Resources
1.
Projects : Getting Dirty: Five Fun Composting Projects for Kids
http://www.mykidsadventures.com/five-fun-compostingprojects-for-kids/
The website shows 5 ideas to teach children about composting.
The activity could be altered to fit more children that might be in a
classroom setting. The project can be used to teach the students about
decomposers and the role they play in their world. It's more of an
interactive experience that that students can keep up with through them
working on the SOL goal.
2. Field Trip: Three Lakes Park and Nature Center ( in Henrico)
http://henrico.us/rec/places/threelakes/- website for the park
A possible field trip choice could be
taking students to the Three Lakes
Park and Nature Center located in
Henrico, VA. The park has a nature
center in which students can explore
how and what animals in our area eat.
The also have a display of a small food
web.
3. Book: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
In this book the Miss Frizzle takes her student on a journey to see how a
food chain works in the water. The book would be a great introduction to
the food chain systems that exist below the surface. It goes with the
SOL standard that the students are learning about.
4. Video clip: Food Chains- Scholastics
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/food-chains.htm
In this video the topic of food chains is introduced in a fun way to our students. The video gives
a lot of information and key vocabulary that can supplement the lesson. The videos are a fun
story with characters that the students can follow as well as getting a good starting point. An
idea of how to use this video with our student is while this video plays you can have the
students write down the vocabulary which can be reviewed after it has been completed.
5. Book: Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs - Patricia
Lauber
In this book food chains and foods webs are described in detailed
depending on the habitant and it shows the importance of every
link of that chain or web. The book is a good starting point to
introducing how food webs work in aquatic habitats. This book
introduces the concept of food web and chains in water compared
to the terrestrial feeding structure that the students have been
mostly looking at during the unit.
6. Project: Habitat/ Food Chain Project
The students have to create a habitat diorama with animals and
plants that is present in our world. Then the students have to
write a little about each animal or plant in their habitat and how
they interact with each other. For example “rabbit eats the grass
in the grassland habitat”. This would be a physical project that
the students must create so they get to show some creativity
and teach some new information to others in their class.
7. Video Clip: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten (Season 1
Episode 4)
○ Available on Youtube.
Miss Frizzle’s class goes on a field trip in order to see what eats a tuna sandwich. Though
beginning with something small the class goes even further and explores other things that eat
other smaller things. The video clip uses some vocabulary being reused around the unit and
could be helpful to watch before starting the lesson of aquatic food chains.
8. Worksheet: Accompanies The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
episode
This is a worksheet that is an accompaniment to the Magic School
Bus episode Gets Eaten. The worksheet can be use for the students
to follow along during the episode or to fill after completing the
video. The worksheet is a good way for the student to review
beginning concepts and can use as a resource as they continue
with the unit.
9. Video Clip: Decomposers -NOVA (PBS)
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.oate.de
compose/decomposers/#.WP8-Ehi-L-Y
This is a video clip from NOVA that talked about decomposers
and gives some examples of decomposers that are around us
everyday. It also gives details of why they are important and how
they help other parts of the food web and food chain. The video
clip uses vocabulary key to the SOL like consumer and
producers. I think that this video could be helpful as a method of
beginning the discussion of decomposers with the students but it
could be used at any point during the unit as it provides a great
alternative resource of information.
10. Interactive Online game: Energy Flow ( PBS website)
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/tdc02.sci.life.oate.energyflow/energyflow/#.WP9AAhi-L-Y
The activity is an interactive way to teach children about the
energy flow that comes when something is eaten. In this
activity the students get to follow the flow of energy when it's
passed through eating. It shows the students an interactive
starting point of how eating (food web) works.
11.
Interactive
Online
Game:
Animal
Diet
game
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/animaldietgame.ht
m
In this game the students get a list of animals and will have
to match each animal with their eating habits like herbivore,
carnivore and omnivore. The students get to do this activity
on their own or as a whole class setting. It could be used to
start a lesson or review a learned concept.
12. Worksheet: Ecology- Food Chain: Cut and paste
In this worksheet and accompanying set of pictures can be used to
review producers, consumers and decomposers. The worksheet can
also be adapted to that individual students level so depending on their
academic level some students would have to write down animals or
plants and others would use pictures to fill in each space. It is a useful
review sheet that the students can do after completing their producer,
consumer and decomposers lesson.
13. Physical Activity: Food Chain Game- Outdoor Bio
http://www.outdoorbiology.com/files/resources/activities/
FoodChainGame.pdf
In this game the student are assigned an animal on the
food chain and have to “eat” the person that is next on
the food chain. This is a fun game to play once the
lesson has been completed and gets the students to
move around and have a different way to supplement a
learned concept.
14. Video Clip: Food Webs- Scholastic website
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/food-webs.htm
In this clip from scholastic study
jams the concept of food webs is
explained to the students in a
creative method that emphasizes
vocabulary used to teach the
concept. The video is fun an
interactive and can be used to
start the discussion of food webs.
The clip is fun and entertaining for
the students. It reviews concepts
that they can get a preview in
before starting the lesson.
15. Book: Hey Diddle Diddle: A Food Chain Tale- Pam
Kapchinske
The book is set up as a riddle that goes through different animals
belong to different parts of the food chain. Its an interesting book to
begin the discussion of food chain as a fun poem and can be used
make other activities that could work with an english SOL. The
book includes some other activities that reviews what prey and
predator are and other ideas that teachers can use after reading
book to their students.
that
to
the
16. Video clip: Food Chains- Scholastics
http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/ecosystems/food-chains.htm
In this video by Scholastic discloses
food chains and how they work. The
video uses a lot of vocabulary
covered during the unit and can be
useful to use as a good starting point
for students. The video is very
engaging and pretty interesting for our
students. The clip is a good way to
inform as well as entertain.