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.
- Does this help or harm wildlife: leaving wild areas for bees? (helps wildlife / harms wildlife) → helps wildlifePrompt: Does it make habitats bigger and cleaner, or smaller and dirtier?
- Why is cutting down large areas of rainforest a problem? (Rainforests have no animals / Trees grow back in a day / Many animals and plants lose their habitat / It makes more rain) → Many animals and plants lose their habitatPrompt: Where would the animals that lived in the trees go?
- Which action harms wildlife? (creating a nature reserve / recycling plastic / planting native trees / dropping litter) → dropping litterPrompt: 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.
- Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: number of pollinating insects? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → biotic (living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?
- Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 2 30 % → 6 50 % → 10 70 % → 14 90 % → 18 Which conclusion do the data support? (More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / Daisies grow best in the shade. / The data prove that light is the only factor that matters. / Light has no link with the number of daisies.) → 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.
- Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 90 % → 9 70 % → 7 50 % → 5 30 % → 3 10 % → 1 Which conclusion do the data support? (Light has no link with the number of daisies. / More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / Daisies grow best in the shade. / The tree eats the daisies.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.
- Lichens grow less well near busy roads. Which abiotic factor is the likely cause? (the number of predators / air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide / competition with trees / a new disease) → air pollution such as nitrogen dioxidePrompt: Lichens are used as indicators of air quality.
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