Honolulu Zoo Society : Interdependence - What's for Lunch?

Interdependence

Topic Overview

Begin the Lesson

This lesson introduces the concept of a food web. Students will learn how animals and plants are interdependent on one another. Energy from the sun (producer) feeds plants (producers) who then feed consumers (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores). Students will define, interpret and analyze the cycle of life through food webs.

 

Whole Class Introduction to the Lesson

You will need at least one computer with Internet connectivity and a projection device, a classroom with more than one computer, or access to a computer lab.  This introduction will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Make and distribute index cards to your students with the following terms: producer, consumer, plant, fly, frog, snake, underwater plant, shrimp, fish, bear, and hawk. Preload the following Web site (there is an ad before the video begins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyefVtxY-oI. Review the terms on the index cards. Tell students to stand when their term is described in the video. Show the video and observe as students stand.

Sample Questions:

  • Why are plants important in a food web?
  • In the video, two animals need fish in the food web. Can you name those two animals?
  • What might happen if there were no more shrimp for the fish to eat?

Allow time for discussion of these questions. End your introduction by emphasizing the definitions of the terms producer and consumer.

As part of the introduction, you may want to review some of the glossary terms in advance of students going online. At this point you can launch the WebLesson as whole-class activity using a projection device, or you can assign students to work individually or in teams in a computer lab.

 

 

WebLesson Sites
Introduction
Plants and animals depend on each other to live. Plants and animals need each other. A caterpillar depends on a wheat plant for food. Birds eat the caterpillars. Without the wheat there would be no caterpillars for the birds to eat. This is called interdependence. The interdependence of plants and animals is called a food web.
Scenario
Did you have pizza for lunch today? Think about the crust of your pizza. The dough for your pizza crust was made from wheat planted by a farmer. The sun produced energy for the wheat to grow. The farmer harvested the wheat to make flour for the bread.

Other animals eat wheat as well. Caterpillars eat the wheat and birds eat the caterpillars. Think about what would happen to the wheat plants if the birds all disappeared.
Lesson Pages
Study Jams Science
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/food-webs.htm
Rich Media
Basic Economics: Interdependence
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/economics/interdependence.htm
Rich Media
The Wildlife Web 2: Herbivores and Carnivores
http://video.nhptv.org/video/1491185781/
Crabs Clean Up
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/animalsnature/crabs-clean-up/
Rich Media
Food Web
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Rich Media
Bill Nye the Science Guy
http://www.schooltube.com/video/661b2cb3a331b29f9c2c/
Rich Media
Conclusion & Project
Conclusion
A food web shows all of the relationships between all of the plants and animals in a community. Cows might be food for humans or flies. Each of those flies might be food for frogs or spiders. All plants and animals need each other in a food web.

There are dozens of connections for every organism. When you draw all of those connecting lines, you get a web-like shape. This shape is what we call a food web.
Project
Remember the flour for your pizza crust? Remember that the flour was made from wheat. Remember that caterpillars eat the wheat too and that birds eat the caterpillars. What would happen to the flour for your pizza if all the birds disappeared?
Glossary
carnivore - An animal that eats plants and other animals.
consume - To eat or drink or use.
consumer - a plant or animal that gets its energy or food from other living things
decomposer - an organism, like bacteria, that breaks down dead plant or animal matter and releases their nutrients back into the soil
dependent - To need something or someone. In science, to need something in order to live.
food web - the complex network of food chains in an ecosystem
herbivore - an animal that eats only plants
interdependence - Dependent on something or someone else for your needs.
omnivore - an animal that eats plants and other animals
oxygen - The air we breathe.
predator - an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals
prey - An animal hunted by another animal for food.
producer - a plant that produces its own food. Plants use energy from the sun to make food.
species - Types of organisms; plants and animals.
survive - To live; remain alive.
vegetation - Plants or lots of plants growing in one area.
Honolulu Zoo Society : Interdependence - What's for Lunch?

Interdependence

Introduction
Introduction
Plants and animals depend on each other to live. Plants and animals need each other. A caterpillar depends on a wheat plant for food. Birds eat the caterpillars. Without the wheat there would be no caterpillars for the birds to eat. This is called interdependence. The interdependence of plants and animals is called a food web.
Scenario

Lesson Plan

Topic Overview

Begin the Lesson

This lesson introduces the concept of a food web. Students will learn how animals and plants are interdependent on one another. Energy from the sun (producer) feeds plants (producers) who then feed consumers (herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores). Students will define, interpret and analyze the cycle of life through food webs.

 

Whole Class Introduction to the Lesson

You will need at least one computer with Internet connectivity and a projection device, a classroom with more than one computer, or access to a computer lab.  This introduction will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Make and distribute index cards to your students with the following terms: producer, consumer, plant, fly, frog, snake, underwater plant, shrimp, fish, bear, and hawk. Preload the following Web site (there is an ad before the video begins): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyefVtxY-oI. Review the terms on the index cards. Tell students to stand when their term is described in the video. Show the video and observe as students stand.

Sample Questions:

  • Why are plants important in a food web?
  • In the video, two animals need fish in the food web. Can you name those two animals?
  • What might happen if there were no more shrimp for the fish to eat?

Allow time for discussion of these questions. End your introduction by emphasizing the definitions of the terms producer and consumer.

As part of the introduction, you may want to review some of the glossary terms in advance of students going online. At this point you can launch the WebLesson as whole-class activity using a projection device, or you can assign students to work individually or in teams in a computer lab.

 

 

WebLesson Sites
Introduction
Plants and animals depend on each other to live. Plants and animals need each other. A caterpillar depends on a wheat plant for food. Birds eat the caterpillars. Without the wheat there would be no caterpillars for the birds to eat. This is called interdependence. The interdependence of plants and animals is called a food web.
Scenario
Did you have pizza for lunch today? Think about the crust of your pizza. The dough for your pizza crust was made from wheat planted by a farmer. The sun produced energy for the wheat to grow. The farmer harvested the wheat to make flour for the bread.

Other animals eat wheat as well. Caterpillars eat the wheat and birds eat the caterpillars. Think about what would happen to the wheat plants if the birds all disappeared.
Lesson Pages
Study Jams Science
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/food-webs.htm
Rich Media
Basic Economics: Interdependence
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/economics/interdependence.htm
Rich Media
The Wildlife Web 2: Herbivores and Carnivores
http://video.nhptv.org/video/1491185781/
Crabs Clean Up
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/animalsnature/crabs-clean-up/
Rich Media
Food Web
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Rich Media
Bill Nye the Science Guy
http://www.schooltube.com/video/661b2cb3a331b29f9c2c/
Rich Media
Conclusion & Project
Conclusion
A food web shows all of the relationships between all of the plants and animals in a community. Cows might be food for humans or flies. Each of those flies might be food for frogs or spiders. All plants and animals need each other in a food web.

There are dozens of connections for every organism. When you draw all of those connecting lines, you get a web-like shape. This shape is what we call a food web.
Project
Remember the flour for your pizza crust? Remember that the flour was made from wheat. Remember that caterpillars eat the wheat too and that birds eat the caterpillars. What would happen to the flour for your pizza if all the birds disappeared?
Glossary
carnivore - An animal that eats plants and other animals.
consume - To eat or drink or use.
consumer - a plant or animal that gets its energy or food from other living things
decomposer - an organism, like bacteria, that breaks down dead plant or animal matter and releases their nutrients back into the soil
dependent - To need something or someone. In science, to need something in order to live.
food web - the complex network of food chains in an ecosystem
herbivore - an animal that eats only plants
interdependence - Dependent on something or someone else for your needs.
omnivore - an animal that eats plants and other animals
oxygen - The air we breathe.
predator - an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals
prey - An animal hunted by another animal for food.
producer - a plant that produces its own food. Plants use energy from the sun to make food.
species - Types of organisms; plants and animals.
survive - To live; remain alive.
vegetation - Plants or lots of plants growing in one area.

Curriculum Standards

HAWAII
Domain I Content Standard 2
VALUE SCIENCE Ask: questions and describe the wonderings about the world around us.
QUESTIONING Ask: “wondering” questions.
OPEN-MINDNESS: Examine ideas presented by others
Domain I Content 3
Model: Use a novel, such a toy or a picture, to describe the feature of function of the original
object, device, thing, etc.
Domain II, Standard 4: UNITY AND DIVERSITY:
A. Describe the similarities and differences of plants and animals in
their appearances, behaviors and habitats.
B. Identify the different structures and functions of organisms that allow them to survive in
the environment.
Domain II, Standard 5: INTERDEPENDENCE:
Students describe, analyze, and give examples of how organisms are dependent on one another and their environments.
NATIONAL
Content Standard C Section 1:
The Characteristics of Organisms: “Each plant or animal has different structures that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction.”
Content Standard D Section 3:
Organisms and Their Environments: “An organism’s patterns of behavior are related to the nature of that organism’s environment.
Common Core
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1
Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.1
Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3
Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.6
Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7
Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8
Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9
Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.

Reference

Additional References

  • http://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/interactives/ecology/food_web.php
    Interactive Food Web
  • http://www.coolclassroom.org/cool_windows/home.html
    Food Web Game
  • http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html
    Food Web Activity
  • http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
    Food Web Activity
  • http://www.sciencesource2.ca/resources/SS_active_art/active_art/SEinteractive_gr09_ch01_pg31/
    Ocean Food Web
  • http://pinterest.com/mrsallengoods/food-chains-and-food-webs/
    Online bulletin board with ideas, activities, worksheets, and more on food webs
  • Book: "Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)" by Patricia Lauber and Holly Keller
  • Book: "Food Chains and Food Webs - From Producers to Decomposers" by Louise and Richard Spilsbury
  • Visit: http://www.sciencebob.com/questions/q-food_chain_web.php for FAQ's about food chains and food webs

 


Extension Activities

Extension Activities

Here are some projects that can be used after the students have completed the online assignment or as a complement to your lesson. The students can use any media deemed appropriate for the project.

Zoo

  • Visit the Honolulu Zoo. Assign students into three groups (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores) and ask each group to make a list of animals in the zoo that match their group category.

Park/Playground

  • Have students pick one plant or animal and draw a picture of it on a notecard. Tape the cards to each students' chest. Take the class outside. Have students hold hands with any other student that their card might connect to in a food web. Ask students if there is more than one way to create the food web. Have them start over by creating different connections.

Classroom Activities

  • Assign students to a group (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores) and research animals appropriate for that group.
  • Have students create a word search based on their group's research (herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores).
  • Visit: http://teacherweb.com/ON/CRMarchant/Sventzouris/sci_skill_wksht.pdf; print the worksheets and have small groups of students complete the food web activity.
  • Have students write a letter to a friend stating why each producer and consumer is important in a food web.
  • Ask students to draw a food web based on the animals presented in the WebLesson.
  • Draw a picture of what might happen to the frog population if there were fewer insects to eat. How would that impact the food web?
  • Have students research endangered species in your state and write a paragraph describing how that species impacts the food web.
  • Assign students various plants and animals to create a food web wall in your classroom. Use yarn to show connections and interdependence.

Videos & Online Activities

 


Questions & Answer Keys

Study Questions and Answer Keys
  1. Your friend Sam is an herbivore. He is coming to your house for dinner. What would Sam like to eat?
    Answer: Student answers will vary but should only include plants in the answer. Herbivores only eat plants. Sam might like to eat a salad, vegetable stir fry, vegetable lasagna, or other vegetable based meals.
  2. Write a paragraph to describe a food web. Use these terms in your description and write about how they are connected: sun, flower, mouse, rabbit, snake, owl, lion.
    Answer: Student answer will vary but should be written in complete sentences. Students should state that the mouse and rabbit will eat the flower. The snake will eat the mouse and rabbit. The owl will eat the mouse and snake. The lion will eat everything except for the flower.
  3. Think of things you use each day. Name three things you need that you cannot produce.
    Answer: Student answers will vary but could include the school bus for transportation, breakfast or any other meal, clothing, shelter, water, etc.
  4. If people in China could not grow rice, what do you think might happen?
    Answer: Students could respond that we might depend on Southeast Asia more for rice. Students might say that we would have to figure out a way to grow rice somewhere else. Students might respond that people might eat other plants if rice were not available. Students might also consider that the price of rice might increase as there is greater demand and less supply.
  5. How are the deer, people and the bear connected in a food web?
    Answer: All three eat plants. The people had plants on their hamburgers. The bear eats fish and the people eat fish.
  6. Many people are omnivores. Plan a lunch that an omnivore would enjoy. Write down the menu.
    Answer: Answers will vary but could include the following: An omnivore might enjoy a sandwich with meat, lettuce and tomatoes; a slice of pizza with sauce, cheese and pepperoni; or chicken noodle soup filled with vegetables.
  7. Why are bats important in the food web?
    Answer: Bats eat insects that bother people. They eat flying insects and mosquitos.
  8. Why is the crab important for the coral reef?
    Answer: Crabs clean dirt from the coral reef. This makes the reef healthy for all of the plants and animals that need it.
  9. Why is the coral reef important for the crab?
    Answer: The coral reef is a home for the crab and lots of other sea animals.
  10. What is a producer in your food web?
    Answer: Students should answer the plant.
  11. Name two animals that eat plants.
    Answer: The deer and the caterpillar eat plants.
  12. Name two animals that are omnivores. Name two animals that these omnivores eat.
    Answer: The bird, the skunk, and the lizard eat both plants and animals. They eat the mouse, caterpillar, and lizard.
  13. Which animal is only a carnivore? Name two animals the carnivore eats.
    Answer: The jaguar is the only carnivore that doesn't also eat plants and can eat the deer, mouse, lizard, skunk and bird.
  14. What do plants need so that they can grow in a food web?
    Answer: Plants need sun, water, and oxygen.
  15. The boy ate a hamburger in the video. Can you name everything in the food web that makes a hamburger?
    Answer: Student answers may vary but should include plants and wheat make the bun; cows eat grass and the cows make the hamburger meat; the lettuce is a plant; the cheese comes from milk which comes from a cow; and the tomato is a plant that needed the sun to grow.
Quiz Questions & Answers
  1. A consumer gets its food by eating other organisms. Which of these is not a consumer?
    Answer: D. rose bush
  2. A lion and tiger are both
    Answer: A. carnivores.
  3. A food web needs this for energy. What is it?
    Answer: C. sun
  4. Which of these animals is a predator?
    Answer: C. gray wolf
  5. All ________ are producers.
    Answer: B. plants
  6. What helps us to understand how plants and animals need each other to live?
    Answer: C. food web
  7. A food web shows us how ____.
    Answer: C. all plants and animals depend on each other
  8. Vegetation starts a food web. Which of these is vegetation?
    Answer: C. a green plant
  9. A mouse eats leaves for food. A snake eats mice for food. Which animal is the prey?
    Answer: A. mouse
  10. Rabbits eat grass and other plants to survive, but they do not eat animals. What kind of animal are rabbits?
    Answer: B. herbivore
  11. This animal cleans the coral reef so that it is healthy. What is it?
    Answer: D. crab
  12. Mosquitos bug people. This animal eats them.
    Answer: C. bat
  13. Decomposers break down
    Answer: D. dead plants and animals.
  14. What do you call an animal that hunts and kills other animals?
    Answer: B. predator
  15. A producer uses energy from the sun to make food. Which of these is not a producer?
    Answer: A. goat
  16. Plants and animals need each other. What do we call this?
    Answer: A. interdependence
  17. Which of these feeds the producers in a food web?
    Answer: C. the sun
  18. In a food web, what section would you find people?
    Answer: C. consumers
  19. Why are humans called omnivores?
    Answer: B. they eat plants and animals
Project
Remember the flour for your pizza crust? Remember that the flour was made from wheat. Remember that caterpillars eat the wheat too and that birds eat the caterpillars. What would happen to the flour for your pizza if all the birds disappeared?
Rubric
Excellent (30 – 20)
An excellent student response meets all the project requirements and demonstrates that the student absorbed key lesson concepts and gave them thoughtful consideration. The response shows original thinking, creativity, and a strong sense of purpose. Ideas are organized and clearly articulated according to the proper conventions of writing (at this grade level).
Satisfactory (20 – 10)
A satisfactory student response meets most of the project requirements but overlooks one or more important elements. It reflects a general understanding of the key lesson concepts but shows little depth. The response shows little creativity or originality. Ideas are somewhat disorganized and difficult to follow, and there are numerous grammatical and mechanical errors.
Needs Improvement (10 – 0)
The student response is perfunctory, showing little or no effort. It is unclear if the student thought about or even read any of the lesson content. Ideas are scattered or off-topic. If possible, ask the student to revisit the lesson with a peer or mentor and then rewrite his or her response.