Description
Product Details
Owl pellet dissection gives students a unique view of an owl’s natural habitat. Through this inquiry activity, students develop a model of the natural food web of owls using carefully gathered evidence, learn how energy flows through a natural system, and assess the patterns of predator-prey relationships. In the first activity, students complete their owl pellet dissection. After sharing class data, they then construct a comprehensive food web, showing energy flow, for the barn owl.
This classroom kit is designed for a class of 30 working in pairs. It includes 16 owl pellets, wooden probes, and comprehensive teacher’s manual with reproducible student guide. The teacher’s manual contains procedural and preparation instructions, safety information, and more. The student guide includes step-by-step procedural instructions, data sheets, bone charts, a prelab, and assessment questions.
All Carolina owl pellets are individually wrapped, chemical free, and have been heat sterilized at 250° F for 4 hours.
Time Requirement
Teacher prep, 30 minutes. Prelab, 5–10 minutes. Activity 1 (dissection), 90 minutes. Activity 2 (food web creation), 45 minutes.
Digital Resources
Includes 1-year access to digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS. Digital resources may include a teacher’s manual and student guide, pre-lab activities and setup videos, phenomenon videos, simulations, and post-lab analysis and assessments.
Performance Expectation(s)
MS-LS2-3
Crosscutting Concepts
Energy and Matter
Disciplinary Core Ideas
LS2.B: Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
Science and Engineering Practices
Developing and Using Models
Learning Objectives
- Use evidence found in digestive remains to ask and answer questions about an owl’s habitat and prey.
- Identify prey based on bones found.
- Develop a model of an owl’s food web.
- Apply basic science skills—careful observation and methodical data gathering; the recording, analyzing, and sharing of data; and laboratory safety.
Prerequisite Knowledge and Skills
Students should have basic science skills. They should also be familiar with predatory/prey relationships and food chains and food webs.