Food Chain Lesson Plans

First graders discuss food chains and how living things depend upon one another for survival. They participate in building a living food chain from the smallest animal to the largest.

Learners identify the cyclical nature of food chains and discuss common food chain relationships in a variety of ecosystems. They work in small groups to research a specific food chain and make a display of their findings using paper plates.

Students investigate the food chain. They brainstorm questions about the human food chain and explain what would happen to living things in the food chain if organisms or resources were removed. They role-play situations in which the food chain is broken

Fourth graders investigate food chains. They review cycles and discuss ecosystems. They select an environment and create a food chain in small groups. They write their food chain and label it for the class to evaluate. They create food webs of the foods they have eaten.

Fifth graders engage in a lesson that is about the concept of the marine food chain. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The layers of the ecosystem is described by the students and a graphic organizer can be created in order to help organize information.

Fourth graders explore the food chain. In this producers and consumers lesson plan, 4th graders classify animals as producer, herbivore, and consumers. Students then draw and label a food chain.

Learners create their own food chains on Kidspiration starting from the energy of the sun and what it creates. In this food chains lesson plan, students learn about how insects eat plants and so on.

Students simulate animals in a food chain. In this food chain lesson plan, students are identified as grasshoppers, frogs or hawks. Popcorn is spread across a lawn and students are given baggies (stomachs) and colored sashes to identify each species. Students try to survive and get enough food without being eaten by predators. Variations occur in the simulation and the results are analyzed to compare the "balance" of the food chain.

Fifth graders study food chains and the ways small alterations can affect the entire food chain organisms. In this food chain lesson, 5th graders participate in an experiment with cups and water to learn about energy loss in a food chain. Students complete a vocabulary word game for the topic and use pictures from the Internet to create a visual food chain. Students are assessed with a set of true/false questions and write a paragraph about the topic.

Seventh graders complete activities to study the food chain in oceans. In this food chain lesson, 7th graders view a video and take a pretest about food chains. Students read a chapter from a book about the ocean and answer questions. Students complete a food chain bar graph and food chain pyramid exercise. Students draw pictures of sea animals and retake the pretest. Students take part in a seafood extravaganza.