Focus Plan
Texarkana Independent School District
GRADING PERIOD: / Chemistry – 1st, Biology – 4th, IPC – 3rd, / PLAN CODE:WRITER: / L. Petty / COURSE/SUBJECT: / 11th grade science
GRADE(S): / 11th / TIME ALLOTTED FOR INSTRUCTION: / 3 hours
TITLE: / Food Chain Game
LESSON TOPIC: / How food webs are composed of individual, interrelated food chains.
TAKS OBJECTIVE: / Objective 3
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the interdependence of organisms and the environment.
FOCUS TEKS AND STUDENT EXPECTATION: / 11.12 The student knows that interdependence and interactions occur within an
ecosystem. The student is expected to:
(E) investigate and explain the interactions in an ecosystem including
food chains, food webs, and food pyramids.
SUPPORTING TEKS AND STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:
CONCEPTS / ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS/GENERALIZATIONS/PRINCIPLES
The student will understand that
Generalization / All organisms on earth compete for food.
Classification / Organisms may be classified a variety of ways (producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore or omnivore) depending upon their energy source.
Food chains / All organisms fall into one or more categories in a food chain.
Webs / Food chains are interrelated to form complex food webs.
Pyramids / Food chains can be show as a food pyramid.
I. SEQUENCE OF ACTIVITIES (INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES)
A. Focus/connections/anticipatory set
Pass out and go over the Food Chain Game Rules.
B. Instructional activities
(demonstrations, lectures, examples, hands-on experiences, role play, active learning experience, art, music, modeling, discussion, reading, listening, viewing, etc.)
1. Active learning experience
Pass out the cards and allow students to play the game for about 30-45 minutes.
C. Guided activity or strategy
Inform students that they must then make a diagram of part of the food web shown in the game. This can be
done one of several ways. The first way is to copy the “Sheet set-up” page and have students answer
directly on there. The second way would be to hand out the “Organism pieces”, and have them glue them to
a poster board or butcher paper. The easiest way to teacher this would be to have the students do from the
producers to the primary consumers. To really get involved if several days can be used to reinforce the
complexity of a food web, have the students glue the pieces on a big piece of butcher paper and do all
organisms. For the second two methods, pass out the “Sheet set-up” to show how to arrange their
“organism pieces” (this makes grading easier).
Illustrate one organism through the food chain. The easiest one is the “Bark” card. Go down the list of
“Eaten By:” and draw an arrow from bark to each of the four organisms listed. Explain to students that they
are to do this for every producer card in their deck of cards.
D. Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring modifications should be assigned a peer tutor if students are allowed to work in teams or
may be assigned less organisms to illustrate.
E. Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment may serve as peer tutors while working in groups or could have additional
organisms assigned. If option two is chosen, have students draw the additional organisms in a different color
line.
II. STUDENT PERFORMANCE
A. Description
Students will turn in a food web of all assigned organisms in the food chain game.
B. Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring accommodations who are working alone may be given some leniency in grading.
C. Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment should not be given leniency in grading.
III. ASSESSMENT OF ACTIVITIES
A. Description
Grade the food web drawn by each group or student.
B. Rubrics/grading criteria
Use the Grading Sheet that is enclosed with the lab. Count the number of arrows going to and from each
organism and log them on the grade sheet. Calculate the percentage. (Tell your students that you will be
checking each arrow, of course.)
C. Accommodations/modifications
Students requiring accommodations may have a reduced number of organisms or may be graded on a more
lenient scale.
D. Enrichment
Students requiring enrichment may be assigned additional organisms.
E. Sample discussion questions
1. What is a producer? An organism that makes its own food, green plants.
2. What is a primary consumer? An organism that eats producers (plants). An herbivore.
3. What is a secondary consumer? An organism that eats primary consumers, a carnivore.
4. What is an omnivore? An organism that eats both plants and animals.
5. What is a tertiary consumer? An organism that eats secondary consumers.
6. If trees are cut down, how many organisms would be immediately affected, and how? 16
Habitat loss: birds on twigs, birds on tree trunk
Loss of food source: birds on tree trunk, opossums, porcupines, bears, foxes, deer, raccoons, turtles, birds
on ground, plant-eating insects, squirrels, skunks, shrews, rabbits, mice, birds on twig
IV. TAKS PREPARATION
A. Transition to TAKS context
1. Producers are important to a food chain because they _____.
(a) break down dead material into basic nutrients to be returned to the soil
(b) make food from raw materials
(c) eat dangerous animals
(d) eat other animals
2. What would happen if decay organisms were destroyed?
(a) nothing would die
(b) dead organisms would not be broken down to release raw materials
(c) plants would have more food available to them
(d) the number of species on earth would increase
B. Sample TAKS questions
Spring 2003
1. Which of these groups of organisms would most likely have accumulated the largest concentration of a
long-lasting chemical pollutant in their bodies?
(a) Phytoplankton
(b) Zooplankton
(c) Lake trout
(d) Gulls
2. In this food pyramid, which level contains the greatest amount of energy?
(a) Tertiary consumers
(b) Secondary consumers
(c) Primary consumers
(d) Producers
V. KEY VOCABULARY
Decomposer Producer
Food chain Secondary consumer
Food web Tertiary consumer
Primary consumer
Producer
VI. RESOURCES
A. Textbook – none needed
B. Supplementary materials/equipment
Butcher paper for construction of the food web (if desired)
Food Chain Game Cards
Food Chain Game Rules
Grading sheet for All
Grading Sheet for Producer to Primary Consumer
Instructor’s copy – Consumers
Instructor’s copy – Producer to Primary Consumer
“Organism pieces”
Sheet set-up
C. Technology
VII. FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
(reteaching, cross-curricular support, technology activities, next lesson in sequence, etc.)
A. Reteaching
Go over lab questions. If only the “Producers to Primary Consumers” activity was completed, make a
transparency of both Instructor’s Copies. Put the Producers to Primary Consumers on the overhead and
inform students that this is the part they completed. Overlay the Consumers transparency onto the Producers
and explain that this is the complete food web shown in the game.
B. Next lesson in sequence
Biology – Plants
Chemistry – Bio 7a and 7b – changes in organisms, extinction, etc.
VIII. TEACHER NOTES
For the game
Before lab:
1. Run off and cut a set of cards for each group of 3 or 4 students.
2. Run off a copy of the Food Chain Game Rules for each student.
3. Decide whether students will win based on the number of cards in their hand or the Energy
Points listed on the bottom right corner of the card and inform students of this before they play.
4. Decide what the benefit is for winning, if any. Bonus points on their lab might be offered.
During lab:
5. You might want to run through a sample “hand” to show students how the game is played.
6. Monitor the groups to make sure the rules are being followed.
For the project
1. Decide how much of the food web students will construct and run off the “Organism pieces” or
the Sheet set-up for each group.
2. If students are to complete their assignment on poster board or butcher paper (necessary if they
are doing all organisms, optional if they are only doing producers to primary consumers), they
will need a sheet set-up to show them how to glue on the organism pieces.
3. Do the guided activity and allow students time to complete the project.
4. Grading is easier than it seems, merely count the number of arrows going to and coming from
each organism shown on the grading sheet.