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Science lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 30 minutes

Simple food chains

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1England: KS1 Y2 Living things and their habitatsEngland: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humans

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Simple food chains.

  • 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: no earlier skill in the map; start from what students know.

Leads to: Producers, consumers, predators and prey; Environments change: human impact

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: three short questions students should already manage. Answers on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? phytoplankton → ___ → penguin → leopard seal (seeds / acacia leaves / heron / krill) → krillPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.
  2. What does every food chain start with? (a plant or other producer / a big predator / a mushroom / the soil) → a plant or other producerPrompt: Which living things make their own food?
  3. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? oak leaves → caterpillar → ___ → sparrowhawk (snake / blue tit / algae / owl) → blue titPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.

Hook · 3 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: Simple food chains. 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: Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? phytoplankton → ___ → penguin → leopard seal
  • Step 1: phytoplankton → krill → penguin → leopard seal
  • Step 2: So the answer is: krill
  • Answer: krill
  • 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. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? ___ → grasshopper → frog → snake (caterpillar / zebra / grass / krill) → grassPrompt: A food chain starts with a plant.
  2. Where does the energy in a food chain first come from? (the Sun / the soil / the top predator / the rain) → the SunPrompt: What do plants need to make food?

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. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? acacia leaves → ___ → lion (snake / fox / oak leaves / giraffe) → giraffePrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.
  2. grass → rabbit → fox. Which living thing is a plant? (fox / rabbit / grass) → grassPrompt: It is at the start of the chain.

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

  • 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

  • Move on to: Producers, consumers, predators and prey; Environments change: human impact.
  • 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-1.

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

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Simple food chains

Name

Date

Score/ 6

  1. Question 1

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? algae → ___ → fish → heron

    • A. acacia leaves
    • B. lettuce
    • C. tadpole
    • D. grass

  2. Question 2

    What does every food chain start with?

    • A. the soil
    • B. a mushroom
    • C. a big predator
    • D. a plant or other producer

  3. Question 3

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? algae → tadpole → fish → ___

    • A. acacia leaves
    • B. phytoplankton
    • C. seeds
    • D. heron

  4. Question 4

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? seeds → mouse → ___

    • A. grass
    • B. oak leaves
    • C. phytoplankton
    • D. owl

  5. Question 5

    In a food chain, what does the arrow mean?

    • A. "eats"
    • B. "is bigger than"
    • C. "is eaten by" (energy passes along)
    • D. "lives next to"

  6. Question 6

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? phytoplankton → krill → penguin → ___

    • A. acacia leaves
    • B. leopard seal
    • C. grass
    • D. algae

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Answer key: Simple food chains

  1. 1. C. tadpole

  2. 2. D. a plant or other producer

  3. 3. D. heron

  4. 4. D. owl

  5. 5. C. "is eaten by" (energy passes along)

  6. 6. B. leopard seal