Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 30 minutes
Read a food web: who eats whom?
Ecosystems and food chains
CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1England: KS2 Y4 Living things and their habitatsEngland: KS3 Biology: Interactions and interdependencies
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Read a food web: who eats whom?.
- 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: Producers, consumers, predators and prey
Leads to: Predict what happens when a food web changes
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 (Producers, consumers, predators and prey). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- lettuce → slug → hedgehog → badger What is the hedgehog in this food chain? (secondary consumer / tertiary consumer / producer / primary consumer) → secondary consumerPrompt: Start at the plant and count the arrows.
- grass → rabbit → fox Which animal is the prey of the fox? (rabbit / grass / fox) → rabbitPrompt: A predator hunts and eats other animals; its prey is the animal it eats.
- Food chains: which statement is true? (A consumer gets its energy by eating other living things. / Producers eat consumers. / Herbivores are predators. / A food chain can start with a lion.) → A consumer gets its energy by eating other living things.Prompt: Producers make food; consumers eat.
Hook · 3 min
- Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
- Share the objective: Read a food web: who eats whom?. 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: Here is a pond food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) algae → mayfly larva algae → tadpole pondweed → pond snail algae → pond snail mayfly larva → dragonfly larva tadpole → dragonfly larva mayfly larva → stickleback (small fish) dragonfly larva → stickleback (small fish) stickleback (small fish) → heron tadpole → heron Which of these does the heron eat?
- Step 1: tadpole → heron
- Step 2: So the answer is: tadpole
- Answer: tadpole
- 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.
- Here is a pond food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) algae → mayfly larva algae → tadpole pondweed → pond snail algae → pond snail mayfly larva → dragonfly larva tadpole → dragonfly larva mayfly larva → stickleback (small fish) dragonfly larva → stickleback (small fish) stickleback (small fish) → heron tadpole → heron Which of these does the dragonfly larva eat? (tadpole / pond snail / stickleback (small fish) / heron) → tadpolePrompt: Find the arrows that point TO this animal.
- Here is a pond food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) algae → mayfly larva algae → tadpole pondweed → pond snail algae → pond snail mayfly larva → dragonfly larva tadpole → dragonfly larva mayfly larva → stickleback (small fish) dragonfly larva → stickleback (small fish) stickleback (small fish) → heron tadpole → heron Which of these is a producer? (algae / mayfly larva / heron / pond snail) → algaePrompt: Producers make their own food from sunlight.
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.
- Here is a woodland food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) oak tree → caterpillar grass → rabbit oak tree → mouse grass → mouse caterpillar → blue tit rabbit → fox mouse → fox mouse → owl blue tit → owl A disease kills most of the mouse. Which animal loses one of its foods? (rabbit / owl / blue tit / caterpillar) → owlPrompt: Which animals have an arrow coming from it?
- Here is a pond food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) algae → mayfly larva algae → tadpole pondweed → pond snail algae → pond snail mayfly larva → dragonfly larva tadpole → dragonfly larva mayfly larva → stickleback (small fish) dragonfly larva → stickleback (small fish) stickleback (small fish) → heron tadpole → heron Which of these is a producer? (pond snail / mayfly larva / tadpole / algae) → algaePrompt: Producers make their own food from sunlight.
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: Producers, consumers, predators and prey.
- 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: Predict what happens when a food web changes.
- 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