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Science lesson plan · 6th grade (Year 7 in England) · 45 minutes

Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.MS-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS3 Biology: Relationships in an ecosystemEngland: GCSE Combined Science: Ecology

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Environments change: human impact

Leads to: Population growth and carrying capacity

Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Environments change: human impact). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Does this help or harm wildlife: digging a wildlife pond? (helps wildlife / harms wildlife) → helps wildlifePrompt: Does it make habitats bigger and cleaner, or smaller and dirtier?
  2. How can plastic in the ocean harm sea turtles? (Plastic makes the water warmer / Plastic is food for turtles / They can mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them / Turtles use plastic to build nests) → They can mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat themPrompt: What do some turtles like to eat that floats?
  3. Which action helps wildlife? (dropping litter / spilling oil into rivers / dumping plastic in the sea / digging a wildlife pond) → digging a wildlife pondPrompt: Think about what happens to habitats.

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: an invasive species?
  • Step 1: Biotic factors come from other living things.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: biotic (living)
  • Answer: biotic (living)
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: competition for food? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → biotic (living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?
  2. Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 1 30 % → 5 50 % → 9 70 % → 13 90 % → 17 Which conclusion do the data support? (More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / The data prove that light is the only factor that matters. / The tree eats the daisies. / Daisies grow best in the shade.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Lichens grow less well near busy roads. Which abiotic factor is the likely cause? (a new disease / the number of predators / competition with trees / air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide) → air pollution such as nitrogen dioxidePrompt: Lichens are used as indicators of air quality.
  2. Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: a new predator? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → biotic (living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Environments change: human impact.
  • Use concrete materials: food web cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Move on to: Population growth and carrying capacity.
  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: light intensity?

    • A. abiotic (non-living)
    • B. biotic (living)

  2. Question 2

    Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 90 % → 15 70 % → 12 50 % → 9 30 % → 6 10 % → 3 Which conclusion do the data support?

    • A. Daisies grow best in the shade.
    • B. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
    • C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
    • D. Light has no link with the number of daisies.

  3. Question 3

    Grey squirrels were introduced to Britain and red squirrel numbers fell. What kind of factor are the grey squirrels for the red squirrels?

    • A. biotic: competition and disease
    • B. abiotic: temperature
    • C. not a factor at all
    • D. abiotic: soil pH

  4. Question 4

    Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: temperature?

    • A. abiotic (non-living)
    • B. biotic (living)

  5. Question 5

    Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 2 30 % → 4 50 % → 6 70 % → 8 90 % → 10 Which conclusion do the data support?

    • A. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
    • B. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
    • C. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
    • D. Daisies grow best in the shade.

  6. Question 6

    Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: an invasive species?

    • A. abiotic (non-living)
    • B. biotic (living)

  7. Question 7

    Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 90 % → 21 70 % → 16 50 % → 11 30 % → 6 10 % → 1 Which conclusion do the data support?

    • A. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
    • B. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
    • C. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
    • D. The tree eats the daisies.

  8. Question 8

    Bee numbers fall in an area, and fewer apples form on the trees. Which factor has changed for the apple trees?

    • A. a biotic factor: fewer pollinators
    • B. an abiotic factor: soil pH
    • C. an abiotic factor: day length
    • D. no factor has changed

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Answer key: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

  1. 1. A. abiotic (non-living)

  2. 2. C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  3. 3. A. biotic: competition and disease

  4. 4. A. abiotic (non-living)

  5. 5. B. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  6. 6. B. biotic (living)

  7. 7. A. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.

  8. 8. A. a biotic factor: fewer pollinators