 Every living thing needs energy to live. The sun produces all energy. The suns' light lets plants make their own food and grow. When plants grow, other animals eat the plants to get energy. You are learning about how living things get food and why that relationship is called a food chain. A food chain is the transfer of energy from one living thing to another living thing.

 Here is an example of a food chain. The sun creates energy for the oak tree to make its' own food. The oak tree is called a producer because it produces its' own food directly from the sun's energy. It makes acorns that the squirrel eats. The squirrel is an herbivore because it eats only seeds, plants, and nuts. The bobcat is a carnivore, or a meat-eater, and it eats the squirrel. Herbivores and carnivores are both consumers because they eat other living things to get their energy. A decomposer is something that eats non-living things. After the bobcat dies, mold will help  decompose. A vulture is a scavenger, or a decomposer.

 Sun --> Oak Tree --> Squirrel -->Bobcat-- > Fungus

 Your job is to define and understand the following words: food chain, producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.  Then, you will apply your knowledge of these vocabulary terms by creating two food chains. Each food chain you make will fit on one sheet of plain white typing paper.

 Both food chains must have a picture of at least one living thing in each of these categories:  producer  consumer  decomposer  Each living thing must be labeled with the correct animal or plant name. The sun must be pictured and labeled in each food chain, showing that the sun is the beginning of all energy on the planet. All consumers must

 You may draw or find pictures of living things in magazines, newspapers,  or you may print pictures from the computer.

 You can check out the evaluation section end of the PowerPoint to find a rubric.

 How do I do it?  Step One - You will get information about food chains by searching the internet and from what we did in class. Begin your search in the resources section of this webquest.  Step Two - Define the following vocabulary: food chain, producer, consumer, decomposer, herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore.  Step Three - Create two food chains on paper using a variety of animals for each food chain. Look at the rubric in the evaluation to make sure you have everything you need on your food chains.

 chain.html chain.html  ?tqskip=1 ?tqskip=1  explorer/0309/quickflicks/  tm

 Congratulations, young ecologists!  You now understand how all energy begins with the sun and how living things get energy.

4 At least 6 different animals, all labeled with their correct animal name 2 food chains with at least one living thing representing a producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in each food chain "Herbivore," "Carnivore," and every label is complete and correct. Pictures are found from newspapers, magazines, or printed from the computer Pictures are cut and glued neatly Spelling is correct 3At least 6 different animals, all labeled with their correct animal name 2 food chains with at least one living thing representing a producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in each food chain "Herbivore," "Carnivore," and "Omnivore" labeled on each consumer The sun is pictured and labeled as the beginning of all energy 1-2 mistakes or mislabels Pictures are drawn and colored Pictures are neat and coloring is within the lines There are 1-3 spelling errors 2At least 3 different animals pictured, 3-6 are labeled with animal name 1 food chain with at least one living thing representing a producer, a consumer, and a decomposer in each food chain "Herbivore," "Carnivore," and "Omnivore" are not labeled on each consumer or labeled incorrectly The sun may or may not be Pictures are drawn and not colored There are 2-3 spelling errors 1At least 3 different animals are pictured and labeled with correct or incorrect animal name Producers, consumers, and decomposers are not labeled or mislabeled The sun is not pictured and labeled as the beginning of all energy There are more than 5 mistakes There are no pictures Handwriting may be illegible There are 4 or more spelling errors