Young scientists play tag as they act out the food pyramid in the ocean ecosystem. Energy circles pass from the smaller prey to the predators and at the end of the activity, a data chart and analysis questions allow pupils to apply their learning. 

Concepts

food energy, food webs, the energy pyramid, biomass

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Do the activity again with a few variations:
• Pollution has reduced the number of diatoms to only eight, how does this change the result?
• The amount of herring caught for human consumption has increased, so they are no longer in the ecosystem. How does this change the result?
• Two killer whales move into the area. How does this impact the activity?

 

Classroom Considerations

• The activity requires room to move around; need space to move desks out of the way as much as possible

Pros

• Lesson follows a 5E format
• Introduction is a think-pair-share activity
• Provides differentiation strategies for ELL, Special Ed, and GATE students

Cons

• Evaluate portion of the lesson plan is weak and not clearly explained

Common Core

RST.6-8.3 RST.9-10.3