Grade: Grade 4 Subject: English Language Arts Created by: Ashley Mayville Lesson Length: 2 hours Keywords/Tags: Reading, Writing, Food Chain Lesson Description: The goal of this lesson is to have students apply reading and writing skills acquired throughout the year. Students will read an excerpt about breaking the food chain and the consequences that follow. Then, they will critically think about ways to solve the food chain problem when towns and cities are built up, such as Chicago as focused on in the the story. Students will acquire new vocabulary and apply it in their writing assignment.
Common Core Standards Covered with This Lesson
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a: Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which related ideas are grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3a: Choose words and phrases to convey ideas precisely.
Lesson Content: Reading
Instructions: Please read the following reading passage as many times as needed (aloud and silent) before starting to go through other lesson pages. Understanding the content of this passage is very important since the lesson activities will be all about this content. Feel free to print the passage if needed.
Breaking the Food Chain
A food chain is a link between plants and animals. It starts with a plant. The next part of the link is a plant eater. When the prairie plants were uprooted, the animals that depended on them lost their food source. So while the farmers produced more food for people, they broke the animals’ food chain. For example, if a bird needs seeds to eat and the plant is gone, that bird will not be able to survive. And the animals that ate that bird won’t have any food, either.
A food chain is part of a bigger system called a food web. That web links the living things in an environment. The herbivores in that system depend on the plants. If the plants are removed, the herbivores cannot survive. Herbivores in Chicago include rabbits, squirrels, and many insects. Long ago, they used to include bison and deer. Today you will find some deer in some parts of this area, but you won’t find them in the city.
When herbivores lose their food, they die out. Then the carnivores, the animals that eat other animals, lose their food, too. Wolves used to depend on the deer for their food. Without deer, the wolves lost their food. Foxes died out, too. They had hunted birds, even catching ducks when they were on the side of ponds.
Remove just one kind of plant from an environment and you disrupt a food chain. Plow up the land and you destroy the whole system.
What happened in Chicago? People moved in. They built homes. They built streets. They took away land from nature. Look at this timeline and you’ll see how more and more people moved here. We don’t have the numbers for the bison or deer. But we know that today there are no bison in Chicago, you will only find them at the zoo.
1880 The population of the city is 503,185; farms continue to expand
1890 The population of the city is 1,099,850
1900 The population is 1,698,676
1910 Factories expand in the city; population is 2,185,283
1920 The city’s population has grown to 2,701,705
1930 The city’s population is 3,376,438
Task 1: Vocabulary Activity
(40 points)
Instructions: Please complete the following vocabulary activity by choosing the correct meaning of each word selected from the passage and use of each word correctly in a sentence.
Vocabulary Questions
Word/Phrase: food chain | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q1
The author talks about the significance of a natural food chain. What is a food chain?
A. A long table full of different foods. Example: Thanksgiving
B. How nutrients are passed from living things to one another. Example: Plants feed from the sun, animals feed from plants, humans feed from animals. *
C. A grocery store brand. Example: Publix, Winn Dixie, Food Lion
D. An organism that survives only by eating plants. Example: Deer, Squirrels, Bison
Which one of the sentences below uses the term "food chain" correctly?
A. I didn't like the choices in the food chain today.
B. The plates linked together to make a food chain.
C. I will stand in this food chain until I receive my dish.
D. The first step in a food chain starts with a growing plant that is eaten by a small animal. *
Word/Phrase: food source | Tier: 2 | Points: 10
Q2
The author said, "When the prairie plants were uprooted, the animals that depended on them lost their food source." What does "food source" mean in this sentence?
A. Food that the animals eat. *
B. A food dictionary.
C. Plants were replanted somewhere else.
D. Grocery store
Which one of the sentences below uses the term "food source" correctly?
A. Cars can drive fast with enough food source.
B. The tablet is too bright due to the food source.
C. Deer eat grass as their primary food source. *
D. The red polish is from the local food source.
Word/Phrase: herbivores | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q3
"When herbivores lose their food, they die out." What are herbivores?
A. Herbs used for the kitchen.
B. Flavors such as tangy or spicy.
C. Animals that eat plants. *
D. Animals that eat meat.
Which one of the sentences below uses the word "herbivores" correctly?
A. Horses are large herbivores that eat primarily grass, hay, and oats. *
B. Wolves are scary herbivores.
C. Herbivores stay cold all year long.
D. I like to vacation to the island of herbivores.
Word/Phrase: carnivores | Tier: 3 | Points: 10
Q4
The author said, "Then the carnivores, the animals that eat other animals, lose their food, too." Which animal below is a carnivore?
A. Rabbit
B. Cow
C. Wolf *
D. Fish
Which one of the sentences below uses the word "carnivores" correctly?
A. Carnivores like to eat meat. *
B. Carnivores only like to eat plants.
C. People who work at carnivals are call carnivores.
D. That's a nice shade of carnivores.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.4.3a,
Task 2: Discussion Activity
(25 points)
Instructions: This discussion forum will have questions for students to respond. Read the posted questions, and respond to each. Students are responsible for posting one initial and and two peer responses for each topic.
Topic Title
Replies
When animals lose their food source.
The author says, "When herbivores lose their food, they die out. Then the carnivores, the animals that eat other animals, lose thier food, too." Explain what the author means by "die out".
Sent on: Oct 7, 2015 by: Ashley Mayville
0
What can be done to help a food chain survive? In the passage, the author says, "Remove just one kind of plant from an environment and you disrupt a food chain. Plow up the land and you destory the whole system." What are a few ways that can help a food chain survive? List at least two different ideas.
Sent on: Oct 7, 2015 by: Ashley Mayville
0
Why aren't bison and deer in the Chicago city area anymore? The story says, "Herbivores in Chicago include rabbits, squirrels, and many insects. Long ago, they used to inclue bison and deer. Today you will find some deer in some parts of this area, but you won't find them in the city." What does the author mean by "used to"? Why wouldn't you be able to find bison and deer in the area anymore?
Sent on: Oct 7, 2015 by: Ashley Mayville
0
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2,
Task 3: Writing Activity
(35 points)
Instructions: For your writing assignment, describe the importance of not disrupting the food chain. What ends up as a result when a food chain is destroyed? Be sure to incorporate the meaning of an herbivore and carnivore as well. Your writing assignment should be 2 to 3 paragraphs (500-700 words). Use the box below to submit your assignment.
Standards Covered with This Lesson Activity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.1a, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.4,
