Food Chains & Food Webs Teaching Resources
Get ready to teach your students the difference between a food web and a food chain, examples of food chains, and more core components of the Australian V9 science curriculum with this teacher-created collection of resources!
From food webs and food chains worksheets to printables that will help your students follow producers, consumers and decomposers through the ecosystem, this curated library of printables and Google Slides templates has been created by teachers for teachers.
Food Chain + Food Web Lesson Planning
Save time on lesson planning with curriculum-aligned teaching slides, vocabulary guides and hands-on activities that can easily be differentiated to meet your students' individual needs.
Moved into a science classroom this year and just getting up to speed? The expert science teachers on the Teach Starter team have put together the answers to some of teachers' most common questions!
What Is the Difference Between Food Web and Food Chain?
By definition, a food chain is an outline of who eats what (or whom!). It follows how energy and nutrients move down one single path within an ecosystem and describes the relationships of the various organisms along the chain. Organisms are broken down into three basic levels along the food chain:
- Producers — The first level of every food chain, producers make their own food.
- Consumers — This level of the food chain can be broken down into herbivores (who eat producers), secondary consumers (who eat herbivores), tertiary consumers (who eat secondary consumers), and predators (who eat other consumers).
- Decomposers — These organisms break down organic waste, turning it into soil that is then used by producers.
A food web, on the other hand, is more complicated than a food chain, just as the name implies. The food web shows a connection between the various food chains in a single ecosystem.
How Do You Teach the Food Chain and Food Webs?
There's a lot to cover in your food chain lesson plans, but here are a few tips to make teaching about the food chain easier — and more fun too!
- Explore food chain vocabulary to start things off.
- Identify producers, consumers, and decomposers right in your school neighbourhood.
- Set up a food web on your classroom floor using masking tape and printed pictures, then allow students to walk the web to see how organisms interconnect.
- Allow students to explore magazines — cutting out images of the various levels of the food chain — then create their own circle of life on a paper plate.
- Download dozens of food chain and food web worksheets and activities from Teach Starter, ready to use in the classroom!
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Environmental Impact Experiment Pack
Observe the effects of soil, salinity, sunlight, and temperature on the growth of plants with an engaging Environmental Impact Experiment.
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Insect Infestation! Habitat Impact Worksheet
Explore the effects of rapid insect population growth in ecosystems with our Insect Infestation Habitat Impact Worksheet.
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Wetlands Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a wetlands food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Ocean Food Web Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this Ocean Food Web Worksheet.
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Tundra Food Web Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Desert Food Web Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Food Chain Imbalance – Worksheet
Predict how changes in a food chain affect species in an ecosystem with this worksheet.
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Food Chains Worksheet
Use this food chain worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
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Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores – Sorting Activity
Determine if animals are omnivores, carnivores, or herbivores based on their diet with this sorting activity.
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Honeybees vs. Environmental Change Worksheets
Explore the effects of environmental change on honeybee populations with a set of printable Environmental Changes Worksheets.
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Where Do We Belong? Humans in Food Chains Worksheet
Explain the human role in the web of life with a printable Humans in Food Chains Worksheet.
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What’s for Dinner? Carnivore, Herbivore, Omnivore Game
Play ‘What’s for Dinner’, a Carnivore, Herbivore, or Omnivore game to explore animal teeth and eating habits.
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Desert Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a desert food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Arctic Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create an Arctic food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Food Chain - Poster
Use this poster to explore the concept of a food chain.
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Bushland Habitat: Predator or Prey? - Worksheet
Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.