Food chains
I can build and read food chains, name producers, predators and prey, and say what happens if one living thing disappears.
For grown-ups: this lesson in words
Years 4 to 6 · Science
Food chains: I can build and read food chains, name producers, predators and prey, and say what happens if one living thing disappears.
All living things need food. Plants and animals get their food in different ways.
Plants make their own food, using light from the Sun. The tree and the sunflower both do this.
Animals cannot make their own food. The rabbit, the caterpillar and the owl eat other living things.
A plant is called a producer, because it produces, or makes, its own food.
Picture: Sorting into 2 groups: Makes food from sunlight, Eats other living things. Makes food from sunlight: Tree, Sunflower. Eats other living things: Rabbit, Caterpillar, Owl.
Your turn: Which one of these is a producer?
Choose one:
- Fox: fox
- Flower: flower
- Snail: snail
Answer
The answer: Flower
The flower is the producer. It is a plant, so it makes its own food from sunlight.
Picture: Sorting into 2 groups: Makes food from sunlight, Eats other living things. Makes food from sunlight: Flower. Eats other living things: Fox, Snail.
This is a food chain. It shows who is eaten by whom. It starts with a producer: a leaf.
The arrow points from the leaf to the caterpillar. The leaf is eaten by the caterpillar.
The next arrow points from the caterpillar to the bird. The caterpillar is eaten by the bird.
Each arrow means 'is eaten by'. It points to the animal that does the eating.
Picture: A food chain in a row: Leaf, then an arrow pointing to Caterpillar, then an arrow pointing to Bird.
Words to know
- food chain:
- A row of living things joined by arrows. It shows who is eaten by whom.
- producer: