An exciting addition to a unit on ecosystems and food chains was incorporated during a recent activity at Merrimac Elementary School in Lisa Mazzaglia’s fourth-grade class, with help from Technology Integration Specialist Claudia Camassa.

As part of the students’ study on ecosystems and the elements they are composed of, students utilized iPads and the Google Expedition Augmented Reality program to see the food chain come alive. Looking through the iPad, students were able to point the devices at certain markers on the floor that created digitized models of components found in the food chain, such as producers, consumers, omnivores, herbivores, carnivores and scavengers. Among the animals that came to life through the digital software were bears, deer and vultures.

As a culminating activity, students organized a food chain from start to finish using each of the components they studied throughout the unit.