1. F LOW OF E NERGY

2. S OURCE OF E NERGY  Raise your hand if you included this on your schoolyard diagram.  The Sun provides the light and heat energy for most forms of life on Earth. Sun = Sol

3. P RODUCERS  Producers chemically change solar (light ) energy in the chlorophyll (the green color in the plant) into their food. Plants are producers.

4. F OOD  Plants make this food for their own use. They need the energy to survive and thrive.  Plants store the food in many places: roots, stems, leaves, and fruits.  Plants make food during the process called photosynthesis.

5. P HOTOSYNTHESIS  To undergo photosynthesis, plants need:  Sunlight  Water  Carbon dioxide

6. P LANTS U SE THEIR FOOD  Plants use food to grow.  Plants use stored energy (food) when the resources they need to grow and thrive are unavailable.  Plants use food to survive harsh environmental conditions, such as drought or cold winters.

7. C ONSUMERS  Consumers are organisms that get their energy by eating either producers (plants) or other consumers (animals).  They use this energy to survive, grow, and reproduce.

8. F LOW OF ENERGY  Let’s look at some of the diagrams you completed in your science notebook on the first day of this lesson.  What do they have in common?

9. F OOD C HAINS  When energy is transferred through organisms it is called a food chain.  Arrows are used to show the direction the energy is flowing.  In the schoolyard, you might see:  Remember, nearly every food chain starts with energy from the Sun.

10. E XAMPLE  Use the strips of paper to create a food chain for organisms that live in one of the Earth’s ecosystems. It might be the Arctic or the ocean, forest or desert, or grassland or jungle.  Cut six strips of paper of different sizes, as shown here.  Color the widest strip yellow. This will represent the Sun.

11. E XAMPLE  Write the name of a plant on the second widest strip of paper.  On the third widest paper, write the name of an organism that eats the plant.  On the fourth widest strip, write the name of an animal that eats the organism on the second strip.  On the fifth and sixth strips, continue the sequence.  If you are unable to think of any organisms, name another plant, or a second animal, that may eat one of the organisms listed. Carnivore Plant Carnivore Herbivore

12. F OOD C HAIN  Link your food chain together beginning with the Sun. Add the producer and then the consumers (herbivores and carnivores). Use tape to secure the link. Sun Producer Consumer: Herbivore Consumer: Carnivore

13. C OMPARING FOOD CHAINS  Work in groups of four to compare the food chains that were created.  What do the food chains have in common with each other?  Could any food chains overlap with each other? Flounder Porpoise Plankton Small Mullet Shrimp

14. F OOD W EBS  When food chains overlap, a food web is formed.  Use the chains in your group to form a food web.  Draw the food web in your science notebook. Flounder Porpoise Plankton Small Mullet Shrimp Trout Sea Gull Crab

15. D ECOMPOSERS  Decomposers are organisms such as fungi, bacteria, and animals that play a major role in breaking down dead matter and returning nutrients to the soil. They also play a role in the nitrogen cycle.

16. DECOMPOSERS  Add some decomposers to your food web. Flounder Porpoise Plankton Small Mullet Shrimp Trout Sea Gull Crab Bacteria Mold

17. T HE MOST IMPORTANT ROLE  The most important role an organism (producer, consumer, or decomposer) plays in the ecosystem is ______ because ______.

18. C OMPARE R OLES IN THE E COSYSTEM Producer ConsumerDecomposer