NGSS Targets
DCI: 5-LS2-1
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that matter that is not food (air, water, decomposed materials in soil) is changed by plants into matter that is food. Examples of systems could include organisms, ecosystems, and the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include molecular explanations.]
CCC:
Systems and System Models: A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. (5-LS2-1)
SEP:
Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena
Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. [Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the idea that matter that is not food (air, water, decomposed materials in soil) is changed by plants into matter that is food. Examples of systems could include organisms, ecosystems, and the Earth.] [Assessment Boundary: Assessment does not include molecular explanations.]
CCC:
Systems and System Models: A system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. (5-LS2-1)
SEP:
Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena
Student Learning Objectives
- Students will connect organisms in a food web that belong in a specific ecosystem through explaining the movement of matter.
- Students will identify necessary components to an ecosystem: producers, consumers, and decomposers by identifying the process of movement of matter and recognizing patterns between types of components in the ecosystem.
- Students will identify the difference between a transfer of energy and movement of matter by comparing the movement of matter we are exploring this week to the transfer of energy from the previous lesson.
Engage
Ask: Does anyone remember how much energy is transferred to an animal when they eat? (from the previous lesson).
Ask: Do you all know what you’re made up of? All the parts of you can be put in one category. What is it?
(Matter: takes up space and has mass.)
Ask: Can you destroy matter?
Begin an activity to test if matter can be destroyed. Pass out a gummy bear to each student. Tell them they have one minute to try to find a way to destroy that gummy worm.
Ask the students what they came up with. If they felt like they successfully destroyed it, ask, “where did the matter (the stuff) go?” “Is it really gone?”
Ask: Do you all know what you’re made up of? All the parts of you can be put in one category. What is it?
(Matter: takes up space and has mass.)
Ask: Can you destroy matter?
Begin an activity to test if matter can be destroyed. Pass out a gummy bear to each student. Tell them they have one minute to try to find a way to destroy that gummy worm.
Ask the students what they came up with. If they felt like they successfully destroyed it, ask, “where did the matter (the stuff) go?” “Is it really gone?”
Explore
Do you think a penguin would benefit or be beneficial in a desert? Why not? Start by explaining briefly what an ecosystem is - a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment. Each ecosystem has a specific set of organisms that help that community thrive and stay alive.
Give each student a card with their name/role in the ecosystem (air, lily pad, fish, bacteria, etc.). Tell the students to find the others that have the same card as them. With all the “air” kids have them talk about if there is any matter in an ecosystem that makes up the air and that travels through the air. Have the water, lily pad, fish, etc. students answer the same questions. Then rearrange their groups so every group has every member (air, water, lily pad, fish, bacteria) and have them talk about how they are interconnected and how together matter flows through the system.
Then have each group make a diagram of how matter moves through their system. Allow some creative freedom with the diagram, but encourage some kind of food web if the students are having trouble.
Give each student a card with their name/role in the ecosystem (air, lily pad, fish, bacteria, etc.). Tell the students to find the others that have the same card as them. With all the “air” kids have them talk about if there is any matter in an ecosystem that makes up the air and that travels through the air. Have the water, lily pad, fish, etc. students answer the same questions. Then rearrange their groups so every group has every member (air, water, lily pad, fish, bacteria) and have them talk about how they are interconnected and how together matter flows through the system.
Then have each group make a diagram of how matter moves through their system. Allow some creative freedom with the diagram, but encourage some kind of food web if the students are having trouble.
Explain
We will come back together as a group to have a discussion about the activity. Ask the students to share their diagrams and explain why they made them the way they did. Make sure they explain in a way that describes a movement of matter. We can compare separate groups and see if they are both valid.
Elaborate
In order to help the students understand how important each part of an ecosystem is in the process of transferring matter, we will do an activity to help them see that. I will start as the sun and I will have a ball of yarn in my hand and ask the students who they think I should pass the yarn to and why. We will continue to ask who gets the yarn next based on where the matter will move next. Eventually everyone will be connected in a food web.
Once we have a created a food web and a thriving ecosystem, I will take one organism out and ask the students what they think will happen and who will be affected by this change. We will talk about why each part of the food web is necessary in moving matter and keeping the ecosystem alive. I will also ask if they think there are any organisms or things in the ecosystem that are more important than any others (e.g. water, plants, spiders, etc.).
To expand on what we just talked about, if there is time, I will ask: Why do we have to clean fish tanks, but not ponds?
Once we have a created a food web and a thriving ecosystem, I will take one organism out and ask the students what they think will happen and who will be affected by this change. We will talk about why each part of the food web is necessary in moving matter and keeping the ecosystem alive. I will also ask if they think there are any organisms or things in the ecosystem that are more important than any others (e.g. water, plants, spiders, etc.).
To expand on what we just talked about, if there is time, I will ask: Why do we have to clean fish tanks, but not ponds?
Evaluate
Formative Assessment: Ask the students to try to destroy matter. Engage in questions to ask if they were able to destroy it or not, guiding them to discover that matter cannot actually be destroyed.
|
Summative Assessment: Create a diagram to show a movement of matter within an ecosystem. There is a lot of creative freedom, but students will use the types of organisms discussed: producers, consumers, decomposers.
|
Materials
- Gummy bears for matter
- Cards for roles in the ecosystem
- Paper for the diagram
- Yarn for activity
References
5-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2018, from https://www.nextgenscience.org/pe/5-ls2-1-ecosystems-interactions-energy-and-dynamics.
Milhon, T. (2018, September). Life Science Activity [Personal interview].
Milhon, T. (2018, September). Life Science Activity [Personal interview].