Virtual Galápagos
Unit 3 Lesson 3: Transfer of Energy
Tortoise Curriculum Lesson Plan
LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:
- Goal 1: Students will be able to identify primary producers, primary and secondary consumers, and source of energy by arranging and labeling a Galápagos food pyramid.
STANDARDS
Next Generation Science Standards
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS
- Primary producer: A living thing that gets its energy from the Sun and produces their own food through photosynthesis
- Primary consumer: A living thing that eats and gets their energy from primary producers
- Secondary consumer: A living thing that eats and gets their energy from primary consumers
- Tertiary consumer: A living thing that eats and gets their energy from secondary consumers
- Source of energy: How living things get energy; the primary form of energy comes from the Sun
- Ecosystem engineer: A living thing that modifies, creates, or destroys an ecosystem
- Decomposer: A living thing that gets energy from digesting the decaying remains of dead organisms. Decomposers play an important role in ecosystems because when they digest dead matter, they put nutrients back into the soil. Then, producers absorb these nutrients and the food cycle continues.
- Photosynthesis: The process for how plants create their own food
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
- Students will know that certain animals eat plants whereas other animals eat meat.
ADVANCE PREP FOR TEACHER KNOWLEDGE
The Sun is the primary source of energy. Plants are primary producers because they produce their own energy through photosynthesis. They also get nutrients from the soil. The next layer on the food pyramid is the primary consumer. These are animals that only eat plants. The third layer on the food pyramid is the secondary consumer. These animals eat the primary consumers. There are also decomposers, who get their energy from dead and decaying plant and animal life. For our Galápagos example, the primary producers are the Opuntia cactus or low lying grasses, the primary consumers are the Galápagos tortoises and the land iguana, and the secondary consumers are the Galápagos hawks.
Resources:
MATERIALS AND SETUP
- Virtual Galápagos Ecosystem Dynamics Module
- Virtual Galápagos Fieldbook
- Decomposers infographic
- Food Pyramid handout
- Scissors
- Bag of beans
- Paper cups
- Construction paper
- Tape
- Markers
LESSON SEQUENCE
ENGAGE
- Students play a game to demonstrate how energy moves through a food pyramid. Specifically, the goal of this activity is to introduce some vocabulary and also demonstrate how energy moves from the Sun through the food pyramid.
- First, one student will be labeled the Sun. The label can be done as an armband or a piece of paper taped to the front of their shirt.
- The “Sun” will have a bag of beans.
- Then there will be the most students labeled primary producers. Each “primary producer” has a cup.
- They approach the Sun, say “photosynthesis,” and the Sun gives out a handful of beans to each primary producer.
- Next, there will be students as primary consumers, also labeled and holding cups.
- There should be fewer primary consumers than producers.
- These students will approach the primary producers and say “chomp, chomp,” which signifies that the primary producers give the primary consumers some of their beans, signifying transfer of energy.
- The last group with the fewest students will be labeled secondary consumers.
- They will also hold cups.
- They will approach the primary consumers and say “predator” while the primary consumers respond and say “prey.”
- Then, they will pour some of their beans into the secondary consumers’ cups.
- After each group gives some of their beans to the next level of the food pyramid, they are to sit down, showing they do not have more energy to share.
EXPLORE
- Using the whiteboard or poster, draw out a blank food pyramid, including a place for the Sun. Have cut-outs of different plants and animals from the Galápagos.
- Assign each student one plant or animal and allow students the opportunity to build their own food pyramid.
- We suggest using masking tape so students can go back and rearrange the food pyramid if their ideas develop differently.
- Worksheet title: Food Pyramid
- Decomposers are added during the Elaborate stage of the lesson, and are shown in grey on Teacher’s Copy, but would not be included in the Explore stage.
EXPLAIN
- Students will watch the Food Pyramid Vlog video to learn about the Sun as a source of energy, primary producers, and primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers.
ELABORATE
- Students learn about decomposers by consulting the Decomposers Infographic.
- Worksheet title: Decomposers
- Decomposers are added on Teacher’s Copy in grey
- Students revise their food pyramids to include decomposers
- Worksheet title: Food Pyramid
EVALUATE
- Students build a food pyramid based on organisms that live in their home environment.
- Worksheet title: Your Environment’s Food Pyramid
- In addition, students can revisit their food pyramid poster that was completed in the “Explore” phase of the lesson and reassemble the pyramid based on their new knowledge.
- Worksheet title: Food Pyramid
DIFFERENTIATION
- For the transfer of energy game, students who are unable to stand can complete the game sitting in their seat. Rather than sitting down when their level in the food pyramid has given their beans, they can cover their eyes.
- For bigger classrooms, the teacher can assign more students into each category, as long as the primary producers are the largest group, the primary consumers are the second largest group, and the secondary consumers are the smallest group.
ASSESSMENT
- Students will assemble the living things and labels in the Food Pyramid handout.
- Students should be able to correctly identify the primary producers, the primary consumers, the secondary consumers, the decomposers, and what is the primary source of energy.
- Students should also be able to draw arrows showing the flow of energy through the pyramid.
This unit was designed by Sarah Jekel and Krelyn Zacarias, and edited by Ava Wojtaszek and Sarah Jekel.
You can download the lesson plan here:
Virtual Galápagos
virtualgalapagos.colgate.edu
