Ecosystems Unit 1

Guidelines for a Safe Learning Environment are reviewed

Oct 5, 2015

5 minutes: Review Internet Safety Guidelines

Technology in the Classroom

Oct 5, 2015

5 min. - Review - Using technology in the classroom helps us exercise our brains.

Lesson 1: How Does Energy Flow in an Ecosystem?

Oct 5, 2015

45 min - After completing this lesson, students will be able to provide a definition of the word ecosystem, identify the sun as the main source of energy in ecosystems, and define the terms producer, consumer, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, and decomposer in the context of ecosystems.

Ecosystems Unit 1 Implementation

Period: Oct 5, 2015 to Oct 9, 2015

Ecosystems Unit 1 will span five instructional days including 4 days of instruction and 1 day for the unit test

Lesson 2: Food Chains and Food Webs

Oct 6, 2015

30 min. - After completing this lesson, students will be able to provide a definition of food chains and food webs, and describe the roles of producers, primary consumers and secondary consumers, with at least one example of each.

Lesson 3: Decomposers

Oct 7, 2015

30 min. - After completing this lesson, students will be able to describe the roles of decomposers (at the end of food chains, eating organic waste and dead material while returning nutrients to the environment that return to the beginning of the food chain) and provide at least three examples.

Lesson 4: Microorganisms

Oct 8, 2015

60 min. - After completing this lesson, students will be able to provide a definition of the word microorganism, describe the role of microorganisms in ecosystems, name at least three examples of microorganisms, and list at least three benefits of microorganisms.

Ecosystem Unit 1 Test

Oct 9, 2015

20 min. - Summative assessment of level of mastery of material specified in 4th grade California Science Standards for ecosystems.