Biological Cycle
- Explain to students that all living creatures are connected through complex food chains. Explain the terms “producers”, “consumers,” and “decomposers.”
- What do water animals eat? (Some animals eat plants, some eat other animals, and some feed on dead animal and plant bodies, and their excrement. Animals that eat plants and other animals are called “consumers” because they only consume organic matter and use it to get energy and to build their body and maintain their metabolism. Animals and bacteria that feed on dead organic matter and decompose it into inorganic matter are called “decomposers”.)
- What do water plants eat? (Plants and algae nourish themselves with inorganic matter from the ground or dissolved in water. Because they produce organic matter from inorganic matter and integrate it into their bodies, they are called “producers”.)
- Ask students to work in groups and to create a complex food chain. Let them start with an animal that they know and then build the food chain from there. Let them incorporate decomposers and producers into their food chains. Encourage them to incorporate macro-invertebrates and microbes into their food chains. Let them draw and explain their findings.
- Take the worksheet “Biological cycle” and ask students to fill it out.
