Science Fenns K-5Grades K to 5
A prairie scene with grass, grasshopper, mouse, snake and hawk, all linked by thin arrows.

Science / All lessons / Food Webs and the Past

Food Webs

Energy flows. Matter cycles.

Lesson 35 of 40

Try this first

Before we start

Today’s story

Food Webs

A grasshopper eats grass. A mouse eats seeds. A snake eats the mouse. A hawk eats the snake. That is a food chain.

Most animals eat more than one thing. So chains overlap into a food web. The Sun gives the energy. Plants capture it. Consumers pass it along. Decomposers break down dead things.

Energy flows in one direction, from the Sun, through living things, and out as heat. Matter, like carbon and nutrients, cycles around again. Follow the steps.

See it

Five steps. Every time.

    Hands on

    Food Web Yarn Game

    25 minutes · Do this with a grown-up nearby

    You need

    • Index cards
    • Marker
    • Yarn
    • Several friends

    Do this

    1. Write one living thing on each card.
    2. Each person holds a card.
    3. The Sun passes yarn to a producer.
    4. Pass yarn along from eaten to eater.
    5. Connect everyone who has a link.
    6. One person drops out and everyone watches the yarn.
    7. Talk about what changed.
    Write or draw: A drawing of the web and notes on the missing link.

    Watch for: The yarn goes slack where something is missing. Others lose their food too.

    Safety: Keep yarn away from necks.

    Same every time

    Three rules

    Rule 1Arrows show where the energy goes.

    They point to the eater.

    Rule 2Every web starts with the Sun.

    Then producers.

    Rule 3Take away one link.

    Others may change.

    Grandpa Fenn’s notebook

    Say it like a scientist

    food web
    Many food chains linked together.
    consumer
    A living thing that eats other living things.
    decomposer
    A living thing that breaks down dead things.
    energy
    What living things need to move and grow.

    Poppy’s quiz

    Six questions

    Tap an answer. Green means right. You will see why.

    Talk about it

    Say it out loud

    • How do you know the Sun is part of a food web?
    • What is a food web near your home?
    Did you know

    Energy is lost as heat at each step in a food web. That is why a prairie has far more grass than hawks.

    Someone who does this

    A wildlife biologist studies who eats whom in nature.

    BeforeProducers Make FoodNext lessonDecomposers