Science Year 4
Biology Strand: Animals, including humans
Session G Programmes of study: Construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers,
Producers,
predators &
prey
predators and prey
Working
scientifically
Record findings using simple scientific language and drawings
Identify differences and similarities related to simple scientific ideas and processes
Resources
needed
Information books about different habitats. Access to internet for research
Whole class teaching:
Recap with children what they learnt in Session C about the different diets of animals: carnivores, herbivores and
omnivores. Volunteers explain what each word means. What sort of a diet do most humans have? Omnivore. We also
discovered that the animals living in any particular habitat are interdependent and their survival also depends on the
plants present in that habitat. So another way in which we can classify animals is as a predator or prey. Write these
words on f/c and define them. A predator is an animal which kills and eats another animal. The other animal is its
prey. For example a fox is a predator and its prey may be a rabbit or a pheasant. Point out that some animals can be
both, e.g. a ladybird (predator) eats greenfly (prey), but a ladybird (prey) might then be eaten by a shrew (predator)
which in turn (prey) may be eaten by a badger (predator). Remind children of work they did in Year 2 about food
chains.
Explain that there is a third type of living thing too - a producer. Producers are usually green plants which can produce
nutrients (food) by photosynthesis. Remind children that they found out about this important function of leaves in
Year 3 (see session resource). Herbivores eat the plants and then they are eaten by carnivores, so the food (energy) is
passed along the ‘chain’. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. So animals can also be classified as consumers,
either primary consumers (herbivores) that eat the producers, i.e. plants, and secondary consumers (carnivores) that
eat animals.
All life on Earth is dependent on plants as they are one of the few living things that can make use of the Sun’s energy
to create food of their own which can be passed on in a useful form from one creature to another. Start to create a
food chain on f/c by drawing a plant (if you include the Sun you will build an energy chain). It is the sugars that build
up in plants that provide food for other living creatures – including humans! Fruits, vegetables & cereals are key parts
of our diets. Next in the food chain draw a slug, followed by a hedgehog, followed by a fox. Show chn a picture food
chain & an energy chain (session resources). In which direction is the food/energy passing? Tell the children that
scientists use arrows on food chains to show which direction the food/energy is being passed. Beneath the plant write
producer as the plant produces the sugars to start the chain. Beneath the slug write herbivore – consumer (primary
consumer), the slug consumes the food (energy) stored in the plants. Beneath the hedgehog and the fox write
carnivore – consumer (secondary consumers). Ask where we could write predator and prey to complete the diagram.
Class activities:
Adult-led activity:
Make a list of habitats on the f/c taking suggestions from the children. Encourage them to think about habitats on a
range of scales, those that are global – temperate, polar/arctic, desert, rainforest, seas – and those that are smaller –
hedge, grassy area, pond, oak tree, rock pool. Tell the children that they are going to work in pairs to choose a habitat
for which they will create one or more food chains (for inspiration some examples of food chains are given in session
resources). They can make use of information books &/or internet research to find suitable creatures and plants. They
can draw the members of the food chain or download suitable images and then add arrows and label the food chain
using the words: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, predator, prey, herbivore and carnivore.
Support: Use session resources to create food chains. Can children add predator and prey labels?
Independent activity: Try online activities about food chains at
http://resources.hwb.wales.gov.uk/VTC/16022007/food_webs/lesson.html.
Plenary:
Show children the Discussion Drawing (session resources) and use the notes (session resources) to discuss food chains.
Talk about how important plants are for the survival of animals – firstly as food, but also as shelter and (from a human
point of view) as medicines. Point out that some plants are also dependent on animals, e.g. for seed dispersal (caught
in fur, buried, droppings), for pollination, for fertilisation from herbivores’ manure.
I can:
1. Define predator, prey and producer.
2. Make links between plants and animals in the form of food chains.
3. Understand what an energy chain is.
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