Animals In Their Environment

By Lisa Albanese Michelle Morales

MST Inquiry Unit Power Point

Producers Consumers Decomposers

Trees

Plants

Flowers

Dogs

Tigers

Pandas

Bacteria

Millipede

Fungi/Mushroom

This is a graphic organizer that we used in lesson#2

•Students were able to classify producers, consumers and decomposers through a chart by grouping producer, consumer and decomposer pictures and labeling the organisms.

There are 5 important things animals need to survive. Can you guess what they are?

• Water• Food • Shelter • Air • A safe place to raise their young

Introduction: Things Animals Can’t Live Without

Without these 5 important things most animals probably wouldn’t be here today.

All animals/organisms play important roles in their environment. Some animals are producers, some are

consumers and some are decomposers.But what are producers, consumers and decomposers?

decomposers

Lesson 2: Producers

A producer is an organism who creates its own food by using energy from the sun. Plants are producers. Below are some examples of Producers.

Lesson 2: Consumers

A consumer is an animal/organism that gets its food by eating other plants and animals. Consumers can not make their own food. Animals and humans are consumers. Below are some examples of Consumers.

Lesson 2: Decomposer

A decomposer is a living organism (for example bacteria) which feeds off of dead plants and animals for food. They eat decaying matter - dead plants and animals and in the process they break them down and decompose them. When that happens, they release nutrients and mineral salts back into the soil - which then will be used by plants. Below are some examples of decomposers.

• Prey is an animal who is hunted by a larger animal and killed for food.

• A Predator is an animal who kills and attacks another smaller animal in search for food.

Here are some pictures of predators attacking their prey.

Lesson 3: Competition- Prey vs. Predator

Animals are always in competition to search for food. During a chase for food one animal is always the predator and one is the prey. What are predators and preys?

All living things need food to give them the energy to grow and move. A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food.• A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to

obtain nutrition.• A food chain starts with the primary energy source, usually the sun. Below is an example of

a food chain.

Lesson 6: Food Chains

Tools We Included In Our Lessons

• Web 2.0 Tool – http://central.fhsd.k12.mo.us/prehling/webquest1student.html

• You Tube Videos – IkenEdu. "Super Senses in Animals." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTYBqq7j1Hk

Running SpeedsCheetahs vs. Jaguars

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average Median Mode Range

Cheetah 75 77 76 71 78 75.40% 76 n/a 71-78

Jaguar 54 56 51 56 58 55% 56 56 51-58

Graph and Mathematical Representation used in lesson# 3

•Students will be able to create a T-chart and use pictures to group and classify prey/predator relationships.

•Students will be able to identify that animals are competing in different Biomes for similar resources by formulating three congruent graphs showing the running speed differences between predators and preys along with an algebraic representation and analysis.

Filamentality

• http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listanimaleli.html

Scavenger Hunt

• http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/huntanimaleli.html