal eats a plant and when an animal eats another animal.
Ask pupils:
- Why do we have three meals a day? (Answer: We have to get energy for doing work. Energy must be replenished at intervals.)
- Look at the picture of the hamburger and potato chips. Whichparts of this meal come from plants and which parts come from animals?(Answer: Bread, lettuce, tomato, onion and potato come from plants; cheese and beef come from animals.)
- We get energy from eating plants and animals.
- Other animals also get energy from eating plants and animals.
- Plants are living things and they also need energy.
Discuss with pupils to make sure that they understand that the Sun is the ultimate source of energy, and without sunlight, plants will die and all animals will die too, as they depend on plants directly or indirectly. Water and carbon dioxide are the raw materials of photosynthesis. Sugars are the first products and starch is the final product.
Common Misconceptions:Pupils may think that plants must be green or have green leaves to photosynthesise. Actually, plants do not need to be green or have green leaves to photosynthesise. The chlorophyll (which gives the green colour) may be hidden by other colours in the plant.
Another misconception is that all the cells in green leaves contain chlorophyll. This is not true. Even in a plant with green leaves, not all the cells in the leaves contain chlorophyll. For example, the epidermal cells of leaves do not have chlorophyll.
Activity:Show pupils pictures, slides or videos of green plants and animals. Discuss how green plants and animals get their food.
Ask pupils:
- What is the difference betweenanimalsand plants with regards to how they get food? (Answer: Plants make their own food. Animals eat plants or other animals.)
- A plant makes its own food and thus is called the producer. Animals get their food from plants or other animals. They are called food consumers.
- Food consumers are divided into three categories: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
- Grasses have hard structures(xylem vessels which are strengthened thick-walled cells). Herbivores have special stomachs to digest these grasses.
Project Idea:Get pupils to make a list of the meals that they eat on a particular day and check how many types of food come from plants or animals. Pupils will find that they normally eat foods that come from both plants and animals, but some pupils may eat more foods from plants. A person that eats only plants is called a vegetarian.
21st Century Skills:Work independently; Be self-directed learners / Textbook page 45
Textbook page 46
Textbook page 47
Textbook pages 47—48
Textbook page 49
Workbook pages 35—36
Activity 1: Test Me for Starch!
Consolidation Worksheet 1
Lesson 3.2
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / ResourcesEngage:
Pupils learn how energy is transferred between organisms through observation
Explain:
Pupils learn more about food chains through teacher’s explanation
Evaluate:
Pupils’ understanding of food chains is assessed through the activity
Elaborate:
Pupils extend their understanding through an activity / How Is Energy Transferred Between Organisms?
Activity:Bring pupils to visit the school garden and study the organisms there. Pupils should only observe and make notes. No plant or animal is to be collected. If they have turned over stones, return the stones to the original position afterwards.
Ask pupils:
- Can you identify the organisms in a garden habitat?(Answer: Accept all possible answers.)
- What are the feeding relationships in a garden habitat?(Answer: Accept all possible answers.)
21st Century Skills:Reason effectively; Use systems thinking
Teaching Tip:Have pupils discuss the possible feeding relationships in a garden habitat and guide them to concludethat:
- Aplant is always the first link in a food relationship.
- Plants are food for animals, which are in turn eaten by other animals.
- Among animals, there are predators(animals that eat animals) and prey (animals that are eaten).
- A four-tier food chain consists of a food producer (plant), primary consumer(herbivore), secondary consumer(carnivore or omnivore) and tertiary consumer(carnivore or omnivore).
Teaching Strategies:Relating to real life, Giving examples
Process Skill:Organising
21st Century Skills: Reason effectively;Use systems thinking
Activity:Ask pupils to go with their parents to a pond, study the organisms in the pond and try to classify the organisms into food producers and food consumers. Pupils can also check which pairs of organisms have a predator-prey relationship. Pupilsshould take care of their safety around the pond. They should only observe and make notes. No plant or animal is to be collected. If they have turned over stones, return the stones to the original position afterwards. They should not litter around the pond area.Ask pupils to share their findings in groups.
Teaching Strategies:Relating to real life, Giving examples
Process Skills:Observing, Inferring, Communicating
21st Century Skills:Use systems thinking; Be self-directed learners
Project Idea:A food pyramid is another representation of a food relationship. It represents the number of organisms, the amount of energy available or the amount of biomass in a food relationship. The length of each bar in a food pyramid is proportional to the number of organisms in that level. Go through the website about food pyramids with the class and ask pupils to construct a food pyramid. Ask pupils to present their works to the class.
Process Skills:Observing, Organising
21st Century Skills:Use systems thinking; Be self-directed learners
Activity:Carry out Experiment Time! to investigate the feeding relationship between green leaves, grasshoppers and praying mantises. Let pupils observe and record their observations. Discuss and help pupils answer the questions. You should prepare the set-ups three days before the lesson. Remind pupils thatfor a fair test, the number of grasshoppers and the mass of green leaves in both set-ups at the start of the experiment should be exactly the same.
Safety Note:Pupils should wear gloves to prevent direct contact with the insects.
Process Skills:Observing, Comparing, Inferring
21st Century Skills:Reason effectively; Solve problems / Textbook page 50
Textbook pages51—52
URL 3.1
Textbook pages 53—54
Workbook page 37
Activity 2: Who Eats What?
Workbook pages 39—41
Activity 3: Food Chain Mystery!
Consolidation Worksheet 2
Internet link for Lesson 3.2
URL 3.1:Ecological pyramids(corresponds with Internet Link 3.1 in Textbook)
Lesson 3.3
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / ResourcesEngage:
Pupils are given an interesting question to think about
Explain:
Pupils gain further understanding through teacher’s explanation
Evaluate:
Pupils’ understanding is tested through the activity
Elaborate:
Pupils extend their understanding when they learn about scavengers / What Happens When Living Things Die?
Background:The bacteria that play a role in decomposition are divided into two groups: putrefying (decomposing) bacteria and nitrifying bacteria, which turn decomposed materials into inorganic salts of nitrates which are essential for producing plant proteins.
Teaching Tip: Use the section title to start the discussion on decomposition.Show pictures of bacteria and fungi to pupils and ask pupils how they think these organisms help in decomposition.
Explain that:
- Dead bodies will be decomposed into materials which may become nutrients for plants.
- Decomposers include bacteria and fungi.
Process Skills:Observing, Analysing, Inferring
21st Century Skill:Use systems thinking
Teaching Tip:Show pupilspictures or videos of scavengers such as vultures, crows and hyenas, and introduce scavengers as animals which eat dead animals and plants.
Common Misconception:Many people think that scavengers are decomposers. Actually, scavengers are not decomposers because they do not break down dead bodies into materials small and simple enough to be used directly as nutrients for plants. Scavengers only feed on dead organisms and help break downthe dead organisms into smaller pieces for decomposers to act on more quickly. / Textbook page 54
Textbook page 55
Workbook page 48
Worksheet 1: Where Do I Belong?
Consolidation Worksheet 3
Lesson 3.4
BSCS 5E / Lesson Notes / ResourcesEngage:
Pupils build on existing knowledge to learn new concept
Explain:
Pupils gain further understanding through teacher’s explanation
Elaborate:
Pupils extend their knowledge by learning how a new organism can affect an existing food web / What Are Food Webs?
Teaching Tip: Let pupils examine the four food chains shown. Ask pupils to find a living organism (e.g. the grasshopper) that appears in more than one food chain. That means the organism can be eaten by more than one animal or eats more than one organism. With this point as a start, introduce the concept of food webs to pupils.
Explain that that the difference between a food chain and a food web is that a food chain is a straight linkage of a series of organisms, i.e. A → B → C→ D, whereas a food web consists of a straight chain and many side chains, i.e. a network of two or more food chains.
Explain that:
- Several organisms can feed on one food producer or one food consumer.
- In a food chain, a prey (e.g. C which is eaten by D) can also exist as a predator (e.g. C also eats B).
- A bird usually occupies a high position (possible the highest) in food chains of several feeding levels.
Process Skills:Observing, Organising, Communicating
21st Century Skill:Communicate clearly
Activity:Carry out Build Your Skills! Ask pupils to study the food web shown and try to extract the names of the organisms represented by the letters. Try to insert the names into the boxes of the three food chains given and see if they work. Have pupils play the interactive game to create a food web.
Process Skills:Observing, Comparing
21st Century Skills:Think creatively; Reason effectively
Activity:Show pupils pictures, slides or videos of different habitats. You may also invite pupils to bring to class their overseas holiday photos that show different habitats (e.g. beach, forest) and various plants and animals. Discuss the different habitats and try to construct food webs with the organisms found in the habitats.
Ask pupils:
- What would happen if a new organism is introduced into a habitat? (Answer: The existing organisms in that habitat will be affected as the new organism will interfere with the food relationships in the habitat.)
Teaching Strategy: Real-life examples
Process Skills:Observing, Communicating
21st Century Skills:Use systems thinking;Communicate clearly
Activity: Plan a visit to a country park. Ask pupils to identify the animals and plants found in the park and then construct a food web for the eco-system in the country park.
21st Century Skills:Use systems thinking;Reason effectively
Wrap up the chapter with the following:
Talk It Out
Teaching Tip:Read the new words out loud and have pupils repeat each word after you so they can learn to pronounce the words correctly. Then, have pupils pair up to test each other on the meaning of the words.
Map It Out
Teaching Tip:Go through the concepts with pupils after finishing the chapter. Trace the path of the mind map by reading out loud. You may wish to draw the map as you speak.
- Energy enables all living things to carry out life processes.
- Energy comes originally from the Sun and is obtained from the food we eat.
- Energy is transferred when an organism feeds on another.
- Energy is transferred in food chains, which are made up of food producers and food consumers.
- Food chains start with food producers.
- Food chains show the transfer of energy from one organism to another.
- Food chains can be interconnected to form a food web.
Teaching Tip: Go through the worked example with pupils. Read the hint when answering part ‘c’.
Process Skills:Observing, Inferring, Predicting
21st Century Skills:Think creatively; Reason effectively
Science @ Work
Background:Humans may eat foods that contain pesticides or other chemicals. Since humans are always at the highest trophic level (the top of all food chains), the accumulation of chemicals in humans will be the highest. For the good of the environment and for our own benefit, it is best that organic fertilisers are used to replace chemical fertilisers.
Teaching Tips:
- To boost pupils’ reading and speaking confidence, have pupils take turns reading the passage, e.g. each pupil could read one paragraph. Encourage pupils to read with enthusiasm and emotion.
- You may also quote the example of accumulation of DDT in high level organisms to illustrate the dangers of theoveruse of pesticides.
Textbook page 57
URL 3.2
URL 3.3
Workbook pages 43—44
Activity 4 : Food Chain to Food Web
Workbook pages 45—46
Activity 5: Let’s Be a Food Web Detective!
Workbook page 47
Activity 6: Food Web in My Kitchen
Workbook pages 49—50
Worksheet 2: My Role in the Food Web!
Consolidation Worksheet 4
Fun and Games
Exam Practice
Textbook page 58
Textbook page 59
Textbook page 60
Internet links for Lesson 3.4