Producers, Consumers, and

DecomposersLearning goal: Students will classify organisms

according to how they obtain energy. Then, they will organize these types of organisms into a food web to

show the feeding relationships and the flow of energy.

What do all living things need to survive?

•ENERGY

What is the source of energy for almost all living things?

The Sun

https://openclipart.org/people/ivak/ivak_Decorative_Sun.svg

On a Sticky Note:

• Make a list of organisms on the sticky note

• Beside the name of each organism, predict what group you think they might belong to and write one of the following• (P) for producers

• (C) for consumers

• (D) for decomposers

• Turn to someone beside you and share your list of organisms and their classification

1. Producers

• Defined as organisms that use sunlight directly to make food

• Photosynthesis the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water.

• Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.

Examples of producers

• Algae, Plants such as Grasses and Trees

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3APlants_Conservatory.JPG

Knowledge Check

• In your science notebook answer the following:

• How can you identify producers?

• Why do you think that producers are important in an ecosystem?

• What would happen if producers disappeared?

2. Consumers

• Organisms that rely on other organisms to obtain the energy that they need to sustain life.

• There are four types of consumers.

Types of Consumers

• Herbivores

• Carnivores

• Omnivores

• Scavengers

Herbivore

• Consume producers as their source of energy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cow-bw.JPG

Carnivore

• Consume animals as their source of energy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_lion_of_the_Serengeti.JPG

Omnivore

• Consume both producers and animals as their source of energy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bear_Alaska_(3).jpg

Examples

Herbivore Carnivore Omnivore

Honey bee Shark RaccoonDeer Eagle Hedgehog

Rabbit Tiger Chicken

Manatee Mongoose Bear

Scavengers

• Consume dead organic matter as a source of their energy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:151_Turkey_Buzzard.jpg

Where do humans fit in a food chain?

• Provide students with the article: Between Pigs and Anchovies: Where Humans Rank in the Food Chain. (Lexile 1070)

• After reading the article students will:• List 5 reason for the placement of humans on the food chain.

Knowledge Check

• In your science notebook answer the following:

• What type of consumer are you?

• What is the importance of having different types of consumers, rather than having only one type?

3. Decomposers

• Organisms that obtain energy by breaking down the remains of dead organisms.

• These organisms can be thought of as Nature’s Recyclers!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bacteria_photomicrograph.jpg

Decomposers at Work

• Video Link: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?v=ShGF5mkFbzU

Food Chains and Food Webs – The Flow of Energy

• Introductory video to food web: http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch?v=0ZOvqYypOuo

Can you identify the producers, consumers, decomposers and scavengers?

http://www.danbury.k12.ct.us/elemweb/aaaoldElempages/sitesweb/foodweb/media/foodweb.jpg

Knowledge Check

• In your science notebook answer the following:

• What would happen in an ecosystem if any one of the following groups, consumers or decomposers, were removed from it?

Divide into groups of 3

• Using the list of organism from your teacher, use green sticky notes for producers, yellow sticky notes for consumers, and pink sticky notes for decomposers.

• Students will arrange the sticky notes on chart paper to create a food web. Remember that the arrow is drawn from the organism consumed to the consumer.

• When complete, student will do a gallery walk.  In a gallery walk, one of the group members will stand by the food web chart to explain it.  Each group will do this while the remaining group members will rotate to each chart and remain there for one minute for discussion.