Science lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 45 minutes
Biodiversity under pressure and how we protect it
Ecosystems and food chains
CCSS NGSS.HS-LS2-7CCSS NGSS.HS-LS4-6England: GCSE Combined Science: Ecology
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Biodiversity under pressure and how we protect it.
- 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: Food webs and interdependence
Leads to: the next skill in this area.
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 (Food webs and interdependence). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Woodland food web: grass is eaten by rabbits and mice. Seeds are eaten by mice. Rabbits are eaten by foxes. Mice are eaten by foxes and owls. Which animal is eaten by two different predators? (mice / owls / rabbits / foxes) → micePrompt: Look for an animal that both foxes and owls eat.
- Rabbits and sheep both eat grass in the same field. This is an example of… (competition / decomposition / predation / photosynthesis) → competitionPrompt: They both want the same limited resource.
- Food webs: which statement is NOT true? (Removing one species can affect many others in a food web. / Predator and prey populations often rise and fall in cycles. / Removing a predator always helps every other species. / Plants compete for light, water and minerals.) → Removing a predator always helps every other species.Prompt: Think about what happens when one population changes.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
- Share the objective: Biodiversity under pressure and how we protect it. 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: A survey found 200 breeding pairs of a bird species in 2010 and 180 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease?
- Step 1: 200 − 180 = 20
- Step 2: 20 ÷ 200 × 100 = 10
- Step 3: So the answer is: 10 %
- Answer: 10 %
- 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.
- A survey found 400 breeding pairs of a bird species in 2010 and 360 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease? → 10 %Prompt: Find the decrease first.
- Rewilding projects reintroduce species such as beavers. What can beavers do for an ecosystem? (They make rivers flow faster / They remove all fish / They have no effect / Their dams create wetlands that support many other species and reduce flooding downstream) → Their dams create wetlands that support many other species and reduce flooding downstreamPrompt: Beavers are called "ecosystem engineers".
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.
- A survey found 120 breeding pairs of a bird species in 2010 and 108 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease? → 10 %Prompt: Find the decrease first.
- Draining peat bogs to sell peat as garden compost harms the climate. Why? (Peat absorbs too much oxygen / It creates acid rain / Decaying or burned peat releases stored carbon as carbon dioxide / It makes the ozone layer thicker) → Decaying or burned peat releases stored carbon as carbon dioxidePrompt: Peat is partly decayed plant material.
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: Food webs and interdependence.
- 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
- 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-10.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder