Food Chain Cards

Name:

Date:

🎯 WALT (We Are Learning To)

Understand how animals and plants depend on each other for food

Success Criteria:

✓ I can name different animals and plants
✓ I can show what eats what
✓ I can put animals in order from small to big eaters

🃏 Food Chain Cards Activity

1. Cut out these food chain cards. Put them in order from what gets eaten first to what eats everything else.

☀️ SUN
Gives energy to plants

🌱 GRASS
Gets energy from the sun

🐰 RABBIT
Eats grass and plants

🦊 FOX
Eats rabbits and other animals

2. Draw arrows to show what eats what:

3. Circle the right answer: What do rabbits eat?

Other rabbits

Grass and plants

Foxes

4. What would happen if there were no rabbits? Tick all that might happen:

More grass would grow

Foxes might get hungry

The sun would stop shining

🌟 Teacher's Scaffolding Script

Discussion Prompts:

Starting Questions:
• "What do you like to eat for lunch?"
• "What do you think a rabbit eats?"
• "Have you seen animals eating in your garden?"

Building Understanding:
• "Let's look at our cards. Which one needs the sun?"
• "What eats the grass? How do you know?"
• "What might eat the rabbit?"

Extension Questions:
• "What other animals could we add to our chain?"
• "What happens to animals when they die?" (decomposers)

🎯 Differentiation Strategies:

Support for Struggling Learners:
• Use picture cards only (no words)
• Work in pairs with a buddy
• Use real photos instead of drawings

Extension for Advanced Learners:
• Create their own food chain with 5+ animals
• Research New Zealand native food chains
• Draw a food web showing multiple connections

Teacher Assessment: Student can arrange cards correctly

Independently

With support

Needs more practice