Have students set up ecosystems in
the classroom so they can directly observe food chains and food webs.
They can construct any number of terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems using
a good-sized plastic container, soil or water, and organisms.
A pond ecosystem might include water
plants (elodea, algae), small water-borne animals (daphnia), water insects
(damsel-fly nymphs), and fish (guppies or gold fish). A terrestrial
ecosystem might contain grass, a small water hole, earthworms, various
insects, ant farm, terrariums and possibly even a chameleon.
Have students observe their ecosystems
every day and record any interactions among the organisms.