Name: Kylee Brown Date: 10/22/2022 Targeted Grade: 3rd Grade

Content & Focus of Lesson:

Science: The content focus of this lesson is for students to demonstrate an understanding of how habitats affect
the diversity of organisms within. More specifically, students will know how to classify organisms into the
following categories: producer, consumer, or decomposer. Students will learn that all organisms that make up
surrounding habitats obtain energy differently. Over 5 days, students will have the opportunity to work hands on
with their environment to have a better understanding of food chains and what type of organisms are found
within.

South Carolina Science Standard

Standard 3.L.5: The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the characteristics and changes in
environments and habitats affect the diversity of organisms.

Indicator
3.L.5A.2: Develop and use a food chain model to classify organisms as producers, consumers, and decomposers
and to describe how organisms obtain energy.

Learning Objective(s): The students will be able to:

 Differentiate between the three types of organisms: producers, consumers, and decomposers.
 Construct their own food chain based on the surrounding environment.
 Formulate an explanation about how organisms obtain energy.

Key Vocabulary
Food Chain, Organism, Producer, Consumer, Decomposer, Energy, Environment, Habitat

Background Science Content:

In 2nd grade, student would have learned about how different types of animals survived within their changing environments.
This knowledge will help students learn the importance of an organism’s habitat in order to survive and obtain energy.
Students will need to be aware that all animals, and organisms, live differently. Being aware of this will guide students to
understand that all organisms throughout a habitat thrive and survive in different ways.

Instructional Adaptations to Meet the Needs of Diverse Learners

In order to adapt the lessons to meet the needs of diverse learners, I will provide a list of different organisms. By doing this,
students who might not have a backyard or an area to observe will still be given the opportunity to create their own food
chain.

Materials Needed
 Paper
 Pencil
 Science Notebook

Lesson Context Time Planned for this Lesson

Learners are between the ages of 8 and 9. At this age, Instruction will take place over the course of 5 days.
hands-on activities are extremely helpful when trying
to learn a concept. Throughout these lessons, there
are multiple occurrences when students are able to
participate in a hands-on activity. These lessons are
considered to be developmentally appropriate for this
age group.

Engage -
To begin the lesson, I will have the entire class create a list of all the things they eat in a day. By doing this, students will have
to think back to the previous day of what they ate. Once these lists are created, students will get to discuss with their table
groups about the lists that they have created. I will ask the students to “think of reasons of why it is important for humans to
eat food?” I will push students to say something along the lines of “humans need food in order to survive. Food also gives us
energy.” “When we have energy, we are able to function throughout the day, without it we would not be able to do
anything. In the same way that we need food for energy, all other organisms need a source of energy in order to survive.” By
having students create lists of the food they consume, it will personalize the learning experience, which will then engage the
students in their learning.
Explore -
During the explore day, as a class, we will go outside to an area that contains a lot of organisms. After explaining to the class
that organisms are any living thing, they will be asked to make a list of the different organisms that they notice within the
area. Students will be given 5 minutes to observe organisms outside. After the time is up, we will make our way back inside.
Once inside, I will have the class brainstorm predictions of how each of the organisms they observed obtained energy. Once
they have made their independent predictions, students will get to share with their table groups how they think different
types of organisms will obtain energy.
Explain -
On the third day, we will have an explanation of what we have observed and noticed about our organisms. Throughout this
day, students will need to be taking notes within their science notebooks. To start, I will mention the word food chain to
the class. I will ask students what they already know about food chains. I will explain to the class that a food chain is a
structured way for us to visualize how different organisms obtain their energy. After explaining the concept of a food chain,
I will mention the different types of organisms that you can find in a habitat. This is when I will mention the word
producers, consumers, and decomposers. “The food chain is made up of producers, consumers, and decomposers. All of
these organisms work together in order to provide energy to one another. Producers are organisms that get energy by
making their own food. An example of a producer would be plants, or grass. Consumers are organisms that obtain energy
by eating other organisms. An example of a consumer would be rabbits or foxes. The final type of organism is
decomposers. A decomposer gets energy by breaking down dead organisms. An example of a decomposer would be a
worm.” I will give students an example of what a food chain would normally look like with all of the organisms included.
After we go over the different types of organisms, students will refer back to their list from the previous day. They will
mark each organism listed as either a producer, consumer, or decomposer.
Elaborate -
During the elaborate day, students get to use the knowledge they have learned to create their own food chains. As
homework prior to this day, students will be asked to observe and make notes of the different organisms that they notice at
home, similar to what we did on the explore day. Now that students have a list of organisms they observed at home, they
will create their own food chain. Because students made their own list, the food chains should vary between each student. I
will explain to the class that organisms will be different in each habitat.
Reflection Questions (Briefly respond to each).

1. What did you choose to teach, and why?

I chose to teach the concept of food chains and the type of organisms because I always really enjoyed learning
about this topic growing up. Also, I think it is a fun way to get students engaged within their surrounding
environments.
2. How did you ensure that you met the needs of all learners? What evidence do you have to support both your
instructional strategies and your claims?
To ensure that I met the needs of all learners, I planned activities that will allow students to work and
collaborate with their groups. By allowing students to work with groups, they will be able to bounce ideas off of
each other and help one another when needed. The evidence I have for this is written within the Engage and
Explore sections.
3. How did the lesson go in terms of student understanding? What evidence do you have to support both your
assessment strategies and your claims?
In terms of student understanding, the lesson went as planned. The students were able to differentiate between
the three types of organisms. The evidence that I have to support this is the food chains that they created and
submitted. The majority of the food chains listed a producer, consumer, and decomposer, all in the correct
location within the food chain.
4. If you were to teach this lesson again, what would you change, and why?
If I were to teach this lesson again, one thing that I would change would be the environment in which students
observe. I would need to be more aware of a student’s home life. Some students might not have a habitat that
they can observe around their home.