Pathways for Learning - Science
The purpose of this lesson is to define and identify producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Student Handout (See attachment);
**Additional Resources**
Books: Arms, Karen. Environmental Sciences. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1996. pp. 55-61; Miller, Kenneth R. and Joseph Levine. Biology. Prentice Hall, 1993. p. 15.; Person, Jane L. Environmental Science. LaBel Enterprises, 1989. pp. 29-30.

See Student Handout (attachment)

1.)Pre-activity: Discuss the definition and role of producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem. Tell students that the word autotroph means "self-feeder" in Latin and that the word heterotroph means "other feeder" in Latin. Collect magazine pictures of different ecosystems or have students bring them from home. These could be used in place of provided pictures or as further study.

2.)Put students in cooperative groups. Give students Figure 1. and discuss the roles of the producers, consumers, and decomposers in the ecosystem. Give students an unlabeled picture of an ecosystem (Figure 2. or magazine pictures) and tell them to identify individually the producers with a green-colored marker, the consumers with a blue-colored marker, and the decomposers with a red-colored marker. Check the drawings to make sure the students understand what to do.

3.)Have students draw a picture of one of the following: a forest scene, a desert scene, an ocean scene, or a scene from their own community. Tell them to include the producers, consumers, and decomposers that would be found in that ecosystem. Display the drawings in the classroom. Each student should answer the questions.

4.)Student Questions and Answers: a. What are three organisms considered to be producers? Pine tree, fruit trees, grasses, vegetable plants, rose bushes, etc. b. Why are producers important in an ecosystem? Producers use energy from the sun to produce food and oxygen for all other organisms. c. What are three different organisms considered to be consumers? Horses, dogs, cats, cows, humans, birds, fish, snakes, insects d. What purpose(s) do consumers serve in an ecosystem? Consumers control populations of other organisms; they also return carbon dioxide and nutrients to the environment that the producers need to produce food. e. What are three different organisms considered to be decomposers? Bacteria, fungi, some insect larva, and insects. f. What two things that would happen to an ecosystem if no decomposers were present? Very few nutrients would be returned to the environment. Dead organisms would not be broken down and would continue to pile up in the ecosystem. g. What does the word autotroph mean in Latin? Self-feeder h. What does the word heterotroph mean in Latin? Other feeder

Correlated to the AHSGE Standards and Objectives for Science, Standard II, Objective 1

Extension: Have students select either producers, consumers, or decomposers and write a one-page report discussing the role that group plays in the ecosystem and telling what would happen if that group was greatly reduced in the ecosystem. The teacher may want to assign particular ecosystems and groups to each student or have him/her draw for the ecosystem and group.