Science lesson plan · 3rd grade (Year 4 in England) · 45 minutes
Producers, consumers, predators and prey
Ecosystems and food chains
CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.MS-LS2-3England: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humans
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Producers, consumers, predators and prey.
- 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: Simple food chains
Leads to: Decomposers and recycling nutrients; Food webs and interdependence; Why some animals live in groups
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 · 5 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Simple food chains). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? grass → ___ → frog → snake (heron / lettuce / oak leaves / grasshopper) → grasshopperPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.
- Where does the energy in a food chain first come from? (the soil / the top predator / the Sun / the rain) → the SunPrompt: What do plants need to make food?
- Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? oak leaves → caterpillar → ___ → sparrowhawk (lion / acacia leaves / blue tit / lettuce) → blue titPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.
Hook · 5 min
- Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
- Share the objective: Producers, consumers, predators and prey. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 10 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: phytoplankton → krill → penguin → leopard seal What is the krill in this food chain?
- Step 1: It is number 2 in the chain.
- Step 2: So the answer is: primary consumer
- Answer: primary consumer
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 10 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- seeds → mouse → owl What is the owl in this food chain? (secondary consumer / tertiary consumer / primary consumer / producer) → secondary consumerPrompt: Start at the plant and count the arrows.
- phytoplankton → krill → penguin → leopard seal Which animal is the predator of the krill? (leopard seal / penguin / phytoplankton / krill) → penguinPrompt: A predator hunts and eats other animals; its prey is the animal it eats.
You do: independent practice · 10 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 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 5 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Food chains: which statement is true? (Producers eat consumers. / Herbivores are predators. / A consumer gets its energy by eating other living things. / A food chain can start with a lion.) → A consumer gets its energy by eating other living things.Prompt: Producers make food; consumers eat.
- acacia leaves → giraffe → lion What is the lion in this food chain? (secondary consumer / producer / tertiary consumer / primary consumer) → secondary consumerPrompt: Start at the plant and count the arrows.
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: Simple food chains.
- 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: Decomposers and recycling nutrients; Food webs and interdependence; Why some animals live in groups.
- 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-3.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder