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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes

The energy in food started as sunlight

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.5-PS3-1CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1England: KS3 Biology: PhotosynthesisEngland: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humans

Objective and success criteria

Students will: The energy in food started as sunlight.

  • I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
  • I can explain each step and say why it works.
  • I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Plants make food from air and water

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 4 min

  • Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Plants make food from air and water). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. How plants grow: which statement is true? (The energy in plant food comes from the soil. / Plants take in oxygen and give out only carbon dioxide all day. / Plants get most of their mass by eating soil. / Plants release oxygen into the air.) → Plants release oxygen into the air.Prompt: Where does a tree's wood really come from?
  2. Which gas do plants take from the air to build their bodies? (oxygen / helium / carbon dioxide / nitrogen) → carbon dioxidePrompt: It is the gas we breathe out.
  3. How plants grow: which statement is NOT true? (Most of a plant's mass comes from carbon dioxide in the air and from water. / Plants release oxygen into the air. / Roots take in water and minerals. / Plants get most of their mass by eating soil.) → Plants get most of their mass by eating soil.Prompt: One sentence repeats an old idea that experiments disproved.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: The energy in food started as sunlight. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 7 min

  • Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
  • Example: Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater?
  • Step 1: Arrows follow energy from producer to consumers.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: They show the direction energy flows.
  • Answer: They show the direction energy flows.
  • Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 6 min

  • Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
  • Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
  1. A lion never eats plants. Where did the energy in its food originally come from? (the Sun, captured by plants that its prey ate / the ground / the Moon / the lion's own body) → the Sun, captured by plants that its prey atePrompt: What did the zebra eat?
  2. True or false? Animals get energy directly from sunlight like plants. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Trace the energy back to the start of the chain.

You do: independent practice · 7 min

  • Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
  • Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 3 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. True or false? Plants get their energy from the soil. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Trace the energy back to the start of the chain.
  2. Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater? (They point to the oldest animal. / They show the direction energy flows. / They show who is bigger. / They show who is faster.) → They show the direction energy flows.Prompt: Where does the energy go when a rabbit eats grass?

Watch out for

  • Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
  • Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

  • Review first: Plants make food from air and water.
  • Use concrete materials: food web cards.
  • Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
  • Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

  • Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
  • Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-5.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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The energy in food started as sunlight

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    True or false? Nearly all the energy in food chains comes from the Sun.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  2. Question 2

    A lion never eats plants. Where did the energy in its food originally come from?

    • A. the Moon
    • B. the lion's own body
    • C. the Sun, captured by plants that its prey ate
    • D. the ground

  3. Question 3

    True or false? Animals use food energy to move, grow and keep warm.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  4. Question 4

    Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater?

    • A. They show who is bigger.
    • B. They show who is faster.
    • C. They point to the oldest animal.
    • D. They show the direction energy flows.

  5. Question 5

    True or false? All the energy in grass passes to the cow that eats it.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    Why are there usually far fewer foxes than rabbits in a field?

    • A. Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.
    • B. Rabbits eat foxes.
    • C. Foxes do not like each other.
    • D. Foxes do not need energy.

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Answer key: The energy in food started as sunlight

  1. 1. A. True

  2. 2. C. the Sun, captured by plants that its prey ate

  3. 3. A. True

  4. 4. D. They show the direction energy flows.

  5. 5. B. False

  6. 6. A. Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.