Karda Connections Food Webs

Overview

In this outdoor Two Way Science lesson, students use natural materials and movement to build living food webs for karda (ocean) animals on Noongar boodja. They connect energy flow and feeding relationships, and practise explaining what each animal needs to survive.

Learning intentions

• Students will create a simple food web showing how 3 ocean animals are connected.
• Students will describe how food relationships help animals survive (what they need: food and habitat/water).
• Students will use movement/drama to act out who eats whom and how energy moves through the web.
• Students will use Noongar ways of knowing by relating their connections to local Country (with respect and language).

Success criteria

• I can show 3 ocean animals connected in a food web using natural materials or connection cards.
• I can explain (with sentence starters) what each animal needs to survive: food and living place/conditions.
• I can act out feeding relationships safely and respectfully during the movement activity.
• I can identify at least one connection that changes if one animal is removed (teacher prompts).

Curriculum links

• Science — use models, including food webs, to represent matter and energy flow in ecosystems and predict the impact of changing abiotic and biotic factors on populations.
• Science inquiry — represent observations in provided templates and identify patterns with guidance using simple recording sheets and matching cards.
• Living things — identify basic needs of plants and animals, including air, water, food or shelter, and describe how places they live meet those needs.
• Habitats — explain roles and interactions of consumers, producers and decomposers, and how food chains represent feeding relationships, adapted to an age-appropriate 3-node food web model.

Lesson structure (100 minutes)

1. 0–10 min · Welcome, Noongar connection, and focus question. Teacher meets students outside/on Country and shares karda connection story briefly (no long talk), including simple Noongar language: karda (ocean), boodja (land/Country), yarn (story). Students sit in a circle and answer: “What do ocean animals need to live?” with quick show-me gestures (food, water, shelter).

2. 10–25 min · Model demo: food web “connection string”. Teacher shows 3 animal picture cards (choose local examples your school community knows): e.g., seagrass/seaweed (producer), small fish (consumer), dolphin or seabird (top consumer). Students watch as teacher places the cards on the ground and uses string/shell loops to connect “eats” relationships; teacher points out “This arrow means food.”

3. 25–45 min · Build your mini food web (natural materials). Teacher sets up 4–5 stations with natural materials (shells, seaweed-like strips, stones, cardboard “arrows”, connection colour cards). Students work in small groups to build one 3-animal web: place each animal in a “home spot”, then connect with the correct “eats” links and arrows.

4. 45–60 min · Movement food web play (act it out). Teacher assigns roles (3 animal “actors” per group). Students hold the animal card or a headband and stand at their home spot. Teacher calls out actions: “Fish finds food!” then “Big animal eats fish!” Students move along the connection lines while teacher emphasises energy moving through the web: “Food becomes energy for the next living thing.”

5. 60–75 min · Survival needs check (what each animal needs). Teacher gives each student a simple template with three panels (Animal / Food / Living place). Students complete using guided prompts and picture supports; teacher circulates: “What does it eat? Where does it live in karda?” Focus on basic needs: food and suitable living place/water conditions.

6. 75–88 min · “If one is missing…” prediction prompt. Teacher selects one role card and removes it from the web (holds it behind back). Students predict using sentence starters: “If the (animal) is gone, then the (other animal) will…” Teacher keeps predictions concrete and age-appropriate (fewer food options, may move away).

7. 88–100 min · Share-out and closure circle. Each group performs a 20–30 second acted connection showing arrows and one survival need statement. Teacher consolidates: “Karda is connected—food webs link life, and needs help life continue.” Students finish with a quick thumbs check: “Can I show 3 animals connected?”

Resources

• 3–animal picture cards per station (producer/consumer/top consumer), plus 1 set for teacher
• Connection colour cards (e.g., green for eats, blue for home/water, shells/stone “home spots”)
• Natural materials: shells, flat stones, sticks, seaweed strips, cardboard arrow shapes
• Headbands or lanyard animal signs for movement roles
• Simple recording template (3 panels: Animal / Food / Living place)
• Sentence starter cards with pictures
• Marking tape/chalk or natural boundaries for “home spots” and connection lines
• First aid kit and sun protection items (cap, sunscreen)
• Water bottle station and bathroom plan for “on Country” time

Assessment

• Teacher observation checklist during station building: correct linking of 3 animals and arrows/“eats” meaning.
• Template review: students identify food and living place for each animal using picture supports.
• Movement check: student can physically follow the connection (who eats whom) and state one survival need.

Differentiation

• Kinesthetic support: roles, movement lines, and acting out feeding relationships are built in for all students.
• Visual scaffolds: connection cards with colour coding and large arrows; animal cards with photos/illustrations.
• Language support: sentence starters (“It needs…”, “It eats…”, “It lives…”) and word bank: karda, boodja, food.
• Additional support: reduce to fewer connections (e.g., 2 animals) for students who need it; use guided teacher-led linking.
• Extension for advanced students: add a 2nd food chain link (optional extra arrow card) showing another possible eater, and explain one additional survival need (e.g., shelter in seagrass).