Craters Ecosystem

Display illustrations of non-living, living, and the whole ecosystem.
Have students list the parts of each:

Figure 1. Illustration of Crater's ecosystem without plants and animals

Figure 2. Illustration of Crater's ecosystem with only plants and animals.

Figure 3. Craters of the Moon Ecosystem.

Once they get the idea that everything around them can be divided as living or nonliving, describe living things in more detail. Explain the relationship between producers, consumers, and decomposers (see Background section). Pass out the complete ecosystem illustration (Figure 3) and have them label its biotic and abiotic parts as follows:

• Sunlight
• Producers
• Air
• Consumers
• Water
• Decomposers
• Soil (rock, minerals)

Then draw arrows showing the path of energy through the ecosystem.

Figure 3 (Teacher's Edition)

Part 2 - Building an Ecosystem

As a fun way to reinforce their new-found ecosystem knowledge, go outside and do the following activity.

Tell the students that you're going to build an ecosystem with humans playing the different parts. Encourage them to be theatrical so their ecosystem will be dynamic and vital. You will build an ecosystem in the shape of a circle with the sun at its core. Layer the kids around the ecosystem as you build it.

Start with the source of all our energy-the sun. Choose three or four kids and ask what sound the sun would make if it could make sound. Encourage them to come up with a sound of their own.

Living things are mostly made of water. Ask three or four students to stand around the suns in a circle after they have come up with a good sound for water.

Without air and the oxygen it contains, we'd be finished. Get three or four students to join the circle once they have decided what sound they'll make.

Soil, and the nutrients and minerals it contains, is necessary for plants. What sound will the three or four soils make when added to the ecosystem?

Of living things, plants (producers) are most abundant. Once you've got about four people to be producers put them in the circle. A good thing for producers to say is, grow, grow, grow!" since that is what they do under the sun.

Consumers eat producers so they could say "munch, munch, munch!" You need two or three students for this.

Finally, all those producers and consumers would simply pile up and sit there when they die if not for the decomposers that cause them to "rot, rot, rot!" Finish off the circle with the decomposers.

See if all the participants know their "lines" by going through the ecosystem one by one. Don't let anyone get away with mumbling. If they're loud and obnoxious in the classroom when they shouldn't be, don't let them be quiet and shy now. Once they're ready with their parts, build the ecosystem by starting with the Sun and having the rest of the parts chime in one by one. You could have them revolve around the Sun to add a little motion to your ecosystem.

Part 3 - Rock, Paper, Scissors - Producer, Consumer, Decomposer

To test the students' knowledge of the relationship between producers, consumers, and decomposers, play this adaptation of rock, paper, scissors. Consumers get their energy from producers so you could say they are dominant over producers. Producers are able to utilize the nutrients made by decomposers, so producers are dominant over decomposers. When consumers die, decomposers use the energy in their bodies so decomposers are dominant.

Kids will show with their hands what they are-producer, consumer, or decomposer. For example, producers could hold their arms up in the air for tree branches. Consumers could hold their hands up like bear or lion claws. To demonstrate decomposition and the break down of organic matter, decomposers could cover their stomach with their hands.

Make four lines on the ground as shown below. The kids will face away from each other on lines 2 and 3. They decide unanimously within each team which of the three to be. On your count of three they face inward showing their symbols. When you drop your arm, the dominant group rushes to tag the other team who runs to get to their free zone behind line 1 or 4. For example, if line 2 were consumers and line 3 were producers, when they faced each other they would see that the consumers (line 2) are going to chase the producers (line 3). When you drop your hand, they run toward line 4. If the producers get behind line 4 without being tagged, they're free. Hold your hand up a long time if necessary to give the kids time to figure out which way they should run. Ask them questions while your arm is raised. Have them give you examples of producers, consumers, and decomposers. There will be confusion at first so do the game enough times so most the kids understand the relationships between producer, consumer, and decomposer.

free zone		-- ~ 10 ft --		-- ~ 10 ft --		-- ~ 10 ft --		free zone
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