7th Grade Food Web Lesson Plan Example

Topic: Food web

Objectives & Outcomes

• Students will be able to explain how energy moves through a food web and how different organisms in a food web depend on one another for survival.

Materials

• Handout with definitions of terms related to food webs (e.g. producer, consumer, trophic level)
• Pictures or diagrams of different types of food webs (e.g. ocean food web, forest food web)
• Pie charts or other graphic representations of energy flow through a food web

Warm-up

• Ask students to think about the different types of organisms living in their own ecosystem (e.g. forest, ocean, desert).
• Have them brainstorm a list of the different types of organisms they think might be in their ecosystem, and write them on the board.
• Ask students how they think the organisms in their ecosystem get the energy they need to survive.
• Discuss the various options that students suggest and write the answers on the board.

Direct Introduction

• Explain that today's topic is ecosystems and energy flow.
• Introduce the concept of a food web and explain that it is a way of showing how energy flows through an ecosystem.
• Show the handouts with the food web diagrams and discuss how the different organisms in the ecosystem are connected through the flow of energy.
• Discuss the various ways that energy can be transferred through a food web (e.g. through eating, breathing, and living space).

Guided Practice

• Divide the class into small groups and give each group a copy of the food web diagram with the labels removed.
• Have the groups work together to identify the different organisms in the food web and the ways that they are connected.
• Have the groups present their findings to the class.

Independent Practice

• Have each student create a food web for a simple ecosystem, such as a pond or a desert.
• Have the students use the food web diagram to illustrate and label the different organisms in their food web and the ways that they are connected.
• Have the students submit their food web diagrams to the teacher for evaluation.

Closure

• Review the main points of the lesson, including the concept of a food web and the importance of energy in ecosystems.
• Ask the students to share something that they learned about food webs during the lesson.

Assessment

• To assess the students' understanding of the concept of energy closure in a food web, have them complete a short quiz or test on the topic. The test could include multiple choice questions, short answer questions, or a written project where the students must demonstrate their understanding of energy closure in a food web.