Biotic and Abiotic Factors
This lesson plan involves 3 activities. First, there is a class discussion centered on displayed images of ecosystems, one ecosystem with life and another without. Then, the teacher leads the class in building a “human” ecosystem where the students act as the different components. Finally, there is an interactive game that involves the roles of producers, consumers, and decomposers. Students learn about the biotic and abiotic factors that influence the populations in an ecosystem. The students act out the roles and interactions of producers, consumers, and decomposers. All of this enables them to understand the dynamic equilibrium of the relationships in the ecosystem and how different things, both biotic and abiotic, can impact that equilibrium.
