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Food Chain Lesson Plan
Food Chain Lesson Plan
Teachers: Subject:
Rebecca Mobley 1st Grade Science
Common Core State Standards:
PO 3. Describe how plants and animals within a habitat are dependent on each other.
1.W.4 With guidance and support from adults, produce writing in which the development and organization are
appropriate to task and purpose.
1.SL.2 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text read aloud or information presented orally or through
other media.
Objective (Explicit):
By the end of this lesson students will be able to create their own food chain that shows the relationships among
the organisms within a habitat by organizing the food chain on the worksheet in the correct order.
By the end of this lesson students will be able to write a three-star paragraph that explains the food chain that
they created.
By the end of this lesson students will be able to ask and answer questions about food chains by actively
participating in the class discussion.
Sub-objectives:
Evidence of Mastery:
The teacher will use three rubrics to assess the comprehension of the students. The rubrics will look at a student’s
participation, writing, and worksheet.
Opening (state objectives, connect to previous learning, and make relevant to real life)
The teacher will begin by greeting the students and going over the lesson’s objectives.
Then, the teacher will say, “Think back to last night, what did you and your family eat for
dinner? Share with your partner.” After students share, the teacher will say, “For dinner last
night I ate chicken. Today we are going to learn all about food chains: how they are formed,
how every organism is related and connected, and how organisms within an ecosystem
depend on each other to survive.”
Instructional Input
The teacher will show the food chains The students will begin this section by
video (https://www.youtube.com/watch? quietly watching the video.
v=MuKs9o1s8h8). After the video the students will watch as
After the video the teacher will introduce the teacher creates a food chain.
the vocabulary by writing it on the board The students will ask any questions that
and asking the students to help make they have as the teacher models how to
the definitions. create a food chain.
The teacher will begin the instruction by
saying, “Remember when I told you that
I ate chicken for dinner last night? Well, I
want to show you what a chicken’s food
chain can look like.” The teacher will
then tape a printout of a chicken onto
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the whiteboard. “Now, I know that a
chicken eats corn, so I can tape corn
here (tape corn onto whiteboard) and
make an arrow to show the transfer of
energy from the corn to the chicken. I
also know that corn needs energy from
the sun to grow because we learned
about plants in our last unit. Since I
know that corn needs the sun, I can tape
the sun onto the board before the corn
and draw an arrow from the sun to the
corn to show the transfer of energy.
The teacher will then recap what the
food chain looks like so far. “So we know
that this food chain begins with the sun
and we know that the sun transfers
energy to the corn. Once the corn grows
a chicken eats it. Now, to finish the food
chain I need to think about my dinner
last night. I ate chicken with my family,
so I can put up a picture of humans next
to the chicken and draw an arrow to
complete this food chain.” Pause and
allow the students to view the completed
food chain. “Looking at a chicken’s food
chain and looking at our vocabulary
words, I wonder how we could classify
each of the organisms in the food chain.
(Engage in thinking aloud to model this
for the students) Well, I know that a
chicken can eat worms and other
insects too, not just corn, so a chicken
must be an omnivore. A chicken eats
both plants and meat (like insects) and
that is what we wrote for our definition of
omnivore. I also know that humans are
omnivores because we eat plants and
meat as well. Looking at corn I know
that it needs the sun to grow. Since it
uses energy from the sun to grow, corn
is a producer. Let’s look at this food
chain. Since both chickens and humans
eat other organisms, and don’t get all of
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their energy from the sun, they are
consumers.” The teacher will conclude
this example of a food chain by saying,
“Wow. There are a lot of ways that we
can label and classify each organisms
within a food chain.”
The teacher will then ask a student what
they had for dinner last night, and
complete a food chain based on what
they ate the night before.
Co-Teaching/Differentiation Strategy
The teacher will use pictures, words, and arrows to model food chains for the students.
The video that is shows has pictures and words to accompany important concepts.
Guided Practice
Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation
This entire portion of the lesson is a classroom discussion.
There are words, pictures, and arrows within the food chains.
Independent Practice
Teacher will say, “Now I am going to Students will complete the worksheet
pass out a worksheet that everyone independently. Once they finish the
will complete independently. I will worksheet the students will see the
keep our examples of food chains on teacher for their next assignment.
the board so that they can help you The students will then complete the
remember everything that goes into writing prompt. They will have until
a food chain. Once you finish the lunch to finish their papers. The
worksheet come and see me for your students should be writing three star
next assignment.” sentences (capitalization, punctuation,
When students finish the worksheet and the sentence makes sense).
they will be given a writing prompt. If the students have any questions
The prompt is on the paper, but the they will raise their hands and ask the
teacher will read it aloud to the teacher. If the question is in regard to
students. Remind the students that their writing the students will ask their
they need to have three star shoulder partners (how to spell a word,
sentences and that if they need help or if a sentence makes sense). After
with their writing to ask their shoulder the students finish their writing they
partner (spelling and if the sentence will read their paragraph to their
makes sense). partner to ensure that it makes sense
As the students are working on their before it is turned in.
worksheets and writing prompts the
teacher will walk around and observe
the students as well as answer any
questions that they may have.
Co-Teaching Strategy/Differentiation
The worksheet and writing prompt papers have pictures on them to help guide the
students.
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The students can ask questions and the teacher will be walking around the
classroom to help the students.
If a student needs help with their writing, they can ask their shoulder partner.
Here is the writing prompt that will be used (the two sheets below). The students will cut and glue the
food chain onto the second paper and write about the food chain that they have created.
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Below is the worksheet that the students will be completing independently. The students will also be asked to classify
each organism as a consumer or producer, and an omnivore, herbivore, or carnivore.
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Resources
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/37/91/b2/3791b25e4d821134607e69c790f7c7c8.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/49/29/0c/49290c070f168059a667395f3cab9d51.jpg
http://www.rcsnc.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_4702937/File/lynne%20huskey/FoodChainGang.pdf
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