Brie Plott 1

BIO.9

Introduction
 Lesson Topic: Communities and Ecosystems
 Length of Lesson: 90 minutes
 VA Standards of Learning:
BIO.9 – The student will investigate and understand dynamic equilibria within populations,
communities, and ecosystems. Key concepts include:
b.) Nutrient cycling and energy flow through ecosystems; and
c.) Succession patterns in ecosystems.

Cognitive Objectives
Students will:
 Discuss prior knowledge on ecological succession and climax community
 Recognize what is involved in ecosystems, energy flow, and chemical cycling
 Examine the flow of energy between trophic levels
 Construct a food web
 Label each organism in a food web as a producer, consumer, or decomposer

Materials/Technology and Advanced Preparation

 Worksheet – Anticipatory Guide: Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics
 Laptop with capability to project on a screen
 Video: Food Web
 Materials for group project:
o Poster board
o Markers
o Scissors
o Magazines
 Worksheet – Communities and Ecosystems

Teaching and Learning Sequence

Introduction/Anticipatory Set
 Each student will receive the Anticipatory Guide: Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics as they
enter the classroom.
 The students will follow the directions and answer the questions. They will put a check mark (
) next to a statement they agree with and a minus sign ( - ) next to a statement they disagree
with. This handout will enable students to anticipate the lesson topic, get students to think
outside the box, and activate prior knowledge on ecosystems, trophic levels, and food chains.
This is not a graded assignment; however, the students must be able to defend his/her answer.
 Once the students complete the worksheet, we will discuss answers as a whole class. The goal
is to initiate discussion and get the students to share their opinions.

Lesson Development
 Through a combination of direct instruction and questioning, I will instruct the students on
ecological succession, energy flow, chemical cycling, trophic structure, and food webs.
Brie Plott 2
BIO.9

 Before showing the video, the students will be instructed to note the different food chains in the
video.
 I will show the video: Trophic Structures: Developing a food web on the screen at the front of
the classroom.
 I will assign the students into groups of four and hand out the supplies.
 Each group will construct a food web on a poster board using pictures from magazines and
markers to label each organism (they must incorporate the organisms in the video and add at
least five other organisms into their web). The students are to label the organisms as
detritivores, producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, or
quaternary consumers.
 As the groups work together, I will circulate the room to be available to answer questions and
observe the participation of each student.

Closure
 Once each group has completed their food web, I will hand out the Communities and
Ecosystems worksheet.
 The students will work with their group to answer the critical thinking questions. They will be
able to discuss their opinions and ideas with each other, and this will enable the students to help
their classmates comprehend the material.

Homework
 The students are to finish the Communities and Ecosystems worksheet if they did not in class.

Assessment
Formative
 Through questioning during the lecture, I will assess whether the students are paying attention
and understanding the content.

Summative
 I will grade the food webs on the visual appeal and whether the organisms were categorized
under the appropriate trophic level. Participation will also play a role in the students’ grades.
 The Communities and Ecosystems worksheet will allow me to evaluate if the students truly
comprehend the energy flow and dynamics in a community and ecosystem.