SEMI-DETAILED LESSON PLAN IN SCIENCE GRADE 4

I. Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

A. describe the different ecological relationships in an ecosystem
B. classify specific interspecies relationships as predation, competition, mutualism, commensalism or
parasitism
C. internalize the importance of ecological interactions among species

II. Subject Matter:

Topic: Ecological Relationships

References: Science Links, 157-159
Exploring Life through Science, pp. 152-152
Science in Our World, pp. 114-116
www.youtube.com.ph
Materials: PowerPoint presentation, video clips, pictures, activity sheets, marker.

III. Learning Activities:

Teacher’s Activity Student’s Activity

A. Preliminary Activities

“Good afternoon class!”

“Good afternoon Sir!”
“Please stand and let us pray.”
One student will lead the prayer.

B. Motivation

Do you believe in the saying “No man is an island” Yes sir!

What does this quotation mean? It means that we cannot live alone. We need to
interact with each other and help one another.

That’s right! Likewise, same or different species

within the community interact with each other as
part of their ecological niches. . Today, we will
discuss about the ecological relationship among
organisms.

C. Lesson Proper

What is ecological relationship? Ecological relationship pertains to the interaction

between or among two different species of
organisms.

Ecological interactions are of different types. I

will show you some video clips and a picture to be
more familiar with these types.
 Let’s proceed to video 1. The bee and the flower.

What have you observed in the video?
The bee harvests nectar from the flower.
As the bee harvests nectar, some of the flower’s
pollen grains are attached to the hairy body or feet
of the bee. As the bee goes to another flower, the
pollens can be transferred to another flower
thereby enabling cross-pollination.

Based on what you observed, is there an Yes Sir. The bee feeds itself with the nectar of the
interaction between the bee and the flower? How flower while the flower used the bee to transport
does this interaction affect both organisms? its pollen grains. Thus, both organisms benefit
from each other.

So what is the relationship of the two? Why?
Since the bee and the flower both benefit from
each other, their relationship is said to be
mutualism. Mutualism is referred as the “perfect
relationship” because two different organisms
both benefit.

Definitely.

Figure 1. Orchid and Tree

How about the orchid and the tree in this figure? None Sir. The orchids grow on the branches of
Do they have a mutual relationship like the bee trees so that they are more exposed to air. These
and the flower? orchids get their food from the air and the rain.
The trees therefore are neither benefited nor
harmed.

If the orchids benefitted and the trees do not, The orchids and the trees have a one-sided
what is the relationship of the two? relationship. Thus, their relationship is considered
as commensalism.

Correct. Next, video 2. The mosquito sucking blood

from the human skin.

Based on what you have watched, how does a The mosquito sucks blood from the human skin.
mosquito feed itself?

Who do you think benefits from this The mosquito benefits since it feeds itself with the
interaction?How does this affect humans? human blood. But humans are harmed by getting
an itchy skin or some diseases like dengue or
malaria.

What type of relationship do they have? And why? Their relationship is considered as parasitism. In
this type of relationship, one organism benefits
while the other is harmed.

What do you call the organism that benefits? How In parasitism, the one that benefits is called
about the organism that is being harmed? parasite/vector. While the one that is harmed is
the host.

Exactly! Let’s proceed to the next video.

Video 3. Hawk and snake

What does the video show? At first, the video showed how the snake hunt and
 killed the rat for his meal, then the hawk showed
up trying to catch its prey, the snake.

Correct. So what happened to the snake? The snake was killed and was eaten by the hawk.

Can you tell that the relationship is also No Sir. In parasitism, the host is only affected. So
parasitism? this is what we call predation, a type of
relationship where one organism eats or harms
the other organism. The eater is called the
predator while the organism being eaten is called
prey. Thus, the hawk is considered the predator
while the snake is considered the prey.

Very good. Lastly, we have the lion vs. the lions.

Video 3. Lion vs. Lions

What is the scenario that you have just watched The lions compete for the throne and for mating.
and why did they do that? Organisms tend to compete because they use the
same limited resources like food, shelter, space,
light, and others.

Perfect! This relationship often results in

elimination of one organism by another. Both
organisms can be harmed. In some cases, one
organism benefits while the other is harmed.

If the lion king wins, and the other two loses, what Competition Sir!
is their relationship?

Absolutely.

D. Generalization

Why is ecological interaction important? Ecological interaction is important because it

maintains the survival of different species as well
as to sustain the ecological balance in our
environment.
E. Application

To further familiarize you with these types of

interactions, let’s do the activity Relationship Card
Game.

Materials: cards containing different organisms

and their needs and what it can provide

Mechanics:

1. Each group gets a pair of masks,a manila paper

and 10 sets of cards.
2. Identify the relationship of the organism painted
on the pair of masks, and that will be their group
name.
3. Next, pair the 10 sets of cards based on what
each organism has and needs.
4. Paste the cards on the manila paper.
5. Lastly, write the relationship of the paired
organisms next to the card.
6. Paste your output on the board, and go back to
your respective groups.
7. The 2 people who are wearing the masks will
present their output in the class.

Point system:

1) The group will be given 5 points if they

correctly named their group base on the
relationship of the organisms drawn on their
mask.
2) Every correct paired cards and ecological
relationships given to the organisms is equivalent
to 1 point.
3) No point will be given if they get it wrong.
4.) Bonus points!5 points will be added to the
group who will be finished first. And the
succeeding groups will get additional 3 points.

IV. Evaluation

Direction:

Examine the picture below and read the text below the picture. Fill the table by identifying the
organisms participating in a symbiotic relationship. Then tell whether the organism benefited (+),
harmed (-), or is unaffected (0). Lastly, describe the relationship shown between the organisms.

“These beautiful understory plants have brightly

colored flowers in the shape of tubes. This particular form
of flower is often associated with pollination by
hummingbirds. These flowers are often home to
hummingbird mites, which hitch ride from flower to flower in
the nostrils or mouth of the hummingbird as it flies. The
mites feed on the flower nectar and pollen as well as to
mate in the folds of the flower. “

Write your answers in the table provided below.

Relationship Type of relationship /
Name of Organisms (+) (-) (0)
# interaction
a) flower √
1 b) hummingbird √
mutualism

√
2 a) flower
b) hummingbird mites √
parasitism

√
3 a) hummingbird
b) hummingbird mites √
commensalism
V. Agreement
A. Follow-up
Write 3 symbiotic relationships that you can observe in humans and in 2 sentences explain the
importance of those 3 relationships you have observed.
B. Advanced
Illustrate the energy transfer in the Ecosystem using a diagram.

Questions:
1. What is the source of energy for an ecosystem?
2. How do organisms obtain energy?
3. Distinguish between producers and consumers.

C. References
Science Links 7, pp. 159-165
http://scienceaid.co.uk/biology/ecology/food.html
www.biologyforlife.com/uploads/2/2/3/9/.../40_ecology_energy_flow_notes.pdf

Prepared by:

Michael Jonah Melad