QCA Unit 4B Habitats

Lesson plan and feedback: To create a food chain using Pond Explorer:

• To identify the structure of a food chain in a specific habitat.
  
• To identify the food source of different animals in different habitats.
• To construct food chains in a particular habitat.
• That food chains can be used to represent feeding relationships in a habitat.
  

Literacy:

• To scan texts in print or on screen to locate key words or phrases, useful headings and key sentences and to use these as a tool for summarising text.
• To mark extracts by annotating and be selecting key headings words or sentences, or alternatively, noting these.
• To make short notes, e.g. by abbreviating ideas, selecting key words, listing or in diagrammatic form.
• To collect information from a variety of sources and present it in one simple format, e.g. wall chart, labelled diagram.

Lesson Notes:

• Introduction: I gave two groups of children a set of the information sheets downloaded from Pond Explorer and asked them to read the information looking for the key words that could indicate what each animal ate, (any words not understood were found in a dictionary and defined.)
• Main Activity: We discussed what we thought a food chain might be and when consensus of definition was agreed, the children were asked to produce a food chain in rough and then transfer their notes to
  a) Data handling via IT, e.g. 'Paint' in the form of a chart.
  b) Data handling in the practical sense of cutting up the downloaded sheets and gluing to form a chart.
• Plenary: The food chains produced were shown, findings shared and comparisons/contrasts discussed.
• Assessment: Five main points arose.
• 1. The groups enjoyed the challenge and achieved the various Literacy and Science objectives.
• 2. One group had noted that the size was shown on some, but not all of the animals, and found this inconsistency confusing. It did however pose some valuable scientific discussion in relation to fair and unfair testing and its various implications. (This issue has been addressed and sizes of animals added to the Information Pages.)
  
• 3. While using 'Paint', one group learnt the skills of resizing in order for all the data to be shown on one page.
• 4. During the plenary it was noted that it was much easier to see the food chain relationships via diagram form than from written accounts.
• 5. That the IT produced food chain was quicker and the children considered 'more professional-looking' than the 'cut out and stick' chart.
• Planning: The next step IT wise would be for the children to cut and paste directly from the web-site into another application.