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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 60 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 · 6 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.
  1. phytoplankton → krill → penguin → leopard seal What is the krill in this food chain? (primary consumer / tertiary consumer / secondary consumer / producer) → primary consumerPrompt: Start at the plant and count the arrows.
  2. seeds → mouse → owl Which animal is the prey of the owl? (owl / mouse / seeds) → mousePrompt: A predator hunts and eats other animals; its prey is the animal it eats.
  3. Food chains: which statement is true? (Producers eat consumers. / A food chain can start with a lion. / An animal can be both a predator and prey. / Herbivores are predators.) → An animal can be both a predator and prey.Prompt: Producers make food; consumers eat.

Hook · 6 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 · 12 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 · 12 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. 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? (dragonfly larva / tadpole / algae / mayfly larva) → tadpolePrompt: Find the arrows that point TO this animal.
  2. 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 How many different animals in this web eat the algae? → 3Prompt: Count the arrows that start at this living thing.

You do: independent practice · 17 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 · 7 min

  • Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
  1. 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 A disease kills most of the tadpole. Which animal loses one of its foods? (stickleback (small fish) / dragonfly larva / mayfly larva / pond snail) → dragonfly larvaPrompt: Which animals have an arrow coming from it?
  2. Here is an ocean food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) phytoplankton → zooplankton kelp (seaweed) → sea urchin zooplankton → herring sea urchin → sea otter herring → seal seal → orca herring → orca How many different animals in this web eat the kelp (seaweed)? → 1Prompt: Count the arrows that start at this living thing.

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

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Read a food web: who eats whom?

Name

Date

Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    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?

    • A. rabbit
    • B. blue tit
    • C. owl
    • D. caterpillar

  2. Question 2

    Here is an ocean food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) phytoplankton → zooplankton kelp (seaweed) → sea urchin zooplankton → herring sea urchin → sea otter herring → seal seal → orca herring → orca How many different animals in this web eat the sea urchin?

    Answer

  3. Question 3

    Here is an ocean food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) phytoplankton → zooplankton kelp (seaweed) → sea urchin zooplankton → herring sea urchin → sea otter herring → seal seal → orca herring → orca Which of these does the seal eat?

    • A. kelp (seaweed)
    • B. phytoplankton
    • C. herring
    • D. sea urchin

  4. Question 4

    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 A disease kills most of the stickleback (small fish). Which animal loses one of its foods?

    • A. heron
    • B. mayfly larva
    • C. tadpole
    • D. pond snail

  5. Question 5

    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 How many different animals in this web eat the pondweed?

    Answer

  6. Question 6

    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 tadpole eat?

    • A. algae
    • B. dragonfly larva
    • C. pondweed
    • D. heron

  7. Question 7

    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 oak tree. Which animal loses one of its foods?

    • A. blue tit
    • B. fox
    • C. caterpillar
    • D. rabbit

  8. Question 8

    Here is an ocean food web. (An arrow points from the food to the animal that eats it.) phytoplankton → zooplankton kelp (seaweed) → sea urchin zooplankton → herring sea urchin → sea otter herring → seal seal → orca herring → orca Which of these does the sea urchin eat?

    • A. seal
    • B. phytoplankton
    • C. sea otter
    • D. kelp (seaweed)

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Answer key: Read a food web: who eats whom?

  1. 1. C. owl

  2. 2. 1

  3. 3. C. herring

  4. 4. A. heron

  5. 5. 1

  6. 6. A. algae

  7. 7. C. caterpillar

  8. 8. D. kelp (seaweed)