Education Standards
Biomagnification Presentation
Biomagnification in the Food Web
Overview
This lesson aims to teach students the difference between food webs and food chains, as well as how toxins in our environment affect large predators through biomagnification.
In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program.
Biomagnification in the Food Web Lesson Overview
Lesson Title: Biomagnification in the Food Web
Grade Level: 5th
Disciplinary Area: Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics
Duration: 45 minutes
Learning Objectives:
- Students will be given a definition of food chains and food webs and how they are different. They will learn about the different trophic levels and will work with peers to build a food chain.
- Students will visualize a food web that they would find in Spokane's local ecosystems and they will visualize biomagnification of toxins up a food web.
- Students will draw connections between biomagnification, bioaccumulation, and climate change and learn how it affects animals and us.
Key Terms:
Food Chain, Food Web, Producer, Primary Consumer, Secondary Consumer, Tertiary Consumer
Standards:
Next Generation Science Standards
- 5-LS2-1: Develop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment.
Materials:
| Material: | Link for Purchasing: |
| Ecosystem Food Web Template | Included in Lesson PDF |
| Animal/Plant Cutouts for Food Chain Activity | Included in Lesson PDF |
| Animal/Plant Cutouts for Food Web Actvity | Included in Lesson PDF |
| Red Beads | Red Pony Beads |
| PowerPoint | Included |
| Student Exit Tickets | Included in Lesson PDF |
Authors: Zoe Driml, Gonzaga Class of 2023
Revised by Georgia LaPlante, Gonzaga Class of 2026