Food and Feeding

• Green plants make their own food (PHOTOSYNTHESIS).
• They use water and the gas carbon dioxide from the air to build their branches.
• and stems as well as energy from the sunlight.
• Animals need food in order to carry out their life processes (growing, feeding).
• moving, excreting, reproducing, breathing, and sensing the environment.
• All animals depend on plants as their primary (most important) food source:
  • Herbivores.
  • Carnivores.
  • Omnivores.
• A FOOD CHAIN describes the feeding relationship between animals and plants.
• A Food Chain:
  • Starts with a plant (produces food).
  • An animal eats the plant..
  • Another animal eats that animal
  • The transfer of energy that flows from the plant to the very last animal in the.
  • Food Chain is included.

• Greet the learners.
• Divide the learners into pairs.
• Each pair is given ten paperclips (two different colours).
• They must join these paperclips to form a circle.
• Each row of learners can join their paperclip circles using a third colour paperclip.
• All the rows now join up using a fourth colour until the entire class’s strings are joined in an interesting pattern.
• This can be hung from the wall or ceiling as a decoration.
• Tell the learners that the different colours on their decoration represent the different plants and animals in a Food Chain.

• Ask learners the following questions:
  • What do we breathe out? (Carbon dioxide).
  • What do plants release into the air? (Oxygen).
  • Do all the animals eat only grass? Give a reason. (No, some eat other animals and some eat plants and animals).
  • Name a few vegetables that are green. (Spinach, peas, lettuce, cabbage, green beans, etc.).
  • Who does NOT eat green vegetables? They must give reasons.
• Explain to the learners what PRIMARY and SECONDARY consumers are before showing the PowerPoint on Food Chains:
  • Primary consumers : usually herbivores, feeding on plants and fungus.
  • Secondary consumers : mainly carnivores that prey on other animals and omnivores that feed on both plants and animals.
• Show Presentation 1.
• Ask learners to look at the slides so that they will be able to give the definition of a food chain and photosynthesis.
• Show Video Clip 1. This is an interactive game which shows the process of photosynthesis.
• Ask learners to provide a definition of a food chain and to explain the meaning of “photosynthesis” in their own words.

• Divide the learners into groups of about 6.
• Place a number of animal names in a sealed container.
• Let each group draw one animal name from the container (the other groups may not see the name!).
• Let the groups secretly discuss the characteristics, movements, etc. of their animal for five minutes.
• One person from each group then stands in front of the class and acts out the movements and characteristics of their animal (NO WORDS OR SOUNDS MAY BE USED) while the other groups try to guess which animal it is.

• Show Presentation 2.
• Tell the learners that they will look at slides in which food chains are depicted with arrows and pictures.

• The learners are instructed to work in pairs and jot down the different food chains on the slides.
• They are expected to have 3 food chains.
• Encourage the learners to see how many food chains they can observe on slide 4 [there are 6 food chains].

Answers:

• Slide 1 : dead plant  →  worm  →  turtle  →  eagle

• Slide 2 : green grass →  locust  →  mouse  →  snake  →  bird → decomposer → 

• nutrients for green grass

• Slide 4 : wildflower  →  rabbit    →  hawk
  • wildflower →  rabbit    →  snake   →  hawk
  • wildflower →  mouse   →  snake   →  hawk
  • grass →  rabbit     →   hawk
  • grass →  rabbit     →   snake  →  hawk
  • grass →  mouse   →    snake  →  hawk

• Inform the learners that they will watch a video clip about a food chain followed by an interactive game.
• They will have to complete a worksheet after the video clip.
• Show Video Clip 2 (02:24 minutes).   .  The video clip shows how a food chain works and includes an interactive game.

• Hand out Worksheet A for learners to complete.
• Go through the answers with the learners afterwards.

• Inform the learners that they had already heard about the different types of animals.
• The learners are also told that the definitions of the words in the slide are important.
• They will watch the slide in Presentation 3 before they complete the next worksheet.
• Show the slide and ask learners to explain the meaning of omnivores, herbivores, decomposers and carnivores.
• This work was already covered and they also give examples of each type of animal.
• Show Video Clip 3 (2:49 minutes). 

The food chain song will help learners understand how a food chain works.

• Hand out Worksheet B for learners to complete.
• Go through the answers with the learners afterwards.

• Have pictures of a mouse, grass, an owl, and a grasshopper.
• A volunteer in the classroom is asked to place it in the correct food chain sequence.
• Give a plastic (toy) mouse, grass, an owl, and a grasshopper to another volunteer to place it in the correct food chain sequence.
• Request that the other learners must not shout out if the animals are placed in the wrong sequence.
• Ask appropriate questions.

• Show and explain Presentation 4.

• Hand out Worksheet C for learners to complete.
• Go through the answers with the learners afterwards.

• Learners complete Quiz 1.