1. Plant-Animal Interactions (Two Days)
I. Purpose: To help students learn the scientific concept of food chains through texts that
combine fiction and non-fiction.
II. Instructional Objective: At the end of this lesson students will be able to explain how
plants and animals depend on each other for food.
III. State Goals/Common Core:
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers. [CC.3.RI.1]
Describe relationships among various organisms in their environment. [12.B.2a]
IV. Materials: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten by Patricia Relf and Joanna Cole; sticky
notes; individual dry erase boards & markers; DVD of The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
(also available on You Tube); Smart Board or DVD player with projector
V. Procedure:
Day One
1. Remind students that our new science unit is plant-animal interactions.
2. Ask them if they can explain what a food chain is, and discuss answers.
3. Direct them to use their sticky notes to record information about food chains as
they listen to the story.
4. Read Magic School Bus story.
5. Ask them to share their sticky note observations.
6. Ask them questions to check for understanding: “What was at the bottom of
every food chain?” “What were the two types of plankton in the story? How can
you compare and contrast them?” “Where are we in the food chain? Why is it
important to know our place?”
Day Two
1. Watch The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten episode. Did they notice anything
they did not in the book?
2. In groups, have students create a food web for a favorite food: pizza. Students
will trace the energy path for crust (sun, wheat), cheese (sun, grass, cow), tomato
sauce (sun, tomato plant), and pepperoni or sausage (sun, grass/grain/corn,
cow/pig).
3. Put the food web on the board; students need to be sure people are at the top of
all these food chains, and plants are at the bottom.
VI. Assessment: Formative assessment (observation; questioning).
VII. Accommodations:
ELL=clarification of vocabulary; illustrations; drawing food chains; movie
Auditory learners=read aloud; movie
Visual learners=illustrations; drawing food chains; movie
![Plant-Animal Interactions (Two Days)
I. Purpose: To help students learn the scientific concept of food chains through texts that
combine fiction and non-fiction.
II. Instructional Objective: At the end of this lesson students will be able to explain how
plants and animals depend on each other for food.
III. State Goals/Common Core:
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to
the text as the basis for the answers. [CC.3.RI.1]
Describe relationships among various organisms in their environment. [12.B.2a]
IV. Materials: The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten by Patricia Relf and Joanna Cole; sticky
notes; individual dry erase boards & markers; DVD of The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten
(also available on You Tube); Smart Board or DVD player with projector
V. Procedure:
Day One
1. Remind students that our new science unit is plant-animal interactions.
2. Ask them if they can explain what a food chain is, and discuss answers.
3. Direct them to use their sticky notes to record information about food chains as
they listen to the story.
4. Read Magic School Bus story.
5. Ask them to share their sticky note observations.
6. Ask them questions to check for understanding: “What was at the bottom of
every food chain?” “What were the two types of plankton in the story? How can
you compare and contrast them?” “Where are we in the food chain? Why is it
important to know our place?”
Day Two
1. Watch The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten episode. Did they notice anything
they did not in the book?
2. In groups, have students create a food web for a favorite food: pizza. Students
will trace the energy path for crust (sun, wheat), cheese (sun, grass, cow), tomato
sauce (sun, tomato plant), and pepperoni or sausage (sun, grass/grain/corn,
cow/pig).
3. Put the food web on the board; students need to be sure people are at the top of
all these food chains, and plants are at the bottom.
VI. Assessment: Formative assessment (observation; questioning).
VII. Accommodations:
ELL=clarification of vocabulary; illustrations; drawing food chains; movie
Auditory learners=read aloud; movie
Visual learners=illustrations; drawing food chains; movie](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1581403c-5753-4872-b9e1-04c1b10f2dec-150516145631-lva1-app6891/85/Plant-Animal-Interactions-1-320.jpg)
