Last updated: August 8, 2025
Lesson Plan
Spinning a Food Web
Let's build a food web! In this lesson of Living with Wildlife, students will learn how organisms in South Florida ecosystems are all connected, and why this is an important piece of a healthy and balanced ecosystem!
NPS Graphic
- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Science
- Lesson Duration:
- 60 Minutes
- State Standards:
- SC.7.L.17.1
SC.7.L.17.2
Essential Question
How are organisms in a South Florida ecosystem interrelated?
Objective
In this activity, students will:
1. Research an organism and how it interacts with other organisms in a South Florida ecosystem.
2. Share their research with the class.
3. Use the class research to build a food web.
4. Discuss the complexities of energy flow through ecosystems and the consequences of losing any organism from the ecosystem.
Background
Ecology is the science of relationships that organisms have with each other and to their physical environment. Ecosystems are very complex and our knowledge about them isincomplete. Therefore, it is difficult to predict what will happen when a species disappears from any ecosystem or is added to a new ecosystem. What exactly is the impact of removing organisms from ecosystems? Are some species more important to the function of the ecosystem than others? The growing consensus among scientists is that ecosystems are highly interconnected. Some organisms may have more visible or obvious effects on ecosystems than others, but is it likely that every organism impacts the ecosystem in some way and changes the way it functions. In other words, removing any species from an ecosystem will change that ecosystem to some degree.
All organisms in an ecosystem share special relationships with other organisms. We can use terms such as competition, predation, mutualism, parasitism and commensalism to describe some of these relationships. Additionally, we can organize organisms into trophic levels depending on where they fall in their food web using categories including producers, consumers, and decomposers. This description tells us more about where they obtain energy in an ecosystem.
In our country’s past, top predator consumers like wolves and mountain lions were disliked by people so much that we exterminated them from many ecosystems. This has caused ecological impacts across the continent, from exploding deer populations to decreases in plant species diversity. In Florida, we came very close to losing the Florida panther due to hunting and habitat loss. Luckily, we realized the value of this species before it became extinct. What if the Florida panther had not been protected and gone extinct? What if sea level rise and continued development in South Florida threaten the only habitat that the Florida panther has left? What will be the impact on our ecosystems if we lose the panther?
Not only do South Florida’s ecosystems face threats from development and climate change, but exotic species are perhaps one of the most pressing concerns. The exotic Burmese python is now breeding and spreading throughout South Florida. This poses a problem because it directly competes with our native predators such as other snakes, alligators, and even panthers. An ecosystem has a finite amount of solar energy entering via photosynthesis and can only support a finite number of consumers. Animals like the python disrupt this balance and cause the decline of other consumers. This activity gives students a chance to visualize the connectivity in a South Florida ecosystem and the potential impacts if the composition of species changes.
Preparation
Assign one organism to each student in the class and print copies of a food web organism and research worksheet for each student. Gather materials for the food web.
Materials
• A large classroom whiteboard and colored markers
Each student will need:
• A copy of their “food web organism” to cut out and color
• A copy of the research worksheet and the discussion worksheet
Procedure
1. Ask students if they can think of any organism that could disappear from an ecosystem without any consequence. Are there any organisms that no other organisms depend on? Are some organisms more important to ecosystems than others? Try and facilitate a discussion about these questions, which aren’t easy to answer, even for ecologists!
2. Assign each student one organism. Give them a copy of the large drawing of their organism. Instruct students to color in their organism accurately.
3. Instruct students to research where their organism belongs in the food web of South Florida ecosystems by finding other organisms that interact with theirs. Give each student a copy of the research worksheet to guide their work. Write down each student’s organism in a list on a whiteboard. Ask students to record the list and focus on finding relationships between their organism and others on the list (though it doesn’t have to be exclusively from the list). This will help facilitate the food web creation in the next step.
After students have completed their research, pin up a picture of each animal that was assigned (you may use the drawings that are provided) on a whiteboard, taking up the entire board and leaving space between the organisms.
5. Each student will take a turn sharing their research with the class. They will use a dry erase marker to outline their organism in the proper color to define its role in the ecosystem according to the following key:
Orange = Decomposer
Green = Producer
Purple = Consumer
Then, with the help of the rest of the class, the student will use a black marker to draw lines between their organism and other organisms with which it has relationships. Draw any likely relationships, even if it may not have been written down in their research.
6. On each line that the student draws, instruct them to write the name of the type of relationship the two organisms share (i.e. mutualism, predation, parasitism, commensalism, decomposition, competition etc.)
7. Discuss the complexity of the food web with students and have students complete the discussion questions.
Alternative Options
1. Permanent display board:
Instead of creating a temporary food web on a whiteboard, you may choose to create a more permanent display by making the food web on a cork bulletin board. If the board is lined with paper, markers could still be used. Alternatively, you can use string and pushpins to connect organisms. The advantage to this is that you can try removing any organism from the food web and see how the string arrangement (ecosystem) is affected.
Additional supplies needed:
• Pushpins and permanent markers or string
2. Poster Partners:
Instead of creating a large food web as a class, you may choose to have students work in pairs and create smaller food webs on poster board. In this option, give students copies of the poster-sized organism drawings instead of the larger drawings. Students could still share research with the class, but then break into pairs. The same coloring rules and relationship lines could be used. The advantage to this activity is that posters can be compared between different student groups. Students could also color in a landscape in the background on posters.
Additional supplies needed:
Each student pair will need:
• A large piece of paper or poster, colored markers or pencils, scissors, and tape or glue.
Vocabulary
Ecosystem, parasitism, mutualism, predation, competition, commensalism, producers, consumers, decomposers, food web