Food Webs & Food Chains Station Lab - MS

This modular, student-led activity about food webs will keep your middle school students actively engaged and learning throughout this ecosystems lesson. These comprehensive, ready-to-use materials save you a ton of prep time while empowering students to take charge of their own learning.

In this interactive station lab, students will explore how energy and matter move through an ecosystem by identifying and comparing populations and examining their impacts within food webs.

The Food Webs Station Lab is also included in the Food Webs 5E Lesson Plan, which features editable teaching presentations, interactive notebook activities, student-choice projects, assessments, and more to fit your middle school science curriculum.

Texas teachers: This lab aligns with the 2017 TEKS and will not be updated for the 2021 TEKS.

DIFFERENTIATED • MODULAR • STUDENT-LED

Each station lab includes eight core, differentiated activities plus a ninth challenge station for early finishers. The student-centered format allows learners to work independently or collaboratively, while teachers guide and facilitate understanding.

All materials—signage, task cards, readings, and resources—are included. The Explore It! station may require a few simple classroom materials you already have on hand.

This resource is ready for both in-class and virtual learning. Digital files are fully compatible with PowerPoint and Google Slides.

THE STATIONS

INPUT Stations provide multimodal ways for students to encounter new content about food webs.

• Explore It! – A hands-on demonstration or digital simulation that connects learning through application.

• Read It! – Students read short passages about food webs and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions. Differentiated versions (English and Spanish) support all learners.

• Research It! – Students explore interactive web resources to gather facts, images, and data about energy flow and relationships within ecosystems.

• Watch It! – Students view a short video and answer guided questions to reinforce key ideas about food webs.

OUTPUT Stations give students multiple ways to demonstrate understanding.

• Organize It! – Students build and sort manipulatives to model feeding relationships. (Digital versions available!)

• Illustrate It! – Students create visual diagrams or sketches of food webs to strengthen retention and comprehension.

• Write It! – Students respond to open-ended prompts using academic vocabulary and complete sentences.

• Assess It! – Students apply their learning with task cards, comprehension questions, and contextual vocabulary exercises.

Bonus Station – Challenge It!
For early finishers and advanced learners, this station includes fun and enriching activities such as crosswords, mini-projects, and creative applications that extend learning even further.

This is a finished product; it will be updated with formatting or corrections as needed. Future improvements and new features will be sold as a separate product.