1. Animals including Humans
Year 4
Lesson 3
LI: To construct and interpret a variety of food chains.

2. Input
When we classify animals according to what they eat, what are the categories called?
Why do animals need to eat?
Ask the children about their diet or what the diet of a human should consist of.

3. What do these animals eat?
Get 3 children up and give them word card (e.g. grass, rabbit, fox)- ask the children to discuss what each animal eats. Get the children to stand in the write order. Explain that because the grass doesn’t eat anything- it is known as the producer.

4. Food Chains What is the producer? What is the prey?
On the board write the words out but this time add arrows between the words showing the transfer of energy. Explain to the children that this is a food chain.

5. Put these pictures into a food chain
Show 3 more pictures (leaf, caterpillar, finch, hawk) and children to have a go on a whiteboard at putting them into a food chain. Show correct answer and check children understand.

6. Put these pictures into a food chain
Show 3 more pictures (leaf, caterpillar, finch, hawk) and children to have a go on a whiteboard at putting them into a food chain. Show correct answer and check children understand.

7. Create your own food chains:
Activity
Create your own food chains:
e.g.
Fox leaf snail bird
leaf snail bird fox
Children to create their own food chains from a bank of animals (see worksheet)

8. Plenary
What would happen if one animal was to be taken out of the food chain? leaf snail bird fox
The living things in a food chain depend on each other to survive. If one part of the food chain dies out then the animals which consume that animal will either die out or have to find another prey. If they find a different prey then this can have an effect on another food chain.