Food Web Chain Reaction Game

Purpose: to show how abiotic and biotic factors in the forest ecosystem affect the complete food web of the forest.

Materials:

• Large ball of yarn
• "forest identity cards"
• deer
• elk
• small tree x2
• large tree x2
• fern
• water x2
• sun
• fox
• bear
• coyote
• raccoon
• worm
• bird
• fly
• Add native species of animals to your cards and make as many sets as you need to hand out to your class based on size.

Activity:

1. Hand out an forest identity card to each student.
2. Have the students stand in a circle with their identity card facing out.  Tape them to their shirts or use a paper clip/safety pin.
3. Give someone in the group the ball of string.  Explaining that while they are holding onto one end of the string, you will pass the ball to another person giving them your energy because they need you.
4. Keep passing the string until all students are connected to at least one other person or forest factor.
5. Once everyone is connected find the person who is the WATER.  Now lets pretend that there is a drought this year, so there's very little water for the forest.  The water person would then gently tug on the string.  Do you feel the tug?  Does anyone in the circle feel the tug?  This is a great way to show how we are all connected.  Other scenarios would include: Disease has killed the foxes, too many trees have been cut down, the air has become heavily polluted.
6. If you wish, make up some of your own situations to test when you've finished.

Part 2:  Inspiration

As a closing activity students will visit Inspiration and use the software to make a food web to show what they have learned during the activity.  Their web must have a balance of producers, consumers and decomposers.