Dallas Zoological Society Partnership : Middle School Lessons

The Ingredients of Life

WebLesson Sites
Introduction
For living things to stay alive, they must face many tests. Finding the basics needs of food, water, shelter, and space is not enough. One of the most common relationships is between living beings who can make their own food and those who cannot. Producers can make their own food while consumers eat what the producers make. Plants produce their own food by trapping the sun’s energy. They mix carbon dioxide and water with the sunlight to build sugars. In turn, consumers eat the sugars created by plants. Consumers are classified as herbivores, which eat plants, carnivores, which eat meat, and omnivores, which eat both plants and meat.
Scenario
You work for the local television news show in an area near the state park. This year has seen an unusual amount of deer that are leaving the park and wandering into yards and roads. Your producer wants to create a special this sudden rise in the deer population.
Lesson Pages
The Elements of Habitat
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/saltplains/kidshabitat.html
Geography4Kids.com: Biosphere: Food Chains
http://geography4kids.com/files/land_foodchain.html
Photosynthesis, Energy, and Life – Photosynthesis keeps life going.
http://www.ftexploring.com/photosyn/photosynth.html
Nature Works - Herbivores and Carnivores
http://www.nhptv.org/Natureworks/nwep10.htm
Rich Media
Predator-Prey Relationships
http://necsi.org/projects/evolution/co-evolution/pred-prey/co-evolution_predator.html
Seeing through Camouflage
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/leopards/seeinggame.html
BBC – KS2 Revisewise – Science: Living Things
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/revision_bites/food_chains1.shtml
Rich Media
World Builders: Food Web in the Deciduous Forest biome Viau CSULA
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Rich Media
Evolution
http://necsi.org/projects/evolution/co-evolution/symbiosis/co-evolution_symbiosis.html
MBGnet
http://www.mbgnet.net/
Conclusion & Project
Conclusion
Producers and consumers rely on each other. Producers create oxygen and sugars in the form of glucose that consumers use. Consumers, on the other hand, release carbon dioxide that producers need. Without producers, consumers would not exist.

Food webs and chains show how living things survive in relation to each other. All food chains start with sunlight that plants trap and make sugars. All food chains end with decomposers which break down dead materials.

Many living things live together. Sometimes this is good if both organisms benefit. This happens in commensalism. Sometimes, one of the organisms is harmed such as in the case of parasitism. Biomes are areas that have all these different types of plants and animals living and interacting. The plants and animals depend on climate and structure of the land.
Project
Write a script for your news show showcasing living relationships. Based on what you have learned, what might have happened to unbalance the food chain, causing the deer population to rise? Include at least three different segments, with ideas for relevant commercials between each one.
Glossary
un-invaded - left alone; pure
ibis - wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved bills
dwindles - become gradually less until little remains
encroachment - take another's possessions or rights gradually
refuges - places providing protection or shelter
obstructed - blocked
primary - first in time or sequence
nutrients - source of nourishment, especially a nourishing ingredient in a food
glucose - type of sugar
diatoms - microscopic one-celled or colonial algae
electromagnetic radiation - radiation consisting of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays
radiates - send out rays or waves
whence - where
radiates - gives off
starches - nutrient carbohydrates
regurgitate - cause to pour back, especially to cast up
cud - food brought up into the mouth by a ruminating animal from its first stomach to be chewed again
carcass - dead body
molars - tooth with a broad crown used to grind food
niche - particular area within a habitat occupied by an organism
stealth - movement in a hidden or covered way
keen - sharp, excellent
pounce - spring or swoop with intent to seize someone or something
unsuspecting - not suspicious; trusting
thistle - weedy plants having prickly leaves
shrew - resembling a mouse but having a long pointed snout and small eyes and ears; eats insects
adder - non-venomous snakes, such as the milk snake of North America
aphid - small, soft-bodied insects that have mouthparts specially adapted for piercing and feed by sucking sap from plants
nematodes - worms having unsegmented, cylindrical bodies, often narrowing at each end; includes parasitic forms such as the hookworm and pinworm
kilocalories - approximately equal units of heat
evolved - change over time
mildew - cottony, usually whitish coating on the surface of affected parts
transmitted - given to
aphids - tiny soft-bodied insects that suck the sap from the stems and leaves of various plants
temperate - moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; neither hot nor cold
conifers - needle-leaved or scale-leaved, chiefly evergreen, cone-bearing trees or shrubs such as pines, spruces, and firs
adaptations - changes to become suitable to a new or special application or situation
Dallas Zoological Society Partnership : Middle School Lessons

The Ingredients of Life

Introduction
Introduction
For living things to stay alive, they must face many tests. Finding the basics needs of food, water, shelter, and space is not enough. One of the most common relationships is between living beings who can make their own food and those who cannot. Producers can make their own food while consumers eat what the producers make. Plants produce their own food by trapping the sun’s energy. They mix...

Lesson Plan

WebLesson Sites
Introduction
For living things to stay alive, they must face many tests. Finding the basics needs of food, water, shelter, and space is not enough. One of the most common relationships is between living beings who can make their own food and those who cannot. Producers can make their own food while consumers eat what the producers make. Plants produce their own food by trapping the sun’s energy. They mix carbon dioxide and water with the sunlight to build sugars. In turn, consumers eat the sugars created by plants. Consumers are classified as herbivores, which eat plants, carnivores, which eat meat, and omnivores, which eat both plants and meat.
Scenario
You work for the local television news show in an area near the state park. This year has seen an unusual amount of deer that are leaving the park and wandering into yards and roads. Your producer wants to create a special this sudden rise in the deer population.
Lesson Pages
The Elements of Habitat
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/saltplains/kidshabitat.html
Geography4Kids.com: Biosphere: Food Chains
http://geography4kids.com/files/land_foodchain.html
Photosynthesis, Energy, and Life – Photosynthesis keeps life going.
http://www.ftexploring.com/photosyn/photosynth.html
Nature Works - Herbivores and Carnivores
http://www.nhptv.org/Natureworks/nwep10.htm
Rich Media
Predator-Prey Relationships
http://necsi.org/projects/evolution/co-evolution/pred-prey/co-evolution_predator.html
Seeing through Camouflage
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/leopards/seeinggame.html
BBC – KS2 Revisewise – Science: Living Things
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/science/revision_bites/food_chains1.shtml
Rich Media
World Builders: Food Web in the Deciduous Forest biome Viau CSULA
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/line_experiment14.swf
Rich Media
Evolution
http://necsi.org/projects/evolution/co-evolution/symbiosis/co-evolution_symbiosis.html
MBGnet
http://www.mbgnet.net/
Conclusion & Project
Conclusion
Producers and consumers rely on each other. Producers create oxygen and sugars in the form of glucose that consumers use. Consumers, on the other hand, release carbon dioxide that producers need. Without producers, consumers would not exist.

Food webs and chains show how living things survive in relation to each other. All food chains start with sunlight that plants trap and make sugars. All food chains end with decomposers which break down dead materials.

Many living things live together. Sometimes this is good if both organisms benefit. This happens in commensalism. Sometimes, one of the organisms is harmed such as in the case of parasitism. Biomes are areas that have all these different types of plants and animals living and interacting. The plants and animals depend on climate and structure of the land.
Project
Write a script for your news show showcasing living relationships. Based on what you have learned, what might have happened to unbalance the food chain, causing the deer population to rise? Include at least three different segments, with ideas for relevant commercials between each one.
Glossary
un-invaded - left alone; pure
ibis - wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved bills
dwindles - become gradually less until little remains
encroachment - take another's possessions or rights gradually
refuges - places providing protection or shelter
obstructed - blocked
primary - first in time or sequence
nutrients - source of nourishment, especially a nourishing ingredient in a food
glucose - type of sugar
diatoms - microscopic one-celled or colonial algae
electromagnetic radiation - radiation consisting of electromagnetic waves, including radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays
radiates - send out rays or waves
whence - where
radiates - gives off
starches - nutrient carbohydrates
regurgitate - cause to pour back, especially to cast up
cud - food brought up into the mouth by a ruminating animal from its first stomach to be chewed again
carcass - dead body
molars - tooth with a broad crown used to grind food
niche - particular area within a habitat occupied by an organism
stealth - movement in a hidden or covered way
keen - sharp, excellent
pounce - spring or swoop with intent to seize someone or something
unsuspecting - not suspicious; trusting
thistle - weedy plants having prickly leaves
shrew - resembling a mouse but having a long pointed snout and small eyes and ears; eats insects
adder - non-venomous snakes, such as the milk snake of North America
aphid - small, soft-bodied insects that have mouthparts specially adapted for piercing and feed by sucking sap from plants
nematodes - worms having unsegmented, cylindrical bodies, often narrowing at each end; includes parasitic forms such as the hookworm and pinworm
kilocalories - approximately equal units of heat
evolved - change over time
mildew - cottony, usually whitish coating on the surface of affected parts
transmitted - given to
aphids - tiny soft-bodied insects that suck the sap from the stems and leaves of various plants
temperate - moderate temperatures, weather, or climate; neither hot nor cold
conifers - needle-leaved or scale-leaved, chiefly evergreen, cone-bearing trees or shrubs such as pines, spruces, and firs
adaptations - changes to become suitable to a new or special application or situation

Curriculum Standards

TEXAS
112.5. Science, Grade 3

(8) Science concepts. The student knows that living organisms need food, water, light, air, a way to dispose of waste, and an environment in which to live. The student is expected to:

(A) observe and describe the habitats of organisms within an ecosystem;

(B) observe and identify organisms with similar needs that compete with one another for resources such as oxygen, water, food, or space;

(C) describe environmental changes in which some organisms would thrive, become ill, or perish; and

NATIONAL
NSES Content Standards: K-4
Life Science
CONTENT STANDARD C:

LIFE CYCLES OF ORGANISMS

Plants and animals have life cycles that include being born, developing into adults, reproducing, and eventually dying. The details of this life cycle are different for different organisms.

ORGANISMS AND THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

All animals depend on plants. Some animals eat plants for food. Other animals eat animals that eat the plants.

Questions & Answer Keys

Study Questions and Answer Keys
  1. How would building a mall in the middle of a habitat affect the four factors necessary for survival?
    Answer: Building a mall would reduce space in which animals can move, may change water flow thus reducing available water, may disrupt migration patterns, reduce available food, and destroy nesting grounds.
  2. What would happen if decomposers were removed from Earth?
    Answer: Nothing would rot; nothing would be returned to the nutrients that need to recycle.
  3. In ten words or less, explain how photosynthesis is responsible for life on Earth.
    Answer: Photosynthesis captures sunlight, converts it to glucose, which others consume.
  4. How would the teeth of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores differ?
    Answer: Herbivores would have flat teeth for grinding, carnivores need sharp teeth for tearing, and omnivores would need both types.
  5. If plants disappeared completely, which of the three groups would be the first to disappear? Why?
    Answer: Herbivores would disappear first, as their only food source disappears. The other two groups can eat the herbivores or other carnivores and omnivores.
  6. If you were to chart the populations of a predator prey relationship over many years, what might it look like?
    Answer: The chart would have two separate curves. If the prey increases, the predator increases some time later; conversely, if the prey population decreases, the predator population decreases sometime after. The populations are always fluctuating.
  7. If scavengers disappeared from the relationship, what might happen?
    Answer: Nothing would clean the carcasses and the decomposers would have more work.
  8. If you were a creature looking for Waldo, what characteristics would you use to locate him quickly?
    Answer: Students should look for colors, stripes, and height.
  9. Which of the five senses might predators use to locate camouflaged prey?
    Answer: A predator would use smell, sight, and hearing to locate prey.
  10. What limits the size and length of a food chain?
    Answer: Producers and consumers in the habitat, the ecosystem or biome available, and the correct animals that will eat or be eaten by other organisms in the biome will all limit a food chain.
  11. Where can humans fit into food chains?
    Answer: Humans are almost anywhere, except for producer or decomposer.
  12. Why does the food web have so many arrows?
    Answer: The arrows show that animals can eat many different types of animals of plants.
  13. Why would organisms choose to be a part of a relationship that is harmful to them?
    Answer: Scientists may not see the benefits, or the organism may have no choice.
  14. If you had a chance to be a part of a symbiotic relationship, which one would it be? Why?
    Answer: Answers will vary depending on student’s preference. Some will want to live off of others - so they will be parasites. Others will want to live together with both benefiting, so they would like to live in commensalisms.
  15. Which biome do you live in?
    Answer: Answer will vary depending on where students live. Some things to consider will be plant and animal life, temperature, amount of sunlight, and amount of rain.
  16. In which biome would you like to live? Why?
    Answer: Answer will vary depending on the student’s preference, but should detail why the biome selected best suits their preference.
Quiz Questions & Answers
  1. These creatures eat both plants and animals.
    Answer: B. omnivores
  2. If you were a predator searching for a prey that is camouflaged, which of the following might you do?
    Answer: A. sit and wait for movement
  3. Which of the following would be considered a predator?
    Answer: C. tiger
  4. Which of these factors is sometimes not listed as a factor necessary for survival?
    Answer: D. space
  5. Which of the following biomes are characterized by treeless areas, icecaps, and permanently frozen subsoil?
    Answer: D. tundra
  6. Which of the following can create sugars during photosynthesis?
    Answer: B. producer
  7. Which of the following is the first material in photosynthesis?
    Answer: C. sun
  8. All producers must rely on what for the fuel to begin to produce sugars?
    Answer: A. sun
  9. These creatures eat only meat.
    Answer: A. carnivores
  10. Which of the following have both flat grinding teeth and tearing teeth?
    Answer: A. omnivore
Project
Write a script for your news show showcasing living relationships. Based on what you have learned, what might have happened to unbalance the food chain, causing the deer population to rise? Include at least three different segments, with ideas for relevant commercials between each one.
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.