A Lesson Plan Developed by
Introductory Activity
Lead a discussion on the diversity of living organisms in, on, or around a lake.
Pick a local lake or the lake the class chose for their brochure. Record the
names of as many organisms as the students can think of. They can name
organisms they have seen in any of the local lakes. Encourage them to be
specific; don’t record “fish”. Ask for different kinds/species of fish, birds,
mammals, insects, reptiles, amphibians, arthropods (insects, crayfish), other
invertebrates (clams, worms), algae, and more complex plants.
Lesson Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Students will increase vocabulary for reading science.
Students will learn how to classify living organisms.
Students will observe and understand an aquatic food chain.
Students will trace the flow of energy in an aquarium, lake and river.
Students will understand that all organisms need energy.
Students will understand the interdependency of each organism.
Students will understand the process of decay.
Supplies Needed
1. Aquarium and aquatic organisms
2. Record book for aquarium observations
Vocabulary
Photosynthesis
Chlorophyll
Vegetative Reproduction
Herbivore
Carnivore
Decomposer
Ecosystem
Population
Community
Niche
Scavenger
Habitat
Recycling
Omnivore
Predator
Prey
Decay
Competition
Balance in Ecosystems
School (of fish)
Lake in the Classroom – Page 1
Activities
1. Set up an aquarium in the classroom. Create a miniature lake
environment and have students decide what organisms to include.
Snails, fish, sediment, plants, etc. could be gathered from a local
lake to create a natural lake system.
2. Assign students to care for the “miniature lake”. Emphasize to students
that it takes time and effort to keep the miniature lake healthy, just as it
takes time and effort to keep our real lakes healthy.
a. Make a list of things that need to be done to keep the aquarium
healthy.
b. Plan a schedule for students to care for the aquarium and record
observations.
3. Have students observe and record any changes in the aquarium. Look for
changes in:
a. the size or number of plants
b. the color, smell or level of the water
c. activity of the animals
d. the location of the animals
e. growth of algae on the sides of the tank
f. and any other interesting observations
4. Discuss the importance of plants in the aquarium. Compare the plants in
the aquarium with another plant in the classroom, such as a bean
seedling. List the comparisons.
a. Do they both have leaves, stems and roots?
b. Do they both have chlorophyll?
c. Do they both need light? Why?
d. What happens during the process of photosynthesis?
Light (source of energy for all life)
Chlorophyll
Food for the plant
Carbon Dioxide (from animals)
i. Plants produce their own food. They convert light energy
into chemical energy. Light energy cannot be stored, but
chemical energy can be stored.
ii. Matter is recycled, but energy is not recycled.
e. Why won’t aquatic plants grow on land?
Lake in the Classroom – Page 2
f. Discuss the different places that plants grow in a lake.
i. Below the surface
ii. Floating, or with leaves above surface
iii. On edges of the lake in saturated soil
5. Classify the organisms in the aquarium into groups based on the food they
use. The aquarium may not have representatives of all groups, so discuss
the organisms found in a real lake (the lake the students chose for their
brochure).
a. Plants are the producers.
They produce food for themselves and they store food in their
tissues for other organisms to eat
b. Organisms other than plants are called consumers.
i. If a consumer, like an aquatic snail, eats plants it is called an
herbivore. Some insect larvae, tadpoles and minnows are
herbivores too.
ii. Consumers that get their energy by eating other consumers
are called carnivores. A bass, a crappie, a bluegill and a
turtle in a lake are all carnivores.
iii. Some organisms will eat almost anything. If they eat plants
and animals, they are called omnivores.
c. When an organism dies and is not eaten by a scavenger,
decomposers, such as bacteria or fungi, will cause the cells to
break down. The materials that were in its body will be reused by
living organisms.
6. Explain that the aquarium (or a lake) with all its organisms plus the light,
temperature, gases, rock/gravel and how they interact or fit together is
called an ecosystem.
a. All the living organisms in the lake are called the lake’s community.
b. The community is made up of the bluegill population, the crayfish
population, the tadpole population, and the populations of the other
organisms in the lake.
7. Use the information above or other sources to explain how organisms
interact as predators, prey, or scavengers. Explain how chemical energy
is passed on from one organism to another. A food chain can be
illustrated with names and/or pictures of the organisms.
Lake in the Classroom – Page 3
Evaluation
1. Explain what affects the rate of decomposition and why decomposition is
necessary in a lake.
2. Tell how to distinguish a plant from other organisms. What do plants
have, or what can they do, that other organisms do not have and cannot
do?
3. Tell whether photosynthesis can occur in the root of a plant.
4. List some things in the aquarium that are important but are not alive.
5. Tell what would happen to the aquarium if the plants were removed, the
light was not allowed in, or the temperature was near freezing.
6. Name some of the populations found in the lake.
7. Tell what changes in the lake would occur if all the predator fish died.
Indiana State Standards for Education
•
Science:
o 4.4.3 – Observe and describe interactions between organisms.
o 4.4.4 – All organisms need energy to stay alive and grow.
o 4.2.4 – Use numerical data to describe and compare objects.
o 4.4.2 – Various organisms depend on dead plant and animal
material for food.
o 4.4.6 – Organisms grow, die, decay and are replaced.
Lake in the Classroom – Page 4