Food Chains Lesson Plan: Using Graphic Organizers

Submitted by: Amber Gross

Grade Levels: 3-5, K-3

In this lesson plan, which is adaptable for grades K-5, students use BrainPOP Jr. and/or BrainPOP resources to activate prior knowledge and make real-world connections about food chains and food webs. Students define key vocabulary associated with food chains and food webs. They also compare prior knowledge to gained knowledge after viewing the “Food Chain” movie and apply new information using a food chain and web.

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Grade: 01

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.6

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using frequently occurring conjunctions to signal simple relationships (e.g., because).

Grade: 02

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.6

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts, including using adjectives and adverbs to describe (e.g., When other kids are happy that makes me happy).

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.3.6

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate conversational, general academic, and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal spatial and temporal relationships (e.g., After dinner that night we went looking for them).

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.6

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions, emotions, or states of being (e.g., quizzed, whined, stammered) and that are basic to a particular topic (e.g., wildlife, conservation, and endangered when discussing animal preservation).

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.6

Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases, including those that signal contrast, addition, and other logical relationships (e.g., however, although, nevertheless, similarly, moreover, in addition).

Grade: K

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.K.6

Use words and phrases acquired through conversations, reading and being read to, and responding to texts.

Grade: 01

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.4

Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.

Grade: 01

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.5

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Grade: 01

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.1.6

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 1 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)

Grade: 02

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.4

Tell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking audibly in coherent sentences.

Grade: 02

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.5

Create audio recordings of stories or poems; add drawings or other visual displays to stories or recounts of experiences when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

Grade: 02

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.6

Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 2 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.4

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.5

Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.3.6

Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification. (See grade 3 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.4

Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.5

Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.6

Differentiate between contexts that call for formal English (e.g., presenting ideas) and situations where informal discourse is appropriate (e.g., small-group discussion); use formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 4 Language standards 1 here for specific expectations.)

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.4

Report on a topic or text or present an opinion, sequencing ideas logically and using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.5

Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.6

Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. (See grade 5 Language standards 1 and 3 here for specific expectations.)

Grade: K

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.4

Describe familiar people, places, things, and events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Grade: K

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.5

Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions as desired to provide additional detail.

Grade: K

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.K.6

Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly.

Grade: 01

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.1.2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they name a topic, supply some facts about the topic, and provide some sense of closure.

Grade: 02

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.2

Write informative/explanatory texts in which they introduce a topic, use facts and definitions to develop points, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Grade: 03

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Grade: 04

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Grade: 05

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Grade: K

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.K.2

Use a combination of drawing, dictating, and writing to compose informative/explanatory texts in which they name what they are writing about and supply some information about the topic.

Students will:

Activate prior knowledge and make real-world connections about food chains and food webs.
Define key vocabulary associated with food chains and food webs.
Compare prior knowledge to gained knowledge after viewing the "Food Chain" movie and apply new information using a food chain and web.

Materials:

Food Chain: Before, During, and After Thinking Guide (downloadable activity sheet below)
Internet access for BrainPOP
Interactive whiteboard (or just an LCD projector)

Vocabulary:

herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, producer, consumer, predator, prey, food chain, food web

Preparation:

My students and I can't get enough of BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr.! I have created activity sheets ("Before, During, and After Thinking Guides") for multiple Brain Pop Jr. Science videos. All of the guides follow this format:

Vocabulary: A list of important vocabulary terms from the videos. I have a high population of Spanish speaking students in my classroom, so I have also included Spanish cognates and translations for each vocabulary word. There is a short cloze-type definition next to the vocabulary word, which students will complete after the word is defined in the video.

The next section is a table with 4 columns. The columns include questions to activate prior knowledge before viewing the video, related illustrations taken from the BrainPOP Jr. video, questions to answer after viewing the video, and challenge questions for applying the new knowledge at a higher level.

At the end of the guide is another activity for students to apply or manipulate the new information. These additional activities also incorporate illustrations taken directly from the BrainPOP Jr. video.

I have also created an answer key to accompany each guide.

To prepare for this lesson, preview the downloadable "Before, During, and After Thinking Guide" below (called "BP Jr. Food Chain") and make a class set of photocopies.

Lesson Procedure:

Pass out the anticipation guide to each student. Read through the definitions at the top of the anticipation guide. The words in parentheses are Spanish cognates or translations to assist Spanish speaking students or perhaps add interest for students of other language backgrounds. Draw students' attention to the missing words in each definition. Let them know they should listen for these pieces of key information when they watch the video and complete the definitions when they hear the answers.
Give students a few minutes to predict words they think will correctly complete the definitions. Write these words on the board. After viewing the movie, students can check the accuracy of their predictions.
Together, look over the first two columns of the table. The first column is titled "Before Video". This question is designed to activate the students' prior knowledge and assist them in narrowing their focus as they watch the video. The second column is a related illustration, taken directly from the video. This illustration serves to provide a visual for the question and also trigger memory and when the student refers back to the guide as review for summative assessments.
Students should answer the questions in the first column as best they can. Assure them that this column will not be graded; it is simply to get them thinking! They should check these answers as they view the movie.
After they have answered the "Before Video" questions, play the BrainPOP Jr. Food Chain movie. Students should complete the vocabulary definitions as they watch the movie.
When the movie has ended, allow the students time to complete the third column of the table, titled "After Video". Have the students discuss how and why their answers changed from the "Before Video" column to "After Video" column. Have the students share their completed vocabulary definitions and compare the correct answers with their predictions. Were they correct?
Give students time to complete the fourth column of the table, titled "Challenge," and also to apply their new knowledge to the food chain and food web at the bottom of the page.

Extension Activities:

Explore the BrainPOP Food Chains movie and related resources to extend students' understanding or to differentiate for learning for more advanced students.

Food Chains Lesson Plan: Using Graphic Organizers

Submitted by: Amber Gross

Lesson Plan Common Core State Standards Alignments

Students will:

Materials:

Vocabulary:

Preparation:

Lesson Procedure:

Extension Activities:

Downloadable Resources:

BrainPOP Movies:

BrainPOP Jr Movies:

Related: