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Science lesson plan · 9th grade (Year 10 in England) · 45 minutes

The carbon cycle

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.HS-LS2-5CCSS NGSS.MS-LS2-3England: KS3 Chemistry: Earth and atmosphereEngland: KS4 Combined Science: Ecosystems

Objective and success criteria

Students will: The carbon cycle.

  • 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: Decomposers and recycling nutrients; Energy transfer and pyramids

Leads to: Decomposers, decay rates and recycling nutrients

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 (Decomposers and recycling nutrients; Energy transfer and pyramids). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. What do decomposers do? (break down dead plants and animals / hunt living animals / pollinate flowers / make food from sunlight) → break down dead plants and animalsPrompt: What happens to a fallen leaf over a few months?
  2. Producers in a field capture 100000 kJ of energy. About 10% of the energy passes to each next level. How much energy reaches the primary consumers, in kJ? → 10000 kJPrompt: 10% means divide by 10 at each step.
  3. Is a grass a producer, a consumer or a decomposer? (producer / consumer / decomposer) → producerPrompt: Does it make food, eat living things, or break down dead things?

Hook · 5 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: The carbon cycle. 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: Does this process remove carbon dioxide from the air or add it: decomposition by microorganisms?
  • Step 1: Respiration, combustion and decomposition release carbon dioxide.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: adds COâ‚‚ to the air
  • Answer: adds COâ‚‚ to the air
  • 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. Does this process remove carbon dioxide from the air or add it: volcanic eruptions? (removes CO₂ from the air / adds CO₂ to the air) → adds CO₂ to the airPrompt: Which process do green plants use to make glucose?
  2. How did fossil fuels such as coal form? (from the remains of ancient plants buried and compressed over millions of years / from melted rock / from volcanoes erupting last century / from seawater evaporating) → from the remains of ancient plants buried and compressed over millions of yearsPrompt: Coal contains carbon that plants once took from the air.

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. Which process adds carbon dioxide to the air? (trees growing / carbon dioxide dissolving in the sea / algae growing in the ocean / burning forests) → burning forestsPrompt: Which processes use up carbon dioxide, and which make it?
  2. Why has the carbon dioxide level in the air increased since the 1800s? (The Sun has become colder / Fewer volcanoes / More photosynthesis / Burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests) → Burning fossil fuels and cutting down forestsPrompt: Which human activities release carbon that was locked away?

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: Decomposers and recycling nutrients.
  • 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: Decomposers, decay rates and recycling nutrients.
  • 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-9.

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

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The carbon cycle

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    What role do microorganisms play in the carbon cycle?

    • A. They decompose dead organisms, releasing carbon dioxide by respiration
    • B. They turn carbon into oxygen
    • C. They have no role
    • D. They photosynthesise in the dark

  2. Question 2

    Does this process remove carbon dioxide from the air or add it: burning forests?

    • A. removes COâ‚‚ from the air
    • B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air

  3. Question 3

    Which process removes carbon dioxide from the air?

    • A. carbon dioxide dissolving in the sea
    • B. volcanic eruptions
    • C. burning fossil fuels
    • D. respiration

  4. Question 4

    How does carbon pass from a plant into an animal?

    • A. Through the soil only
    • B. The animal eats the plant
    • C. The plant photosynthesises inside the animal
    • D. The animal breathes in the plant

  5. Question 5

    Does this process remove carbon dioxide from the air or add it: volcanic eruptions?

    • A. removes COâ‚‚ from the air
    • B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air

  6. Question 6

    Which process adds carbon dioxide to the air?

    • A. carbon dioxide dissolving in the sea
    • B. burning fossil fuels
    • C. trees growing
    • D. photosynthesis

  7. Question 7

    Why has the carbon dioxide level in the air increased since the 1800s?

    • A. More photosynthesis
    • B. Burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests
    • C. Fewer volcanoes
    • D. The Sun has become colder

  8. Question 8

    Does this process remove carbon dioxide from the air or add it: respiration?

    • A. removes COâ‚‚ from the air
    • B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air

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Answer key: The carbon cycle

  1. 1. A. They decompose dead organisms, releasing carbon dioxide by respiration

  2. 2. B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air

  3. 3. A. carbon dioxide dissolving in the sea

  4. 4. B. The animal eats the plant

  5. 5. B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air

  6. 6. B. burning fossil fuels

  7. 7. B. Burning fossil fuels and cutting down forests

  8. 8. B. adds COâ‚‚ to the air