Food Webs & Ecosystems Science Station UNIT BUNDLE

These Food Webs Next Generation Science Stations include eight different science stations where students deepen their understanding of food webs, ecosystems, consumers, producers and decomposers, and the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. The focus is on 5-LS2-1.

Included in the Food Webs Science Stations UNIT BUNDLE

► Vocabulary Cards in two formats with and without pictures (only available in the BUNDLE)

► Big Idea Posters to display in your classroom (only available in the BUNDLE)

► Checklists for teachers and students (only available in the BUNDLE)

► Watch a Video – Students watch one of two videos about ecosystems and decomposers. They answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ available)

► Play a Game – Students play an active game or a board game with other students. Another option is a crossword or word search puzzle. The crossword and word search puzzles are available digitally.

► Investigate Decomposition Proposition –  Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They investigate the role decomposers play in an ecosystem. They answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ and Google Slides™️ are available)

► Diagram Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave –  Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They create diagrams of this based on the reading section.  Students then answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ and Google Slides™️ are available)

► Read about Food Webs – Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ is available)

► Model Web of Life – Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They create a model of this in a diorama.  They answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ and Google Slides™️ are available)

► Explore Ch-ch-ch-changes – Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They explore what happens when part of an ecosystem changes.  They answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned. (Google Form™️ and Google Slides™️ are available)

► Sort Producer or Consumer? – Students read about ecosystems and food webs.  They sort scenarios into two categories: producer or consumer.  They then answer questions in order to reinforce what they have learned.(Google Form™️ and Google Slides™️ are available)

Google Classroom™️ Components Include:

► Google Form™️ with Reading Passage & Differentiated Questions (for Watch, Investigate, Diagram, Read, Model, Explore and Sort)

► Google Slides™️ with Activity Directions & Worksheets (for Investigate, Diagram, Model, Explore, Sort)

Each station is designed to last about 15-20 minutes. Students may do one a day for eight days, two a day for four days, or any format that works for your classroom. Because there are additional activities for the Watch and Play stations, you can offer those as a choice within that station or offer them as an early finisher station, as well.

NGSS Alignment

As a Fifth Grade Performance Expectation, students are expected to “Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment. ” (5-LS2-1).  This correlates with the DCI 5-LS2.B, which states, “Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, and water, from the environment, and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.”  All stations in this set meet the Performance Expectation and DCI, helping students gain an understanding of how energy and matter cycle through ecosystems by way of feeding arrangements between producers, consumers, decomposers, and the environment.

This Performance Expectation, 5-LS2-1, is concerned with how energy and matter flow through ecosystems.  Students will be learning about biotic and abiotic factors that form an ecosystem, as well as the role of food chains and food webs in an ecosystem. This Station Set correlates with the Station Set 5-PS3-1 (Energy For Life), in which students learn about the chemical processes of photosynthesis, including how energy from the sun is converted to chemical energy in plants.  In the Station Set 5-LS1-1 (Plant Growth), students learn about what plants need to grow and what are the necessary materials for plant growth to happen. They also learn about the flow of energy in the form of sugar through the plant, plant tissue growth and maintenance, etc.

The NGSS are three-dimensional. These stations meet:

• Performance Expectation: 5-LS2-1
• Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS2.A: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems and LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
• Science and Engineering Practices: Developing and Using Models
• Connections to Nature of Science: Science Models, Laws, Mechanisms, and Theories Explain Natural Phenomena
• Crossing Cutting Concepts: Systems and System Models