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Science at key stage 3    (Year 7)

Unit 7C: Environment and feeding relationships
Section 7: b. What is a feeding relationship?

QCA

Objectives
Children should learn:
  • about characteristics of predator and prey species
  • to join ideas within sentences using links of cause, eg so, because, since
  • that all the organisms in a habitat can be linked together in food webs
  • that food webs are made up of a number of food chains which start with plants
  • that arrows in a food chain represent energy transfer

Activities

Outcomes
Children:
  • Establish by quick questions pupils' understanding from work in key stage 2 of terms related to food chains, eg producer, consumer.
  • Present pupils with stimulus material, eg a habitat poster such as meadowland or woodland, and challenge them to make as many food chains as they can. Ask them to identify producers, consumers, herbivores and carnivores. Explain the direction of the arrows in the food chain and relate to energy transfer, with the Sun as the ultimate source of energy. Ask pupils to write a sentence about each food chain, using links of cause, eg so, because, since.
  • Ask pupils to find examples of animals that occur in more than one food chain and to explain what this shows about their food sources. Show pupils a food web and explain that it is a more accurate representation of feeding relationships.
  • Help pupils use the food chains they have generated to construct a food web for display. Provide pupils with secondary data so they can practise identifying food chains within a food web and constructing food webs from food chains.
  • Establish with pupils that food webs, food chains and terms, eg predator and prey are ways of describing feeding relationships.
  • sort organisms into a food chain
  • explain what is meant by, and identify, carnivore, herbivore, consumer, producer
  • identify food chains within food webs and describe what a food web shows
  • explain the direction of arrows in a food chain, eg energy from the leaves passes to the caterpillar

Points to note
  • In unit 7I 'Energy resources', the idea that food chains show energy transfer is introduced.
  • Food chains may also start with bacteria or fungi. However, at this stage it is acceptable for pupils to be taught that food chains begin with plants.
  • Pupils do not need to be familiar with the term 'trophic level' at this stage.
  • Extension: pupils could be asked to find out about different predators and prey and produce an account of how one of each is adapted.

Sections in this unit

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This unit is divided into sections. Each section contains a sequence of activities with related objectives and outcomes. You can view this unit by moving through the sections or print/download the whole unit.
1. How does the environment influence the animals and plants living in a habitat?
2. a. How do environments vary?
3. b. How do environments vary?
4. c. How do environments vary?
5. Checking progress
6. a. What is a feeding relationship?
7. b. What is a feeding relationship?
8. a. What do food webs tell us?
9. b. What do food webs tell us?
10. c. What do food webs tell us?
11. Reviewing work