Tuesday_01.21_FoodWeb_ProducersConsumersDecomposers

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Do Now

Food Web

Fruits and cacti grow in the Edwards Plateau
in central Texas. Ants feed on the fruit and
cacti. Armadillos eat ants and fruit. Javelina
eat cacti, ants, and fruit. Bobcats hunt for
armadillos and javelinas.

Make a food web of the organisms in the
Edwards Plateau ecosystem. You can draw
the organisms or write the name of each
organism. Add arrows to show the feeding
relationships.

Fruits

Cacti

Ants

Armadillos

Javelinas

Bobcats

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Interactions in Ecosystems

LO: SWBAT describe the cycling
of matter and flow of energy
within a food web, including the
role of decomposers.

DOL: Given scenarios, SW correctly describe the cycling of
matter and flow of energy within a food web, including the
role of decomposers in at least 4 of 5 questions.

SCI.4.12B Describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy through food webs, including the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers,
and decomposers.
SEPs 4.1E, 4.3A
RTCs 4.5B

Multiple Choice

A student wants to grow a sunflower plant. He knows it is a producer 

and can make its own food. 

The plant needs all of the following in order to make its own food EXCEPT 

• carbon - dioxide

• insects

• water

• sunlight

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Lesson Vocabulary

food web

consumer

producer

decomposer

omnivore

herbivore

carnivore

organism

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Food web

A diagram that shows
the relationship
between different food
chains in an
ecosystem

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Consumer

An organism that eats
other organisms for
energy

Image by David

Mark from Pixabay

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Carnivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
other consumers

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Omnivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
both consumers and
producers

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Herbivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
only producers or
plants

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Producer

An organism that uses
sunlight to make its
own food for energy
through
photosynthesis

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Decomposer

An organism that
breaks down
matter into simpler
substances

Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay

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Organism

Any living thing

Multiple Choice

Look at the food web of a pond ecosystem.

Which food chain shows the correct flow of energy in the pond 

of the food web?

Multiple Choice

Sandra plants a vegetable garden in her backyard. She plants yellow squash and red peppers. Unfortunately, slugs begin eating the vegetables while squash bugs begin drinking the sap from the squash vines. The slugs and the squash bugs are both 

• plants

• consumers

• decomposers

• producers

Multiple Choice

A producer?

• Eats other plants and animals
• Makes its own food
• Eats dead plants or animals
• Makes toys for kids

Multiple Choice

What is the process in which plants use sunlight to create energy?

• Photography
• Pennsylvania
• Cholorophyll
• Photosynthesis

Multiple Choice

What do decomposers eat?

• only plants
• plants and animals
• only other animals
• dead organisms

Multiple Choice

A consumer that breaks down the remains of plants and animals

• producer

• consumer

• decomposer

• photosynthesis

4th Grade Science
Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 6

January 21, 2025

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Essential Understandings &

Guiding Questions

What is a food web?

How does matter cycle through food webs?

How does energy flow through food webs?

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How do decomposers help continue the flow of energy in

a food web?

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

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How are plants and animals connected in an ecosystem?

Make predictions about what kinds of living and

nonliving things are in wetland ecosystems.

As you read, look for information about

producers, consumers, and decomposers in
wetlands. Think about how the living things fit

into a food web.

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Food Webs

What do the arrows represent in a food

web?

What do food webs show?

Food webs display …..

Food webs display how energy passes in a series of food chains as they overlap. 

The arrows in a food web point in
the direction that energy moves. This
movement shows the transition of energy
from one organism to another organism. 

Decomposers consume dead or decaying
organisms for nutrients. They eat everything from
fallen leaves, seeds and fruits, to dead insects
and animals.

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What are decomposers?

Earthworm

Bacteria

Mushrooms

Examples of decomposers include mushrooms,
earthworms and bacteria.

Decomposers are necessary for an ecosystem
because they provide plants with essential
nutrients they need to survive.

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Energy in Ecosystems

How can the flow of energy be changed in an ecosystem?

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Let’s revisit the phenomenon

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

How do

decomposers
help continue

the flow of

energy in a food

web?

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Santiago wanted to draw a food web of the desert. The table below shows some of the
desert organisms and what they eat.

In order to draw the food web
correctly, which organisms
should have two arrows pointing
toward them?

A.

The desert grasses

B.

The rattlesnakes

C.

The roadrunners

D.

The hawks

Organisms

What They Eat

Desert grasses

Make their own food

Mice

Seeds produced by grasses

Rattlesnakes

Roadrunners and prairie
dogs

Roadrunners

Mice

Hawks

Roadrunners, prairie dogs,
and rattlesnakes

Prairie dogs

Grasses

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An oak tree drops its leaves in the fall, and the leaves decompose on the forest floor.
Describe the role of decomposers in this process. Below are some vocabulary words
that you could use in your response.

decomposers

nutrients

ecosystem

break down

recycle

soil

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DOL: Given scenarios,
SW correctly describe
the cycling of matter
and flow of energy
within a food web,
including the role of
decomposers in at
least 4 of 5 questions.

Demonstration of Learning

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Adobe Stock. Adobe Stock
https://stock.adobe.com

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Great Minds. Great Minds
https://digital.greatminds.org

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from SAVVAS realize. SAVVAS
realize https://www.savvasrealize.com

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Copyright for Reference