Interactions in the Food Chain (optional)

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- Identify complete food chains in the local ecosystem.
- Create teaching materials.
- Develop Internet research skills.

GUIDING QUESTIONS:
What eats my organism?
What does it eat?

MATERIALS:
- Drawing and construction paper
- Scissors
- Hole punch
- Yarn or string
- Art supplies for drawing (colored pencils, markers, etc.)

CLASS ACTIVITIES:
Note: This lesson creates a prop that students can use to teach younger students about food chains. It will be used in the SECRETS "Energy Flow" lesson, at the end of week 7. This lesson is optional if you are not teaching lessons based on the SECRETS curriculum.
1. Review concept of a food chain. Define, if necessary, the terms producer, consumer, and decomposer.
2. Students should construct a complete food chain that includes the organism that they researched in the "Introduction to Interactions" lesson. The chain should include a producer, at least 3 consumers, and a decomposer. It may be necessary for the students to do additional research on the other organisms in the food chain.
3. Students should then find images of each organism in the food chain by searching on the Internet. Using printouts or drawings based on the images, students should construct a set of "food chain necklaces." Each necklace should be about 4"x5" and should consist of a color-coded background (green for producers, red for consumers, and brown for decomposers), a picture of the organism, the name of the organism.
4. If time allows, have groups of students put on necklaces and try to get in the correct order.