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Science lesson plan · 5th grade (Year 6 in England) · 60 minutes

The energy in food started as sunlight

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.5-PS3-1CCSS NGSS.5-LS2-1England: KS3 Biology: PhotosynthesisEngland: KS2 Y4 Animals, including humans

Objective and success criteria

Students will: The energy in food started as sunlight.

  • 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: Plants make food from air and water

Leads to: the next skill in this area.

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 (Plants make food from air and water). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
  • Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
  1. How plants grow: which statement is true? (Plants do not need light to make food. / Plants take in oxygen and give out only carbon dioxide all day. / The energy in plant food comes from the soil. / Most of a plant's mass comes from carbon dioxide in the air and from water.) → Most of a plant's mass comes from carbon dioxide in the air and from water.Prompt: Where does a tree's wood really come from?
  2. Where does the energy stored in the food we eat originally come from? (the soil / the oceans / the Moon / the Sun) → the SunPrompt: Follow the food chain back to a plant.
  3. How plants grow: which statement is NOT true? (Plants get most of their mass by eating soil. / Most of a plant's mass comes from carbon dioxide in the air and from water. / Roots take in water and minerals. / Plants release oxygen into the air.) → Plants get most of their mass by eating soil.Prompt: One sentence repeats an old idea that experiments disproved.

Hook · 6 min

  • Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
  • Share the objective: The energy in food started as sunlight. 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: Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater?
  • Step 1: Arrows follow energy from producer to consumers.
  • Step 2: So the answer is: They show the direction energy flows.
  • Answer: They show the direction energy flows.
  • 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. Why are there usually far fewer foxes than rabbits in a field? (Foxes do not like each other. / Foxes do not need energy. / Rabbits eat foxes. / Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.) → Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.Prompt: Animals use most of their food energy for moving and keeping warm.
  2. True or false? Animals use food energy to move, grow and keep warm. (True / False) → TruePrompt: Trace the energy back to the start of the chain.

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. True or false? All the energy in grass passes to the cow that eats it. (True / False) → FalsePrompt: Trace the energy back to the start of the chain.
  2. Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater? (They point to the oldest animal. / They show who is faster. / They show the direction energy flows. / They show who is bigger.) → They show the direction energy flows.Prompt: Where does the energy go when a rabbit eats grass?

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: Plants make food from air and water.
  • 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

  • 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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The energy in food started as sunlight

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Score/ 8

  1. Question 1

    Why do the arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater?

    • A. They point to the oldest animal.
    • B. They show who is faster.
    • C. They show the direction energy flows.
    • D. They show who is bigger.

  2. Question 2

    True or false? Plants get their energy from the soil.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  3. Question 3

    Why are there usually far fewer foxes than rabbits in a field?

    • A. Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.
    • B. Foxes do not need energy.
    • C. Rabbits eat foxes.
    • D. Foxes do not like each other.

  4. Question 4

    True or false? Animals get energy directly from sunlight like plants.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  5. Question 5

    True or false? Nearly all the energy in food chains comes from the Sun.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  6. Question 6

    True or false? Animals use food energy to move, grow and keep warm.

    • A. True
    • B. False

  7. Question 7

    How do plants store energy from sunlight?

    • A. They keep sunlight in their roots.
    • B. They turn sunlight into soil.
    • C. They do not store energy.
    • D. They use it to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

  8. Question 8

    A lion never eats plants. Where did the energy in its food originally come from?

    • A. the ground
    • B. the Moon
    • C. the lion's own body
    • D. the Sun, captured by plants that its prey ate

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Answer key: The energy in food started as sunlight

  1. 1. C. They show the direction energy flows.

  2. 2. B. False

  3. 3. A. Much energy is used up or lost at each step of a food chain.

  4. 4. B. False

  5. 5. A. True

  6. 6. A. True

  7. 7. D. They use it to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

  8. 8. D. the Sun, captured by plants that its prey ate