Food Chains

Katelyn, Jade, Amelia

Explore lesson
 Context

Biological Science

Year 4 -- Food chains

Science Understanding
Living things, including plants and animals, depend on each
other and the environment to survive (ACSSU073)
 CURRICULUM LINKS
Science
Biological Sciences
· Living things, including plants and
animals, depend on each other and the
environment to survive (ACSSU073)
Elaboration: investigating the roles of
living things in a habitat, for instance
producers, consumers or decomposers
Literacy focus
Students will be able to:
● Participate in class discussions
about possible adaptations of
plants and animals
● Use talk to share their ideas
WARM UP GAME
Lesson Objectives
WALT - Identify and explore food chains
through what animals may eat.

WILF - Engage in discussions and

contribute ideas about what different
animals eat based on their environments
and create own food chains with given
materials
Safety & Roles
Health and Safety Considerations
● Ensuring students are walking during
transitions and the gallery walk and are
aware of the people around them.
● Students must take turns when handling
any equipment.
● Each piece of equipment (i.e. bluetack,
pictures of animals) is one per group,
however students must share and take it
in turns to contribute to the food chain
Roles
Manager:
● Organises group; what materials are needed,
what questions need to be answered & ensure
enough time for each activity.
Reporter:
● Answers questions on behalf of group.
● Records any information down.
Materials:
● Collects all materials from stations.
Learner
Diversity
Working in groups (strategically
place students)

Visual, verbal and written

communication both ways
Food Chain
Worksheet

Hints…..
What is a food chain?

● The term food chain describes the order in which living things (organisms), depend on each other
for food (energy).
● Every ecosystem, or community of living things, has one or more food chains.
● Most food chains start with organisms that make their own food, such as plants.

★ Scientists call them producers.

★ Organisms that eat other living things are known as consumers.

Can we think of any examples??

 Food Chains
How do plants and animals get the energy they need to live?

- All living things need energy to grow…..

- This starts with the SUN.
- Plants use energy from the sun so they can grow.
- A mouse gets energy from eating the plants.
- The fox then gets energy from eating the mouse.

This is called a Food Chain: Energy gets passed from one living
thing to the another.
Activity

Make your own food chain

Materials:
Stations:
● Plastic cups ● Cup & String Station
● String ● Tape, Bluetack & Arrow
● Tape Station
● Blue tack ● Animal Station
Instructions

★ Plan food chain with group

○ Materials student can go and look at equipment/ what animals are
available and report back to the group.
★ Once plan is done, raise your hand for it to get checked
off.
★ Once checked off, gather material and MAKE!
★ Make sure everyone in your group is included.
★ When the food chain is completed, show one of the
teachers and wait for further instruction.
Examples:
Gallery Walk &
Peer Assessment
● All group members to individually investigate another groups
food chains.
○ Pick one food chain in the group you have chosen and fill
out the peer assessment sheet.

● Once you have filled out the sheet, return to your seat.
 Stem Links - Links to other lesson ideas
Design & Technology
● Create a physical representation of a food chain using cups, string and cut out pictures (WATPPS23)
(WATPPS26).
English
● Use a range of methods to investigate and
represent findings, patterns and trends - Flow chart
with an explanation of how a food chain works,
write a story or poem about a food chain
(ACSIS068)
● Represent and communicate observations, ideas
and findings to peers using formal and informal
representations - Group discussions and peer
group assessments (ACSIS071)
Maths
● Data representation, with or without the use of
digital technologies - sorting animals into different
types of ecosystems using a table and noting how
many animals are in each (ACMSP096)
● Identifying and discussing numerical and visual
patterns in data collected from students - looking
at animals in specific ecosystems and discussing
the trends/patterns of similar food chains as a
class (ACSIS069).
 Class Discussion
Are food
What did chains
you find? When making your simple?
food chain and
looking for animals
were you able to
identify what
animals were from
different
ecosystems?

Next lesson…..