Food Chains and Food Webs - San Elijo · PDF fileFood Chains and Food Webs Teacher’s...

Food Chains and Food Webs

Teacher’s Guide • Grade 3–5 • Supplemental Curriculum & Field Experience

San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy | Food Chains & Food Webs Teacher’s Guide | Page 1

We developed the activities in this packet to support your field trip.

Pre-VisitActivities 1 and 2 are designed as pre-visit activities. We recommend you use these to familiarize your students with the concepts of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things in an ecosystem, food chains that they are connected to, and adaptations organisms possess for feeding. This will help them connect to the food chains, food webs and organisms you will learn about from your onsite leader (naturalist) during your visit to San Elijo Lagoon.

Post-VisitActivity 4 is designed as a post-visit activity that will help your students review what they learned about the food chains and food webs in their lives and at San Elijo Lagoon.

TABLE OF CONTENTSActivity 1: Is it Alive, Dead or Non-living? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Activity 2: My Food Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Activity 3: Consumer Types and Adaptations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Activity 4: Food Chains & Food Webs at San Elijo Lagoon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Student Worksheet for Activity 1: Is it Alive, Dead or Non-living?. . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Student Worksheet for Activity 2: My Food Chain list (part 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Student Worksheet for Activity 2: My Food Chain picture (part 2) . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Appendix 1: Lagoon Animal Adaptation Cards (print back to back) . . . . . . . . . 24

Appendix 2: Common Core Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW


Objectives From the information and activities in this packet, students will gain:

• An understanding of what food chains and food webs are and how they work.

• Familiarity with some of the plants and animals that rely on the lagoon for their survival.

• A comprehension that all organisms possess adaptations that assist them in obtaining energy and protecting themselves from becoming food.

• An awareness of the food webs of several San Elijo Lagoon habitats and how they are linked.

• An appreciation that we are consumers and connected to healthy food webs too, and should therefore act to conserve and protect plants, animals and habitats.

California Performance Expectations and Dimensions Note: This program can assist with meeting the following Performance Expectations

and Dimensions from California’s Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for grades 3 through 5. (For connections to Common Core Standards, see Appendix 2)

Students who demonstrate understanding can:

3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. (Grade 3)

3-LS4-4 Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of animals that live there may change. (Grade 3)

4-LS-1 Construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction. (Grade 4)

4-LS1-2 Use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain and respond to information in different ways. (Grade 4)

5-PS3-1 Use models to describe the energy in animals food (used for body repair, growth, motion and to maintain body warmth) was once energy from the sun. (Grade 5)

TEACHER OVERVIEW

Science & Engineering Practices

Disciplinary Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

Developing and Using Models

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

Engaging in Argument from Evidence

LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning and Resilience (Grade 3)

LS4.C: Adaptations (Grade 3)

LS4.D: Biodiversity and Humans (Grade 3)

LS1.A: Structure and Function (Grade 4)

LS1.D: Information Processing (Grade 4)

PS3.D: Energy in Chemical Processes and Everyday Life (Grade 5)

LS1.C: Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms (Grade 5)

LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems (Grade 5)

ESS3.C: Human Impacts on Earth Systems (Grade 5)

Cause and Effect

Systems and System Models

Energy and Matter - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Connections to Nature of Science


5-LS-1 Support an argument that plants get materials they need from growth chiefly from air and water. (Grade 5)

5-LS2-1 Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers and the environment. (Grade 5)

TEACHER OVERVIEW continued

consumeranimals (chicken)

consumeryou & me

producerplant (corn)

huevos rancheros

cereal

energy from the sun(along with water and

nutrients for photosynthesis)

Food Chain


IntroductionWhere Do You Get Your Energy?What did you (or your students) have for breakfast today? Was it cereal and milk, or bacon and eggs, or eggs with tortillas and salsa (huevos rancheros)? Why is eating breakfast, or any meal, important? We eat food for the energy it provides to get us through the day.

Breakfast, or any meal or snack, is part of an energy transfer chain called a food chain. A good way to understand a food chain and how energy gets transferred is to show one. This is an illustration of a human breakfast food chain.



Starting this food chain with you, the diagram links you to the eggs you may have eaten and the animal they came from — eggs from chickens. The arrow points from the chicken to you because the energy is transferred from the chicken to you. What did the chicken eat? In this food chain, the chicken ate corn and so the diagram shows the link from the chicken to the plant with the transfer of energy (arrow) flowing from plant to chicken. And the plant is linked to the sun. Starting with sunlight, energy flows to plants through the process called photosynthesis. This food chain shows how energy is transferred from the sun to plants to animals to you.

What if you just had cereal or pancakes or tortillas? As you see in the illustration, the food chain is shorter and shows the energy transfer from the sun to plants to you.

(Note: Some of your students may not know where their food comes from. You may need to use pictures or videos to show how we get eggs from chickens or milk from cows, and how plants, such as corn or wheat, are made into flour and the flour used to make cereals, breads, pancakes, and tortillas. This may be important before continuing to teach about food chains and webs.)

Because every living thing on Earth needs energy to live, grow and reproduce, every living thing is part of a food chain. Within every ecosystem there are many food chains that overlap. Overlapping and linked food chains create a complex food web in which every plant and animal plays a role (see illustration on page 7).

Our role in a food web is as a consumer. A chicken is a consumer as well , as is an ant. We both consume or eat things to get our energy. All consumers rely on producers. Producers are the starting point for all food chains and food webs because they make their own food from sunlight, along with water and nutrients. That food-making process is called photosynthesis. On land, plants are the foundation of the food web. In the lagoon, algae and tiny drifting plants called phytoplankton are the foundation of the aquatic food web. Consumers couldn’t live without producers.

Within a food web, there are different kinds of consumers. Rabbits and deer can eat only plants and so are a type of consumer called an herbivore (based on the Latin word roots herb for grass or plants and vor for eat). Some animals, such as hawks, egrets, and lizards, eat other animals. Animals that eat only other animals are called carnivores (carn for flesh or meat and vor for eat). Some animals eat a variety of foods. Chickens eat corn, seeds, and insects. Humans can eat plants and animals for energy (although some people choose not to eat animals). Animals that eat a variety of foods are called omnivores (omni for all and vor for eat). Omnivores, carnivores, and herbivores are all consumers.

All organisms, no matter their consumer type, will have adaptations that help them survive in their environment. These adaptations include body parts and behaviors that assist animals in finding and eating food, while also avoiding becoming other animals’ food! For example, many herbivores have teeth shaped for tearing and chewing plant material, while carnivores (and omnivores) have teeth designed for ripping, tearing and chewing through meat/flesh.

There is one other group of organisms that play a very important role in a food web. They are the decomposers—nature’s recyclers. Decomposers feed on decaying plants and animals or on animal wastes. These recyclers can be large, such as a turkey vulture, or small, such as ants or



crabs. And some can be very small, sometimes too small to see easily, such as bacteria or fungi. You can see tiny decomposers at work when you see mold on bread or find fruit rotting. All decomposers have a role in breaking down animal and plant remains, thereby enriching the soil with nutrients. The recycling of nutrients enables more plants, the producers, to grow. It also helps clean up an ecosystem, which keeps it healthy. If there weren’t any decomposers, imagine the pile up of wastes that would occur.

This is one of the problems with some wastes that humans make, such as plastic bottles, candy wrappers or other trash. There are no natural decomposers that can break down and recycle most of our trash. That’s why it’s important that each of us recycle the things we can recycle, such as paper, glass, plastics and aluminum, and even more important that we limit the use of things that never break down, such as plastics. We want to keep our ecosystem clean and healthy for ourselves and the other organisms that share this planet with us.

In addition to the living (or biotic) components of an ecosystem, there are also non-living (abiotic) components. The main energy source for almost all food webs is the sun. The sun is one of the abiotic components of an ecosystem. Other non-living components are the air, soil, and water. Every ecosystem is made up of abiotic and biotic components that interact and it is that interaction that makes an area unique and productive.

When you visit San Elijo Lagoon, you will learn details about some of the biotic and abiotic components of at least three different habitats: salt marsh, riparian forest, and coastal sage scrub. The salt marsh is washed by salty ocean water when the mouth of the lagoon is open, creating a succulent, salt-tolerant, low-growing, wetland plant community. Where there is fresh water flowing in streams and drainages, you’ll find a thicket of trees and shrubs of the riparian forest near the wetland. Coastal sage scrub is composed of drought-resistant shrubs and other plants that grow on drier coastal slopes.

Why are these habitats so different? It’s because their abiotic components, especially water and soils, are different. Abiotic components play a major role in determining what plant communities survive, which in turn determine which animals will live there. These interactions result in different food webs as well. Where there are different habitats close together, as there are at San Elijo Lagoon, the food webs of each overlap creating a very complex system (see illustration on page 7).

To summarize, why is it important to understand how the biotic and abiotic components of a community interact? It’s because both components are important within any ecosystem. A break in any part of a single food chain can negatively impact the entire food web and harm the entire ecosystem.


�sh

crab

egret

�ies

pickleweed

lizard

hummingbird

coyote

phoebe

hawk

energy from the sun

rabbit

blacksage

lemonadeberry

grass

seed

mouse

willow

ants

algae

Food WebSalt Marsh Riparian Coastal Sage Scrub



Vocabulary abiotic non-living components of an ecosystem; something that was never alive

adaptation body parts and behaviors that help an organism to survive

algae photosynthetic organisms, ranging in size from giant kelp to microscopic phytoplankton, that serve as food for many animals, including those in the lagoon (plural, algae; singular, alga)

bacteria microscopic, single-celled organisms that serve many ecological roles, some harmful and some helpful, including breaking down organic matter (e.g., dead leaves) and releasing nutrients into the environment (plural, bacteria; singular, bacterium)

biotic living components of an ecosystem, such as the plants and animals

carnivore an animal that eats only other animals (e.g., hawk or lizard)

coastal sage scrub a habitat growing on drier coastal slopes that consists of drought- resistant shrubs and other plants

component a part of something; a smaller part of a larger entity or system

consumer an animal that gets its energy by eating other plants or animals

decomposer a living thing (organism) that breaks down the remains of dead organisms (e.g., some insects, crabs, fungi, or bacteria)

ecosystem all the living and nonliving things that interact in an area

energy the capacity to be active, or, as defined in physics, to do work

food chain the path of food energy in an ecosystem from sunlight to plants to animals

food web a system of interconnected food chains

fungi a group of organisms, including mushrooms, yeast, and mold, which feeds on living and dead organic matter or material (plural, fungi; singular, fungus)

habitat a specific type of environment inhabited by particular animal and plant species

herbivore an animal that eats only plants (e.g., rabbit or deer)

lagoon a body of water cut off from another larger body of water by sand, coral or reef

nutrient a substance that living things need to live and grow





Vocabulary (continued)

omnivore an animal that can eat both plants and animals (e.g., skunk, raccoon, chicken, or human)

photosynthesis the process by which a plant makes its food from sunlight

phytoplankton plankton that are plants or are photosynthetic

producer an organism that makes its own food using energy usually from sunlight

riparian a type of wetland near or along the banks of a river, stream or lake

salt marsh a type of wetland habitat growing in or near salt water

species a group of the same type of living things that can mate and produce other living things of the same kind

watershed an area of land that drains rain falling onto it or water running through it into a common body of water, such as a creek or stream, which flows into a larger body of water, such as a river, lake, or estuary, and eventually flows to the ocean

wetland an area that is covered by water during all or some part of the year

References and Suggested ReadingsFor more information, look for these references at a local library or online.

Baders, W. & Carnine, D. 2007. Houghton Mifflin California Science. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin.

Kalman, B. 1998. What Are Food Chains & Webs? New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company.

Kalman, B. 2007. Wetland Food Chain. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company.

San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy website: www.sanelijo.org

San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy Animal Guide: www.sanelijo.org/animalguide

Silverstein, A., Silverstein, V. & Nunn, L.S. 2008. Food Chains. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-first Century Books.

Stienstra, T. 2000. California Wildlife: A practical guide. Emeryville, CA: Avalon Travel Publishing, Inc.


Teacher’s AidActivity IntroductionEvery habitat or ecosystem is composed of living and non-living things that interact. Some of the living, or biotic, components are plants, birds, insects, fungi, and bacteria. Some of the non-living, or abiotic, components are air, soil, water, and sunlight. During this activity, your students will survey the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components of their schoolyard or school campus. This will help prepare them for their visit to San Elijo Lagoon.

Time & Materials• This activity should take about 45 to 60 minutes to complete.

• Students can work in teams or individually.

• You will need one copy of the Student Worksheet for each student or student team (pg. 11).

Instructions to Teacher

Make copies of the Student Worksheet on page 11. Give each student or group of students a copy of a worksheet.

You’re going to have your students survey the schoolyard or school campus for living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) items. After they complete the worksheet, you will discuss their observations and their answers to the questions on how the biotic and abiotic factors interact in this environment.

Instructions to Students (to be given verbally)

Every habitat or ecosystem is composed of living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) things. We are going to survey our schoolyard (or playground or school campus) to find the major biotic and abiotic components. I am going to give each of you (or each team) a worksheet so that you can record your survey data.

Note: Review the worksheet with students so they understand what they’re supposed to do.

We will spend about 15 to 20 minutes outside conducting our survey and completing the table on your worksheets. When we come back to our classroom, I want you to answer the questions below the survey table. Then we will discuss your observations and answers to the questions.

ACTIVITY 1 Is It Alive, Dead or Non-living?


Student WorksheetInstructionsYou are looking for living (biotic) things, such as birds, insects, or plants, and for non-living (abiotic) things such as water, dirt, or sunshine. When you find something, write the name of the item in the table. Next, add your observations, such as where you saw it and what it was doing (if alive). For each item you observe, check a box to identify if it is biotic and alive, biotic but now dead, or abiotic. When you return to the classroom, answer the questions at the bottom of the page.

Questions: Did you find more biotic or abiotic items? ____________________________________________________________________

Which places had the most biotic items? ____________________________________________________________________

What do biotic things need to survive? ______________________________________________________________________

How do the abiotic things help or harm the biotic things? _______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 1 Is It Alive, Dead or Non-living?


Teacher’s AidActivity IntroductionEvery living thing needs energy to survive. We get energy from the foods we eat, which makes us part of a food chain. A food chain is the transfer of energy from the sun to plants, from plants to animals, and from animals to other animals. Parts 1 and 2 of this activity engage individual students in identifying a personal food chain. Part 3 of this activity involves the entire class in building a food web from their individual food chains. This will help prepare your students for the food chains and food webs they will learn about during their visit to San Elijo Lagoon.

Time & Materials• This activity should take about 30 to 60 minutes to complete. You may want to conduct it over two class periods.

• Students will work initially individually on their worksheets. Then they’ll work together as a class.

• You will need one copy of the Student Worksheet (both sides) for each student.

Instructions to Teacher

Make copies of the Student Worksheet (2 sides) on pages 16 & 17. Give each student a copy.

For Part 1, choose a meal (e.g., lunch) and have your students record everything they ate during that meal. (You could also assign this as homework and have students record breakfast or dinner. You’ll need to modify the wording of the instructions if you choose another meal.)

For Part 2, after they have completed Worksheet 1, have them draw their personal food chain linking the sun to plants to animals to themselves on Worksheet 2. Make sure their links have arrows showing the flow of energy from sun to plants to animals (see the illustration in this packet’s Introduction).

Finally, for Part 3, have the entire class work on building a class food web by combining all of the food chains on Worksheet 2 into one large food web diagram on a classroom board. On this food web, identify the producers, the different kinds of consumers (omnivores, carnivores, herbivores) and the decomposers. Don’t forget the sun, soil, and water (all important abiotic components). Discuss the differences between the individual food chains and the class food web.

For visual examples, see the illustrations in this packet’s Introduction.

ACTIVITY 2 My Food Chain

consumeranimals (chicken)

consumeryou & me

producerplant (corn)huevos rancheros

cereal

energy from the sun(along with water and nutrients for photosynthesis)

Food Chain


ACTIVITY 2 continued My Food Chain


Every living thing needs energy to survive and energy comes from the foods we eat, which makes us part of a food chain. A food chain shows the transfer of energy from the sun to plants, from plants to animals, and from animals to other animals. For this activity, you’re going to identify and draw your personal food chain, then as a class we’re going to draw a food web.

Part 1 Instructions

When you go to lunch today, I want you to “record in your brain” everything that you eat. When you come back into class, you will be completing a chart listing the foods in your lunch. [Hand out the Student Worksheet after lunch.] On the front page—Student Worksheet 1—I want you to write down everything you ate during your lunch. Next to each food on your list, explain where that food comes from, that is, what organism it is from. For example, if you had a tuna sandwich, what kind of organism is a tuna? (Answer: a fish, which is an animal.) How about the bread? What kind of organism is bread made from? (Answer: from wheat, which is a plant.)

Now complete your lunch worksheet.

Part 2 Instructions

For Part 2 (back page of worksheet), I want you to draw your personal food chain based on your food list. Here’s my example.

Draw for students an example food chain based on your lunch or other meal — see the illustration in this packet’s Introduction for a visual example. Include yourself and the sun and explain why.

Go ahead and make your food chain drawing like the one I just showed you, but use your food list. Make sure you include yourself and the sun in your drawing, and all the foods you ate.

Draw lines showing how the energy from the sun transfers through your foods to you.

Part 3 Instructions

Now as a class we’re going to combine our food chains to build a food web. We’ll start with the sun and the producers — those are organisms that make their own food from the sun. What uses sunlight, water, and nutrients to make food? (Answer: plants.) So who has plants on his or her food chain.

Take students’ answers and draw the various plants at the bottom of the food web. Remind students of the importance of plants—they’re the foundation of a food chain.

�sh

crab

egret

�ies

pickleweed

lizard

hummingbird

coyote

phoebe

hawk

energy from the sun

rabbit

blacksage

lemonadeberry

grass

seed

mouse

willow

antsalgae

Food WebSalt MarshRiparian

Coastal Sage Scrub



If any students mention mushrooms, place those slightly to the side so you can explain that mushrooms aren’t a plant, they’re fungi. That would also give you an opportunity to talk about decomposers when the food web is complete.

Next, who had meat or other animal products for lunch?

Take students’ answers and place the various animals/animal products on the next layer of the food web.

As you draw, if possible, organize animals together by those that are herbivores (cows, some fish), those that are carnivores (tuna, salmon, and some other fish), and those that are omnivores (chickens).

Finally, let’s add ourselves to the food web.

Explain that we are omnivores — can eat a variety of foods.

Draw lines from sun to plants to animals to people to show how energy transfers from layer to layer.

Note: If some students are vegetarians, you can have two or more people at the top of your food web and show energy transfer through plants and animals for omnivores and through plants only for vegetarians.

Conservation Focus:

What if we were to add plastic straws, bags, deflated balloons, discarded nets and teeny tiny pieces of plastic trash to this food web?

Write the word TRASH or POLLUTION in the middle of one of the arrows on your food chain.

What might happen to the animals that mistakenly eat the trash thinking its food?

Discuss with students. [Answers include: animals can get tangled in and injured by trash; trash might also make them very sick if eaten. For example: plastic bags floating in the ocean look like jellies, which are common prey for some sea turtles, fish, sea birds and marine mammals. Plastic trash, in particular, is indigestible, filling the animals’ stomachs, making them feel full, but providing no nutritional value.]

How do you think trash and pollution within lagoon and ocean food webs might affect people?

Discuss with students how pollutants can work their way up the food chain.[If small ocean fish, like sardines, mistake pieces of plastic trash for their normal food and eat them, the chemicals within that plastic will actually pass on to whatever eats that little fish (like a bigger fish). Those chemicals will continue to travel up the food chain, contaminating anything that ends up eating the original fish, like a tuna, dolphin, whale or even us humans! So by reducing the amount of plastic trash we create, and making sure to always



dispose of it properly, we can help keep oceanic food webs healthy, for all oceanic animals and for us people as well!]

Now of course we would never purposely add trash items to coastal and ocean ecosystems, like the lagoon. Unfortunately, any trash not thrown away properly will very likely end up in coastal habitats, like the lagoon, and, eventually, the ocean. How do you think trash from our streets ends up in the ocean?

Take student answers. [Discuss with students how litter in our streets/communities travel through storm drains and our watersheds to the coast (may need to define watershed for students.]

Soon, we will be visiting the San Elijo Lagoon where we will learn more about the food webs of many of the animals that live in this important habitat.

ExtensionYou can use the food web illustration of San Elijo Lagoon habitats from the Introduction of this packet and have students compare and contrast what they see in it with what they see in the class food web.


Student WorksheetPart 1 InstructionsRecord everything you ate during your meal. Next to each food you list, explain where that food comes from, that is, what type of organism it is from — a plant or an animal.



Student WorksheetPart 2 InstructionsUse your food list on the front of this sheet to draw your personal food chain. Make sure you include yourself and the sun in your drawing, along with the foods you ate. Draw lines showing how the energy from the sun transfers through your foods to you.

Picture of My Food Chain



Teacher’s AidActivity Introduction During this activity, your students will use the Lagoon Organism Adaptation Cards to differentiate lagoon animals by their consumer types. Students will also discover adaptations these organisms posses for finding and eating food, while avoiding becoming food. Before your visit, we hope you and your students become familiar with these cards. This will help prepare your class for what you will see and learn during the visit to the lagoon.

Time & Materials• This can be an individual or group student activity that should take your students 30-45 minutes to complete.

• Your students will need copies of the San Elijo Lagoon Organism Adaptation Cards (located in Appendix 1 pgs. 24-31).

• Your students will need paper/science notebooks and writing tools.

• You may also want to make available the vocabulary list, San Elijo Lagoon Animal Guide (www.sanelijo.org/animalguide) and/or library books showing the species they saw at the lagoon.

Instructions to TeacherMake copies of the Lagoon Organism Adaptation Cards (located in Appendix 1 on 24-31) and provide each student or student team with a copy.

You are going to have students sort by consumer types - Producer, Herbivore, Omnivore or Carnivore. This will familiarize your students with some of the organisms they will see when you visit the Lagoon, while also focusing students attention on consumer types and food chains and webs within the lagoon.

Then you will have students list adaptations each organism has for finding food/getting energy or for avoiding becoming food. This will familiarize your students with some of the adaptations lagoon organisms have for surviving in their environments.


IntroductionThis activity will help you think about producers and consumers in a food web, while also exploring the different adaptations these lagoon organisms have that help them get energy (food) while avoiding becoming someone else’s food!

Look at the Adaptation Cards. Each card represents an animal or plant you might see on our upcoming field trip to the lagoon. On the back of each card is a list of adaptations that particular organism has to survive life in the lagoon.

Review adaptations with students. [Adaptations are body parts and behaviors that help an organism survive in its environment].

ACTIVITY 3 Consumer Types and Adaptations


The first thing we are going to do is play a sorting game. You will be sorting the organisms into producers and consumers. You are then going to further sort the consumers into their consumer types: herbivore, carnivore and omnivore.

Let’s do a quick review: Who can tell me what a producer is?

[An organism that makes its own food using energy usually from sunlight = plants.]

What is a consumer? What are the different types of consumers?

[An organism that eats (consumes) other animals and/or plants for energy. The different types of consumers are herbivore = plant eater, carnivore = meat/animal eater, omnivore = eats plants and animals. NOTE: decomposers are another consumer type but they will not be highlighted in this activity]

I am going to start out by making a chart on the board (and you should make this same chart in your notebooks/paper). I will make 4 columns to represent the 4 consumer types we will be looking at for this activity: Producers, Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores. Now, let’s take a few minutes to sort all these Lagoon Organism cards into their consumer types.

Give the students approximately 5-10 minutes to complete the sorting activity.

Alright, who are the producers?

Write students answers on the board under the appropriate column.

[Willow, Prickly pear, Sagebrush & Pickleweed]

Which animals are the herbivores?

[Cottontail rabbit, Horned snail, Mallard, Honeybee, Swallowtail butterfly]

What about the carnivores?

[Western fence lizard, Rattlesnake, Snowy egret]

What about the omnivores?

[Coyote, Raccoon, Mullet, Fiddler crab]

Great job class! Now you all should have a table that looks like this one I have on the board.

ACTIVITY 3 continued Consumer Types and Adaptations

Producers Consumer: Herbivore

Prickly pear

Willow

Sagebrush

Pickleweed

Consumer: Omnivore Consumer: Carnivore

Honeybee

Swallowtail butterfly

Mallard

Horned snail

Cottontail rabbit

Raccoon

Coyote

Fiddler crab

Mullet

Western fence lizard

Snowy egret

Rattlesnake


Now that we know what types of consumers these organisms are, let’s think about the different adaptations (body parts and/or behaviors) that help these animals find and eat their food. We also want to look for any adaptations that these organisms have to help them avoid becoming someone else’s meal!

Give the students another 5-10 minutes to review cards again and list feeding adaptations they’ve found.

Starting with the herbivores – who would like to give me an example of an adaptation that a lagoon herbivore has to help it find and eat its plant food?

[Answers: Mallard has bill shaped for scooping up aquatic plant material, rabbit has strong front teeth for chewing plant materials, etc.]

Now who can give me an example of an adaptation that an herbivore has to help it not become someone’s food?

[Answers: Swallowtail butterflies taste bad and their bright colors warn predators of that, honeybee has venom filled stinger for protection and bright colors to warn predators, rabbit freezes in place to avoid being seen, etc.]

Moving on to the carnivores, what are some adaptations these animals have to help them find and eat their food?

[Answers: Snowy egret has bright yellow feet which attract fish and long beak for stabbing and catching their prey; the Western fence lizard has needle like teeth to catch and hold their quick moving insect prey; the rattlesnake has heat sensors to help them find their prey and venom filled fangs to help them catch their prey].

Who can give me examples of adaptations these animals have for avoiding becoming food?

[Answers: Rattlesnakes and fence lizards camouflage into surroundings, Western fence lizards’ tails can break off to help it escape predators, the Snowy egret has wings to fly away and also builds its nests up in trees to avoid predators.]

Finally list adaptations that omnivores have that help them find and eat their food.

[Answers: Raccoons have big eyes and hand like paws to help them find and catch their food; coyotes have long noses and big ears to better smell and hear their prey, as well as, sharp teeth for catching their prey; mullets’ mouths are shaped to scoop up decaying plant and animal materials found in the mud at the bottom of the lagoon.]

Can anyone give me examples of adaptations these omnivores have to avoid becoming food?

[Answers: Mullets have very slimy and slippery scales which help them avoid being caught. Raccoons and coyotes are both more active at night to avoid people and predators, etc.]

Wrap Up:We are now more familiar with the consumer types we will see when we go visit the San Elijo Lagoon, and we’ve learned more about the adaptations these organisms have to help them find their food and protect themselves. We have also discussed how all these animals are connected through the lagoon food web – and that we are connected as well!



Can anyone give me an example of an adaptation that lagoon organisms possess to help them survive trash and pollution within their habitats?

Take student answers/thoughts.

How does human trash and pollution end up in an important coastal environment, like the lagoon?

Discuss. [Answers include: Winds can blow trash from streets and beaches, and trash on streets can end up in the lagoon and ocean by traveling through storm drains and our watershed. People too often leave trash behind, or don’t dispose of trash properly.]

Now that we know that trash is a problem in our watersheds, where we live, which includes important habitats like the lagoon and the ocean, there are many things that we can do to make sure our trash doesn’t end up polluting important habitats and food webs. One of the most important things is to make sure we put trash where it belongs, and pick up trash (litter) when we see it. We can also focus on being less wasteful, making less trash, especially single use plastic waste. Instead we can reuse and recycle as much plastic waste as possible. What are some things you are already doing, or can easily start doing, to reduce your waste?

[Possible answers: Using reusable water bottles and lunch containers, never littering, minimizing single use plastic items, reusing plastic containers as art supplies or toy storage, etc.]

Great job class! Together we all can make a difference to help protect healthy habitats and food webs! During our field trip to San Elijo Lagoon we will learn more about lagoon organisms and food webs, as well as, more ways to help protect the lagoon for many years to come!

Extension1) As a sorting activity, you can ask your students to sort the Lagoon Organism Adaptation cards based on adaptations that help prevent the organisms becoming food. For example have students sort out all the organisms that use a form of camouflage to avoid being eaten (cottontail rabbit, Western fence lizard, rattlesnake) vs. those organisms that broadcast to avoid being eaten (honeybee, swallowtail butterfly) etc.

2) Individually, ask students to create a sample Lagoon Food Chain using some of the Lagoon Organism Adaptation Cards or the San Elijo Lagoon Animal Guide (located on website: www.sanelijo.org/animalguide) [A sagebrush plant, which gets its energy from the sun, is eaten by a rabbit, which in turn is eaten by a coyote, etc.]. Then as a group, have students list their food chains on the board and connect the different chains into a lagoon food web.



Teacher’s AidActivity IntroductionIt’s important that your students reflect on and process what they learned during their field trip. This activity will help them synthesize what they learned about the lagoon’s food webs.

Time & Materials• This is an individual student activity that could take your students 30 to 45 minutes to complete.

• Your students will need paper and writing tools.

• You may also want to make available the vocabulary list, Lagoon Animal Cards, San Elijo Lagoon Animal Guide (available online here: www.sanelijo.org/animalguide) and/or library books showing the species they saw at the lagoon.

Instructions to TeacherHave your students talk for a few minutes about their experiences at the lagoon. Which animal and/or plant species did they see? What was new to them? What new words did they learn? Did they see any food web activity (animals hunting, birds or butterflies feeding, ants or crabs eating, fungi growing and decomposing plant materials, etc.)? Did they see any human waste or trash that could be harmful to lagoon organisms? What could they do to make sure the lagoon stays clean and healthy?

Now ask students to write a story about an animal or plant that they saw during their field trip to the lagoon. Include in the story where that organism would be found (which habitat within the lagoon), what it eats (or how it gets its energy), and if it’s a consumer (herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore), producer, or decomposer. Have students include all the biotic and abiotic components they can think of that would be linked to their organism. Ask students to list their organism’s structural and behavioral adaptations that help them find and eat food, and avoid becoming food. Have them conclude their story by describing what they could do to help keep the lagoon clean and healthy for their organism. Finally, you can have students finish with a lagoon food web drawing that includes their organism and complements their story.

ACTIVITY 4 Food Chains & Food Webs at San Elijo Lagoon


Adaptations Cards(print back to back)


Coyote Cottontail rabbit

Raccoon Mullet

Coyote These are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• fur to keep warm

• sharp teeth to catch and eat food

• long nose to smell for food items, like rodents, lizards, birds, eggs and berries

• big ears to listen for prey

Behaviors:

• active at night to avoid people and predators

• howls to communicate with other coyotes

• changes hunting style to match its food type

Cottontail rabbit These are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:


• strong front teeth for chewing plant foods

• big eyes and ears for finding predators

• big back legs and feet for jumping

Behaviors:

• freezes in place when frightened

• runs away quickly or jumps when frightened or chased

RaccoonThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:


• front paws like hands for catching food items like; insects, worms, frogs, shellfish, fish, birds, eggs, grubs, snakes, lizards and berries

• big eyes for good night vision

Behaviors:

• active at night to avoid people and predators

• stays in den in a tree to keep warm and safe

• opportunistic feeders that eat most anything available in their habitat

MulletThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• scales to protect body

• mucus on scales to protect skin and make it slippery and easier to escape predators.

• gills for breathing in water

• mouths that are ideal at scooping up food, like bottom dwelling invetebrates, algae & decaying plant and animal matter (detritus), from bottom of lagoon

• fins and tail for swimming in water

Behaviors:

• jumps out of water, but no one knows why


Horned snail Fiddler crab

Western fence lizard Rattlesnake


Horned snailThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• hard shell to protect soft body

• a “trapdoor” that closes shell to keep its body moist (operculum)

• rough, file-like, tongue used for licking decaying plant and animal material (detritus) from the mud

Behaviors:

• stays away from neighbors so there’s food for everyone

Fiddler crabThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• hard shell to protect soft body

• eyes on stalks to see all around

• 2 claws used for protection, communication and feeding. Males possess one claw larger than the other

• flat body to fit in cracks

Behaviors:

• male waves the big claw to attract a female or scare off other males

• hides in cracks to avoid predators

• claws and mouths are used to sift detritus (decaying plant & animal material) from the mud; small balls of “cleaned mud” are scattered around their burrows

Western fence lizard These are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• teeth like needles to catch and hold quick moving insect prey


• camouflage to hide

• long tail can break off to help escape predators like hawks, egrets, coyotes, raccoons and snakes

• male’s bright blue belly patches to attract a female

Behaviors:

• warms its body in the sun

• freezes in place when frightened

• runs away quickly when frightened or chased

RattlesnakeThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:


• heat sensors on face to find prey like: rodents, birds, lizards, eggs, frogs, and even other snakes

• fangs to inject venom to kill prey

• camouflage to hide

Behaviors:

• rattles tail to warn predators like hawks and coyotes

• hides from prey


Mallard (male) Snowy Egret

Honeybee Swallowtail butterfly


MallardThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• feathers to stay dry and keep warm

• round bill for eating aquatic plants

• male’s showy colors to attract females

• female’s drab color to camouflage on the nest

Behaviors:

• feeds on water plants with head down and bottom up

• spreads special body oil to waterproof feathers

Snowy EgretThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• feathers to stay dry and keep warm

• long bill to catch food like small fish, crabs, lizards, snakes and insects

• bright yellow feet to lure fish

• wings for flying

Behaviors:

• stirs up mud with feet to find prey

• opens and closes its mouth under water to attract prey

• builds nest in trees to avoid predators

HoneybeeThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:

• stinger with venom to protect itself


• bright colors to warn predators that it stings

• baskets on legs to carry food (pollen and nectar from flowers and plants)

Behaviors:

• stings to protect itself

• lives and works together with other bees in a hive

• communicates well with other bees in its hive

Swallowtail butterflyThese are some of my adaptations.

Body Parts:


• long tongue to collect flower nectar

• bright colors to warn predators that it tastes bad

Behaviors:

• flies away from predators

• rests with wings folded up to hide


Sagebrush

Prickly pear Willow

Pickleweed


Prickly pearThese are some of my adaptations.

Plant Parts:

• waxy pads (flat stems) to store water

• spines to protect from hungry animals

• spines (small leaves) to save water

• showy flowers to attract bees and other pollinators

• shallow roots to collect rain water quickly

Who eats/uses me?

• Spiders spin their webs within the safety of the sharp spines of the prickly pear plant

• Fruits (tunas) and pads (nopales) of plant are still eaten by people

WillowThese are some of my adaptations.

Plant Parts:

• roots can live covered in water during floods

• seeds are light and fluffy for spreading by the wind

• bark protects plant from diseases

Who eats/uses me?

• Willow trees were extremely important to the Kumeyaay people who used to live around San Elijo Lagoon

• The leaves and bark of the willow tree contain a natural pain killing compound which was used by Native Americans as medicine

PickleweedThese are some of my adaptations.

Plant Parts:

• fleshy leaves to store water

• red stem tips drop off when they collect too much salt

• lives in salt water where fewer other plants can compete

Who eats/uses me?

• Eaten by small mammals and birds

• Primary home for the Endangered bird, the Belding’s savannah sparrow, and the saltwater harvest mouse

Sagebrush These are some of my adaptations.

Plant Parts:

• soft gray leaves to reflect the sun’s heat

• long narrow leaves to save water

• shallow roots to collect rain water quickly

• leaves and stems dry up in summer to save water

Who eats/uses me?

• Eaten by mule deer, small mammals and water fowl (birds)

• Kumeyaay burned sage leaves to keep away mosquitoes and fleas and to disguise their human scent when hunting



Appendix 2 Common Core Connections

W. 2Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.W. 3

Third Grade ELA/Literacy

Rl. 1 Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.

Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Write opinion pieces on topics and texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

Rl. 3

Rl. 7

W. 1

W. 8Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on other’s ideas and expressing their own clearly.

SL. 1


Appendix 2 continued Common Core Connections

W. 3Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

Recall information from experiences or gather information from print and digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.W. 8

Fourth Grade ELA/Literacy

RI. 1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

Write opinion pieces on topics and texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.

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

RI. 3

W. 1

W. 2


SL. 1


Appendix 2 continued Common Core Connections

Grade 5 ELA/Literacy

RI. 3 Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas or concepts in a historical, scientific or technical text based on specific information in the text.

Write opinion pieces on topics and texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.

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

Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences.

W. 1

W. 2

W. 3


SL. 1

Recall relevant information from experience or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

W. 8


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Compiled by: Education Director Tara Fuad

Contributors:Executive Director Doug Gibson

Education Coordinator Elayna Flanders

Writer/Editor Chris Parsons and Rachael Cohen

Designer Tanya Bredehoft

The following people have contributed to the development of this material by providing invaluable feedback.

Denise Stillinger, Elizabeth Venrick, Kathy Dickey, Carol Rayes, Barbara Wallach, Julianne Clark, Stacey Halboth, Debbie Hannah, Nancy Kamp, Phyllis Krone

Funding for the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy Teacher Guides has been generously provided by the CA Coastal Commission, CA Coastal Conservancy, County of San Diego, The Escondido Charitable Foundation, Qualcomm, SDG&E, and Union Bank.

© 2017 by San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy. All rights reserved. First edition 2010. These materials may be reproduced, copied, and distributed in their entirety for non-commercial educational purposes, but may not be sold, rented, or otherwise distributed. Neither text nor illustrations may be modified, excerpted or republished into other material without the prior express written consent of the copyright holder. The existing trademark and copyright notices may not be removed or obscured.

The San Elijo Lagoon conservation education program provides unique outdoor experiences that are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. The goal of the program is for students to connect to nature, become watershed literate, recognize nature’s relevancy, and become confident to take action on behalf of the environment. www.sanelijo.org/ForTeachers

To contact San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, email: [email protected]

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