Eat, Don't Get Eaten
Do your students have what it takes to be a field biologist? This program is a perfect introduction to everything ecology. Students will get to explore a native San Diego wetland looking for evidence of organism interactions and food chains. Come be challenged by the delicate balance of an ecological food web that must overcome disasters, natural and man-made alike.
PROGRAM LENGTH: 4 hours, 9:30am- 1:30pm
PLEASE PREPARE YOUR STUDENTS
We have chosen one lesson for you to do with your students before you come, titled FOOD CHAIN LESSON so they will have the optimal experience when they are here. Please use it to prepare your students. Please teach the second lesson, titled ECOSYSTEMS OUT OF BALANCE within a week of completing your Coastal Education Program to expand on the material learned during the Eat, Don't Get Eaten Program. There are many more resources for you and your students listed below as well!
PLAN OF THE DAY:
Your students will be able to participate in the Eat, Don't Get Eaten Lesson, a Docent-led Tour around the Living Coast to see birds, turtles and touch stingrays, complete a scavenger hunt and go for a hike or listen to a Read Aloud. Half of the day you will be with a Teacher or Docent and the other half of the day you will be leading your class through provided activities.
EXAMPLE SCHEDULE - Actual schedule may vary
Additional Resources
Below are other optional activities and resources related to the Eat, Don't Get Eaten program.
Student Information:
Teacher Background:
Activities and Lessons:
Sweetwater Food Web with Sweetwater Marsh Animal List & What Eats What? documents
Food Chains and Food Webs in an Ecosystem
Ecosystems Problem Solving & Ecosystems Problem Solving Situations
Games, Songs and Crafts:
Standards:
NGSS
MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.
LS2.A. Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
LS2.B.Cycle of matter and energy transfer in ecosystems
MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.
LS2.C. Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience.
MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services
LS2.C Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s terrestrial and oceanic ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.
Common Core
ELA-Literacy.
SL.6.1, SL.7.1, SL 8.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 6, grade 7 or grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.6.2, SL7.2, SL 8.2. Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text, or issue under study.
L.6.6, L.7.6, L.8.6. Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression.