Ecosystems Turboquest

Lesson Plan 3 (Task 3)

Ophelia Gregory
Title of Lesson: Predators and Prey and Pellets, Oh My!
Topic: Ecosystems: roles and food chains
Subject Area(s): Science, Reading, Writing, Math (math included in the data sheets)
Grade Level: 4th
Description: Students will first be introduced to an owl pellet through a show-and-tell type of
experience. I will have them observe one using a magnifying glass and touch. After they have completed
an observation sheet, I will show them a video clip of an episode of Dirty Jobs, in which a man collects
owl pellets for a living. They will break into their research groups and complete several other activities
and readings on Blendspace, which will be linked through Edmodo. As a quick assessment, they will
complete a quiz on Edmodo after looking at the lesson on Blendspace. We will discuss what they learned
and any questions they still have, as well as add information to our KWL chart. Partner groups will each
dissect an owl pellet and will use the bone chart to figure out the owls prey. They will glue the prey
together, which will then lead into a discussion about predators and prey and how food chains work.
Lastly, groups will be given time to further research their animal. Students will also receive their
research scenarios at the end of the lesson.
Objectives: The student will be able to verbally explain the how the owls role as a consumer at the top
of the food chain affects the other animals in the owls food chain.
The student will be able to draw an owls food chain with 100% accuracy.
Through completion of the dissection activity and accompanying handouts, the student will be able to
predict how changes in the environment and populations in an ecosystem affect an owl.
Georgia Performance Standards:
S4CS8. Students will understand important features of the process of scientific inquiry. Students will
apply the following to inquiry learning practices:
a. Scientific investigations may take many different forms, including observing what things are like or
what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.
S4L1. Students will describe the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
a. Identify the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers in a community.

b. Demonstrate the flow of energy through a food web/food chain beginning with sunlight and including
producers, consumers, and decomposers.
c. Predict how changes in the environment would affect a community (ecosystem) of organisms.
d. Predict effects on a population if some of the plants or animals in the community are scarce or if
there are too many.
ELACC4RI9 Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: Integrate information from two texts on the same
topic in order to write or speak about the subject knowledgeably.
Essential Question: How do people, animals, and their surroundings interact with one another to create
a community?
Materials: *resources that can be found under the Teacher Page

10 owl pellets
20 toothpicks or skewers
10-20 tweezers
20 sets of gloves
20 goggles
Sticky notes (1 per student)
Access to at least 6 computers
Document camera
Stack of newspapers
1 trash bag
10 bone sorting charts*
10 owl dissection data sheets*
20 What is it? handouts*
20 Post Dissection Writing (two formatsprint out format that best fits the needs of your
students)*
5 different group research scenarios* (examples provided)
Dirty Jobs video clip*
10 bottles of glue
10 large sheets of colored poster board or cardstock (not white)
20 pencils
20 markers (variety of colors)
Graphic organizer for research*

Technology: Students will use both the Weebly site and BlendSpace to access articles, pictures,
diagrams, vocabulary and other documents related to owls and pellet dissection. As a whole group, the
ActivBoard will be used for instruction about food chains.

Procedures:
1. Motivation: At the beginning of the task, students will view a picture of an owl pellet
and will infer about what the pellet might be.
2. Statement of Purpose: This inquiry lesson serves to have students learn about the
relationships within a food chain through discovery; the ideas presented in this lesson
will be applied to their own research about their given animal and to the ideas
presented in the following task of this unit (task 4). Through learning about food chains,
students gain a deeper understanding of the importance of our worlds ecosystems.
3. Body: Students will practice observation skills by first observing an owl pellet and
making inferences. The video clip will be watched as whole group so that students are
informed on what an owl pellet is and from where it comes. After the clip, the teacher
will jot down questions students have.
Then, they will complete the online portion of the task by going to BlendSpace
(through a link on Weebly) and going through the sequence of slides. They will logon to
Edmodo and do a quick summary response to a question posted by the teacher about
owls and their pellets. The class will be divided into their partner groups, and the groups
will begin filling out the owl pellet data sheets based on what they determined from the
online module. The teacher will give safety instructions to the students as a whole
group and will then model how to begin dissecting the pellet (under the document
camera), thinking aloud as she begins. Explain to students that they must be very
careful so that they dont crush any of the small bones. Model how to use the bone
sorting sheets and prey identification charts as they go along by placing bones on the
sorting sheet and explain how each bone might be a part of one type of animal or
another.
Each group will be given an owl pellet and will be allowed to begin dissecting.
Both partners should have equal opportunities to dissect and complete the handouts.
Once all dissections and handouts are complete, have students throw away excess
waste. Then, show them how to begin gluing the bones together on cardstock to make
a skeleton of the owls prey. Give students time to complete this activity and then fill
out the writing responses. Have students turn in all handouts.
Give students their scenario and have them continue their research by filling out
the additional graphic organizer as they go along.
Assessment: Give each student a sticky note and have them draw an owls food chain on it and turn it
in. No other assessments included for this task other than close monitoring and observation of
students dissections and their responses to the handouts.
Closure: Once all documents are turned in and dissections are cleaned up, ask students which questions
were answered (jotted down earlier in the lesson) and discuss the answers. Ask if there are any more
questions for further research. Add information to the KWL chart as needed.

Accommodations and differentiations: Groups who need extra support will be provided with a hand out
that highlights key vocabulary and simple, step-by-step dissection instructions. The writing responses
are already differentiatedone sheet has a section for open-ended response and the other has a
section that includes prompting questions. A checklist will be given to those who need one so that they
can check off each section of the task as they complete it. In addition, each scenario for group research
will be delineated according to ability level. Struggling students may only be given one concept to work
with in their scenario, which higher performing students may be given two or three interrelated ideas to
work with (see scenario examples on the teacher page).
Reteaching: Using pictures and task cards, complete a guided practice with struggling students. Move
pictures are around in the owls food chain and ask them to point out which part of the food chain is
incorrect. Discuss what makes it wrong, and ask a student to move the picture to the appropriate place.
Have students use task cards to label the parts of the owls food chain, guiding them with prompting
questions as needed.
Extensions: Since the next task deals more with food chains and the flow of energy, have students read
about other food chains using the Ecosystem text by Harcourt publishers. Then, give students a picture
of an energy pyramid and give them the challenge to figure out why the energy decreases as you move
up the food chain, encouraging them to think about what we what eat and the calories in our food.