TEKS 7.12B (B) observe and describe how organisms including producers, consumers, and decomposers live together in an environment and use existing resources

Engage Chose a few sounds from http://nature-downloads.naturesounds.ca/ to play for students in class. Ask students what they hear. What else might be in the area based on what they hear? What makes them think these things will be present?

Explore Making a pyramid

After the pyramid is completed, instruct students to cut organisms out of the sheet of pictures. Students should glue each picture on the appropriate page.

Explore 2: Imaginary Animals Make a class set of the imaginary animals cards and laminate them. Students will use provided cards describing imaginary animals to create their own food chains. 1. Give each student or pair of students a set of organism cards. 2. Students should read the descriptions of each organism. 3. Once students have an idea of each organism, students will create 3 unique food chains with the cards. Some organisms may be used twice, but each chain should be unique. 4. When students have organized a chain they will write the names of the organisms in the correct order on a separate sheet of paper to turn in.

Note: Students will need to know which way the arrows point in a food chain- in the direction the energy travels (towards the mouth they go in). Predator is also a term that may need to be defined. Other potentially new words: apex, rodents, antelope, scavengers, canine

Explain Provide students with pictures of ecosystems either from magazines, books, printed from the internet, etc. Allow students to pick a picture and discuss what they would find in the picture- what they see and other things they can’t see, but would expect to find. How is it that these things are able to live together? How do the different organisms get what they need?

Elaborate Students should chose one producer and one consumer from the imaginary animals used in the previous activity. Students should then list all the resources those organisms would need to survive in their environment, both biotic and abiotic.