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Science lesson plan · 10th grade (Year 11 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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.
  1. 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? (rabbits / mice / owls / foxes) → micePrompt: Look for an animal that both foxes and owls eat.
  2. Rabbits and sheep both eat grass in the same field. This is an example of… (decomposition / predation / competition / photosynthesis) → competitionPrompt: They both want the same limited resource.
  3. Food webs: which statement is NOT true? (Predator and prey populations often rise and fall in cycles. / Plants do not compete with each other. / Removing one species can affect many others in a food web. / Plants compete for light, water and minerals.) → Plants do not compete with each other.Prompt: Think about what happens when one population changes.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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. A survey found 250 hectares of rainforest in 2010 and 200 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease? → 20 %Prompt: Find the decrease first.
  2. Which action helps increase biodiversity on farmland? (growing one crop everywhere / spraying more insecticide / removing all hedges / planting hedgerows and leaving wildflower field margins) → planting hedgerows and leaving wildflower field marginsPrompt: Wildlife needs food and shelter.

You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. Biodiversity: which statement is NOT true? (Breeding programmes can help protect endangered species. / Deforestation reduces biodiversity and adds carbon dioxide to the air. / Fertiliser running into lakes can cause algae to grow and oxygen to fall. / Landfill sites increase the space for wildlife.) → Landfill sites increase the space for wildlife.Prompt: What does biodiversity actually measure?
  2. A survey found 240 hectares of rainforest in 2010 and 192 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease? → 20 %Prompt: Find the decrease first.

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

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Biodiversity under pressure and how we protect it

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Biodiversity: which statement is NOT true?

    • A. Global warming is changing where some species can live.
    • B. Biodiversity means the number of individuals of one species.
    • C. Deforestation reduces biodiversity and adds carbon dioxide to the air.
    • D. Fertiliser running into lakes can cause algae to grow and oxygen to fall.
  2. Question 2

    Draining peat bogs to sell peat as garden compost harms the climate. Why?

    • A. Decaying or burned peat releases stored carbon as carbon dioxide
    • B. It makes the ozone layer thicker
    • C. It creates acid rain
    • D. Peat absorbs too much oxygen
  3. Question 3

    A survey found 240 breeding pairs of a bird species in 2010 and 192 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease?

    Answer%

  4. Question 4

    Why is high biodiversity good for an ecosystem?

    • A. It removes all predators
    • B. It means fewer species compete
    • C. It makes the ecosystem more stable because species depend on many others
    • D. It stops the water cycle
  5. Question 5

    A survey found 400 hedgehogs counted in a survey in 2010 and 240 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease?

    Answer%

  6. Question 6

    Rewilding projects reintroduce species such as beavers. What can beavers do for an ecosystem?

    • A. They have no effect
    • B. They remove all fish
    • C. They make rivers flow faster
    • D. Their dams create wetlands that support many other species and reduce flooding downstream
  7. Question 7

    A survey found 200 hedgehogs counted in a survey in 2010 and 180 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease?

    Answer%

  8. Question 8

    A survey found 400 hectares of rainforest in 2010 and 300 in 2024. What was the percentage decrease?

    Answer%

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Answer key: Biodiversity under pressure and how we protect it

  1. 1. B. Biodiversity means the number of individuals of one species.

  2. 2. A. Decaying or burned peat releases stored carbon as carbon dioxide

  3. 3. 20 %

  4. 4. C. It makes the ecosystem more stable because species depend on many others

  5. 5. 40 %

  6. 6. D. Their dams create wetlands that support many other species and reduce flooding downstream

  7. 7. 10 %

  8. 8. 25 %