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Science lesson plan · 1st grade (Year 2 in England) · 45 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 · 5 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 → krill → ___ → leopard seal (seeds / fox / penguin / lettuce) → penguinPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in the chain.
  2. What does every food chain start with? (the soil / a mushroom / a plant or other producer / a big predator) → a plant or other producerPrompt: Which living things make their own food?
  3. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? grass → ___ → fox (seeds / sparrowhawk / phytoplankton / rabbit) → rabbitPrompt: 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: Simple food chains. 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: 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 · 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.
  1. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? ___ → mouse → owl (seeds / zebra / grasshopper / rabbit) → seedsPrompt: A food chain starts with a plant.
  2. Where does the energy in a food chain first come from? (the rain / the soil / the top predator / the Sun) → the SunPrompt: What do plants need to make food?

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.
  1. Where does the energy in a food chain first come from? (the rain / the Sun / the top predator / the soil) → the SunPrompt: What do plants need to make food?
  2. Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? oak leaves → ___ → blue tit → sparrowhawk (algae / caterpillar / acacia leaves / lettuce) → caterpillarPrompt: It must eat the thing before it in 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/ 8

  1. Question 1

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

    • A. rabbit
    • B. krill
    • C. algae
    • D. mouse

  2. Question 2

    Where does the energy in a food chain first come from?

    • A. the soil
    • B. the Sun
    • C. the rain
    • D. the top predator

  3. Question 3

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? grass → grasshopper → ___ → snake

    • A. sparrowhawk
    • B. frog
    • C. owl
    • D. seeds

  4. Question 4

    In a food chain, what does the arrow mean?

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

  5. Question 5

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? ___ → giraffe → lion

    • A. acacia leaves
    • B. tadpole
    • C. krill
    • D. zebra

  6. Question 6

    What does every food chain start with?

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

  7. Question 7

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? grass → ___ → frog → snake

    • A. phytoplankton
    • B. algae
    • C. fox
    • D. grasshopper

  8. Question 8

    Which living thing fills the gap in this food chain? grass → rabbit → ___

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

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Answer key: Simple food chains

  1. 1. C. algae

  2. 2. B. the Sun

  3. 3. B. frog

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

  5. 5. A. acacia leaves

  6. 6. A. a plant or other producer

  7. 7. D. grasshopper

  8. 8. A. fox