Apologia Biology: Owl Pellet Lab

On Tuesday the Co-op class is dissecting owl pellets.  We need to break things up.  I ordered owl pellets from Amazon (20 small and six large—there are 18 kids). The plan is to explain what an owl pellet is, distribute bone sorting cards, proceed with the dissections, and debrief the lab.  Once the kids determine which rodents were eaten by the owl, they will research what the rodents eat and create a simple food web.  The completed food web has a title, all relevant species in the correct trophies levels, with their respective scientific names.  I think we can complete all of these tasks in 75 minutes.  Any student who hasn’t can finish at home.  By the way, I don’t assign grades to food webs.  I have the kids make necessary corrections until the food web is complete and correct.  This owl pellet lab handout is a terrific way to help you organize your owl pellet dissection.  Here is an excellent overview of how the owl digests prey and regurgitates the pellet.

One more note.  I’m going to break up the food web research with mini lessons.  Doing a research project can feel monotonous.  I don’t want the kids to become discouraged.

We did the owl pellet lab.  My private concerns that the lab would be too simple were unfounded.  I'm glad I went over a simple food web for owls and their prey.  The major food web is going to require heroic patience!  Notes I used red construction paper to help them see the tiny bones, they sorted.  The kids created food webs with at least three prey and three types of producers.  Each trophic level is labeled and color coded.  I hope you can see the example below.  Yes, there are 18 kids--the room is full!