Food Webs

 

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers |

 Introduction:

Every living thing needs energy to live. The sun produces all energy. The suns' light lets plants make their own food and grow. When plants grow, other animals eat the plants to get energy. Today, you will be able to find out how living things get food and why that relationship is called a food chain. A food chain is the transfer of energy from one living thing to another living thing.

I'm starving! What's for dinner?

In the course of this quest you will explore two questions:  Why are there substantial losses in net production as energy passes from one Trophic level to the next.  The first level contains Autotrophs, the higher levels contain different levels of Consumers (2) or Decomposers.  What is the short term and long term effect of the complete removal (Extinction) of one species from your food web.

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The Task:

 

Your job is to define and understand the following words: food chain, producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer and decomposer. 

Then, you will apply your knowledge of these vocabulary terms by creating three food chains. Each food chain you make will fit on one sheet of plain white typing paper.

Each of the three food chains must have a picture of at least one living thing in each of these categories.

You will connect place the three chains along-side one another and draw arrows where appropriate to form a Food Web.  Make sure your work is neat and colorful as it is part of your grade.

The Process:

Design a Food Web for your chosen habitat:

You may draw or use clip art from the computer.

• Search the habitat of your choice for pictures of organisms.
• Identify 3 autotrophs. 3 primary consumers, 3 secondary consumers and 3 tertiary consumers.
• Make three food chains starting with autotrophs and continuing for at least four trophic levels, using the organisms from your habitat.
• Line the three food chains next to one another and draw arrows showing how that may be inter connected.
• You have made a food web.
• Using the Food web you have created, what would be the short term effect of the loss of one of the organisms?

Use the resources cited below to the information you need. You may have a set of links that everyone looks at as a way of developing background information, or not. If you break learners into groups, embed the links that each group will look at within the description of that stage of the process. (Note, this is a change from the older WebQuest templates which included a separate Resources section. It's now clear that the resources belong in the Process section rather than alone.)

 

Resources:

Below are some sites that will help you in your task.  You of course are free to find additional sites, but for time's sake I suggest you use the sites below first and look for additional sites if you are unable to find the information you want.

Habitats:

•     Sir Hitcham's habitats

•          World Habitats and Biomes

•         Enchanted Learning

Trophic levels

• Food Chains

• More on Food Chains andTrophic Levels

• Trophic Pyramids and Food Webs  (Aquatic)

• What are Trophic levels?

 

Evaluation:

Describe to the learners how their performance will be evaluated. Specify whether there will be a common grade for group work vs. individual grades.

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Content	Shows a full understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of the topic.	Shows a good understanding of parts of the topic.	Does not seem to understand the topic very well.
Comprehension	Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed about the topic.	Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed about the topic.
Poster	Poster is clear, colorful, attractive and complete.	Poster is clear, somewhat colorful and attractive and complete	Poster is not colorful or attractive, but clear and complete	Poster is not complete
Time-Limit	Presentation is 5-6 minutes long.	Presentation is 4 minutes long.	Presentation is 3 minutes long.	Presentation is less than 3 minutes OR more than 6 minutes.

 

Conclusion:

From this the student should be able to identify the trophic levels in a habitat and the impact the loss of a single species may have on the community.  This quest prepares students for the next WebQuest where they will work in groups to identify the environmental impact of a development in previously undeveloped land.

Teachers: 

Teachers:  I have not yet tried this Web Quest.  You are on your own.  I will have more helpful notes after I have run this.

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