Error message
The answer you entered for the CAPTCHA was not correct.Objectives
Students sort items into food and non-food categories, then play a game to get enough food - nutrients and energy - to support six ecosystem organisms.
Overview
Rating:
Students will be able to:
- understand that all living things need nutrients and energy
- know that food is a substance that porvides both nutrients and energy
- realize that nutrients alone don't contain useable energy
- realize that their bodies are made of the same substances that food is made of because food becomes part of the body - you are what you eat!
- know that nutrients cycle in an ecosystem, whereas energy eventually is lost as heat
- know that plants get energy form sunlight and nutrients from soil, and animals get them both from their food
Materials
Session 1
For the class:
- various food and non-food items: FOOD - peanuts, sugar, flour, beef jerky, potato chips, candy, vegetables, fruit, bread, oatmeal, apple juice, grass or leaves, and insect or other small critter. NON_FOOD - salt, water, potting soil, sand, rock, metal, sugar-free vitamin pills, fertilizer.
- pair of safety glasses
- pair of tweezers
- match or lighter
- small cup of water
Session 2
For each group of 6 students:
- set of 6 "Organism Sheets"
- set of "Game Cards"
- copy of "Game Rules"
Resources
Lesson Files
pdf
Food for Thought
Standards
Benchmarks for Science Literacy
5E Flow of Matter and Energy, 6E Physical HealthNYS Standards
MST 1 - Mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, MST 4- Physical setting, living environment and nature of scienceCredits
Hogan, Kathleen. Eco-Inquiry: A Guide to Ecological Learning Experiences for the Upper Elementary/Middle Grades. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, PO Box 1840, 4050 Westmark Drive, Dubuque, IA 52004-1840., 1994.