STEM 434/534 Lesson Planning Template Spring 2021

(Complete answers in Purple font)

Name: Victoria Austin Grade: 3rd Topic Living Systems

Brief Lesson Description: Students will learn about the food chains by creating their own and including themselves at the
top to show that humans are a part of the food web. Following students will identify terrestrial and aquatic food chains.

Specific Learning Outcomes: Students will learn

differentiate between predators and prey.

● distinguish among producers, consumers, herbivores, omnivores, carnivores, and decomposers.

● infer that most food chains begin with a green plant.

● identify sequences of feeding relationships in a food chain.

● explain how a change in one part of a food chain might affect the rest of the food chain.
● create and interpret a model of a food chain showing producers and consumers.

Students will describe why digestion is important for body function and explain how it relates to improving
personal health.

How did this lesson develop as a result of your examination of research and data about employing culturally
sustaining pedagogical strategies? (Think equal opportunity, student interests, race, gender, disabilities etc.)
Will give students the opportunity to talk about the types of foods their family enjoys to bring in culture, talking about certain
diets that some families might follow, and use of multiple intelligences for differentiation.

Narrative / Background Information

Prior Student Knowledge: Geography of ecosystems , animal relationships, humans are mammals , and
photosynthesis
Researching skills - finding reliable sources using the internet

Science VA SOL Health VA SOL NGSS (You may have to look to a

Living systems 3.5 3.2 The student will different grade level for the
The student will investigate and demonstrate the ability to connection)
understand relationships among use essential health 5-LS2-1. Develop a model to
organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food concepts to improve describe the movement of matter
chains. Key concepts include among plants, animals,
personal health.
decomposers, and the environment.
Nutrition
● a) producer, consumer,
decomposer; LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships
a. Describe why digestion is in Ecosystems
● b) herbivore, carnivore, important for body
omnivore; and function.

● c) predator and prey.

Science & Engineering Practices: (You must tie engineering practices into your plan)
Students will design a tool that either would help them catch or grow their food, once their design is complete their
design the can creatively built using recycled materials(brought in by teacher and students in our class recycled
material center).

Possible Preconceptions/Misconceptions:
Lack of understanding that humans are animals and have a food chain as well.
Food chains are smaller parts of a food web.
Confusion in vocabulary. ( prey and predator )
Plants start the food chain, building up.

LESSON PLAN – 5-E Model

ENGAGE: Opening Activity – Access Prior Learning / Stimulate Interest / Generate Questions: (Discrepant events
are awesome to use here)
Use Padlet (with a picture of the sun as the background) and ask students to use their chrome books to post on our class
padlet what they ate for breakfast this morning. Once everyone's answers are in, the teacher will ask who’s breakfast was a
product of the sun. This will be used as a discrepant event because students will assume only plants are a product of the
sun.
Padlet link - for students to access on chromebooks

Following teacher will explain how everything in our diets can be traced back to the sun. Teacher will guide students in
thinking about how their breakfast was a product of the sun.

EXPLORE: Lesson Description – Materials Needed / Probing or Clarifying Questions: Students will use cut
construction paper to make links connecting what their breakfast was produced from back tracking their food
chain.Teacher will be walking around classroom assisting anyone who needs help finding missing connections in
their food chains. Teacher will then regather students to talk about if humans are Herbivore, carnivores, or
omnivores- following with how our food is important for our digestion and fuels the body.

Next students will look up, on their chromebooks, either a terrestrial or aquatic food chain with humans at the top,
that interests them to use for a project involving building a tool to use as predators. (engineering)

EXPLAIN: Concepts Explained and Vocabulary Defined:

Watch this video from genius generation on food chains, then make a flip book with definitions and cut out pictures as
examples.
https://www.generationgenius.com/videolessons/food-webs-video-for-kids/?
gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl4zkmZmW8wIVUPvICh1xUganEAAYASAAEgKiSvD_BwE
Vocabulary:
Predator- an animal that naturally preys on others.
Producers- A living thing (almost always a plant) that takes energy from the sun and make its own food. They
are found in the first level of a food web.
Consumers-a living thing that must eat other organisms to obtain energy necessary for life
Herbivores-an animal that feeds on plants.
Omnivores-an animal or person that eats food of both plant and animals for meat
Carnivores- animal that eats other animals
Decomposer- Living things that break down dead and decaying organisms. The most common decomposers
are bacteria and fungi.
Food chain-A sequence of living things in which each one feeds on the living thing below it.
Food web-A food web is a model made of intersecting food chains.
Photosynthesis - A process by which plants use sunlight to make sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
Prey- an animal that is hunted and killed by another for food.

After playing the video teacher will ask students to pull out science notebook to write
definitions, for differentiation students may type on a google doc if they prefer, some from
the definitions underneath the video that teacher will display on screen then teacher will
instruct students to search the remaining words on dictionary.com/kids
ELABORATE: Applications and Extensions: Using the food chain chosen in the explore phase students will
construct a food chain by building it on a google doc. The students must label the animals involved as carnivore,
omnivore, or herbivore and predator or prey. The food chain needs to start with a producer, have connecting
arrows, and consist of at least four living beings. This application will serve as a summative project.

EVALUATE:

Formative Monitoring (Questioning / Discussion): Give an example of a producer that starts over half the food
chains.
Teacher is taking mental note of who is making connections in the engage and explore stages,

Summative Assessment (Quiz / Project / Report) (Include a rubric): Project on a chosen animal's food chain with the
animal being at the top.

Plan for differentiation: (Be sure to specifically address the following learners)

● Students with high-incidence disabilities (e.g., autism, ADHD, mild learning disorders) printed photos of animals
to use as manipulative to build the food chains.

● ELL - Animal specific from native residence or allowed to label animals in native language and we can meet

together to name them in English.

● Gifted learners- Animal overlap food chain project (two or more animals in a food chain)
● Student choice in note taking- kinestic, writing in notebook and technology, using google docs to type notes
(vocab definitions)

Elaborate Further / Reflect: Enrichment:

● How will you evaluate your practice? By giving an exit ticket on some of the vocabulary and leaving a section for
comments on the lesson and understanding.
● Where might/did learners struggle in the lesson? In understanding that a green plant starts (at the bottom) of
every food chain
 ● How can the lesson be strengthened for improved student learning? Using animal manipulatives to build food
chains
● Did the lesson reflect culturally sustaining pedagogies? If not, how can this be enhanced?Yes by allowing
students to chose an animal food chain that might not be native to the united states.

Materials Required for This Lesson/Activity

Estimated
Quantity Description Potential Supplier (item #)
Price

100 Cut construction paper to make walmart , michaels , target Should be an

chains available
resource
25 Chromebooks School district Provided
200 Recycled material Volunteer turn in free
25 Scissors Walmart or brought in school 2 dollars per
supplies pair
25 glue School supplies already 50 cent
provided or walmart