Lesson 4.1: Energy Transfer
NGSS
Objective
Students will understand how energy is transferred as it moves up a food chain/web.
Materials
Per Student:
- Energy Transfer Handout (in journal)
Prep
- Place red, and black colored pencils and/or markers at each table group.
- Pull up the Milkweed Bug Experiment slides.
- Fill a couple large cups with tap water and a few large cups with sunflower seeds. Set aside to be used by the students when they need to fill up their food and water cups.
Procedure
Introduction:
5-10 Minutes: Energy Transfer Predictions
1. Have students refer back to their food chain from the previous week as you review what was learned.
- What is a food chain?
- How is a food chain different from a food web?
- Who are the "players" in a food chain?
2. Have students turn to the "Energy Transfer" page of their journal. Read together as a class.
3. Have students write their predictions on the left-hand side of the paper and then discuss what they wrote with a partner.
Explanation:
10 minutes: How Does Energy Transfer Through the Food Chain/Web?
1. Using the slides or by writing on the board, show how energy is used up or lost as it moves up the food chain.
Activity:
5 minutes: Revisions
1. After learning about how energy is transferred, have students revise their answer from before.
- Have them write their new answer on the right-hand side of the paper. If they would like to keep the same answer, have them write evidence for why they think their answer is correct.
Closing:
10-15 Minutes: Cleaning and Care/Observations and Drawings
- Have students carefully change remove the plastic portion cups from the containers.
- Have students change the water and sunflower seeds.
- Have students place the clean food and water cups back into the containers.
- Give students about 5 minutes to write their observations. Encourage them to work with their table group to fill out this section.
- Ask students to use the colored pencils and/or markers on their desk to draw what they see inside their container (what the insects look like). Have them write what stage they think their insects are in their life cycle in their journal as well.
- Once students have completed their observations and drawings, ask them to clean up their space and return their deli containers to the insulated coolers according to labeled temperature