All lessons › Food chains and decomposers › Lesson 2
Australian primary science · Year 4 · Lesson 2 of 3
Chain makers
Inquiry question: How can we show who eats whom in an Australian habitat?
Check practical materials
Modelling
What students learn
A food chain is a model of feeding relationships. Every food chain starts with a producer. Food chains that share living things join into a food web, and decomposers recycle every link when things die.
Success criteria
- I can build a food chain that starts with a producer.
- I can draw arrows that point from the food to the eater.
- I can join two chains into a web and show where decomposers fit.
Preparation and materials
Before this lesson: Students can explain producer, consumer and decomposer, and know arrows point from food to eater (lesson 1).
- A4 scrap paper (each sheet folded and torn or cut into 8 cards) — 26 sheets (2 per pair)
- Scissors — 13
- Pencils — 26
- A3 paper, or two A4 sheets taped together, to stick chains on — 13
- Glue stick or sticky tape — 13
- Source sheet (printed from the lesson, or read on the iPad) — 13
Teacher setup
- Print the source sheet, or have it open on the big screen.
- Write the 15 names on the board: grass, gum leaves, grasshopper, caterpillar, koala, red kangaroo, rabbit, blue-tongue lizard, green tree frog, magpie, kookaburra, dingo, wedge-tailed eagle, fungi, earthworm.
Safety and adaptations
- Carry and use scissors safely.
Review your school policies and curriculum requirements before teaching.
How to investigate
The lesson sequence should leave pupils with evidence to interpret, not only an activity to finish.
- Pairs write the 15 names on small cards.
- Use the source to build three food chains. Each must start with a producer.
- Glue or tape the chains down and draw arrows from food to eater.
- Label each card P (producer), C (consumer) or D (decomposer).
- Join two chains that share a living thing to make a web, then show where the decomposers fit.
Teacher modelling prompt
Build one chain on the big screen from the source: “The source says magpies eat grasshoppers, and grasshoppers eat grass. So: Grass → Grasshopper → Magpie. Grass is the producer, so it goes first. The arrows point to the eater.” Then show how the grasshopper card links to a second chain.
Record and explain evidence
Recording question: Which food chains can we build from Australian living things?
| Food chain (with arrows) | Producer | Consumers | Decomposer that breaks it down |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________________ | ________________ | ________________ | ________________ |
Example recording headings; record actual observations, including inconclusive results.
Discussion prompt
Use your web to decide whose claim has better evidence.
Check understanding
What should pupils know? Why does every food chain start with a producer?
Explain with evidence: Ella drew Dingo → Red kangaroo → Grass. What is wrong, and how would you fix it?
Apply the idea: A wedge-tailed eagle dies in the bush. What happens to its body, and how could that help the grass?
Teacher answer guidance and saved classroom work are available through the main lesson experience where supported.