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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Science Sparks - Year 4 Science Activities for Fast Finishers
Give your students a little science boost with Science Sparks 4 – our newest set of fast finisher science activities for Year 4!
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Poster
A poster explaining the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain.
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Build a Food Chain - Sorting Activity
Create food chains for a variety of ecosystems with this hands-on, student-centred activity.
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Rainforest Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a rainforest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the role of producers, consumers and decomposers within ecosystems with this comprehension task.
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Producer, Consumer and Decomposer - Sorting Activity
Explore the roles and relationships of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Introduction to Food Chains PowerPoint
Learn about the flow of energy in a food chain with this Food Chains PowerPoint.
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Food Webs vs. Food Chains – Teaching Presentation
Learn about the difference between a food chain and a food web with this 18-slide teaching presentation.
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Forest Food Chain – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a forest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Biome Food Web - Posters
Learn how energy flows through food webs in different biomes with this set of classroom posters.
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Food Chains and Food Webs – Vocabulary Posters
Display this set of science vocabulary posters in your classroom when learning about food chains and food webs.
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Basic Food Chain Worksheet
A basic food chain worksheet for your students to complete.
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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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Food Chain - Poster
Use this poster to explore the concept of a food chain.
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Imbalance in Food Chains – Teaching Presentation
Explore how different factors can cause a break in a food chain and may affect an ecosystem with this 16-slide teaching presentation.
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Food Chains and Food Webs – Vocabulary Booklet
Reinforce science vocabulary by creating a booklet to reference when studying food chains and food webs.
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Food Webs - Research Project
Explore the food webs that exist in various biomes around the world with this student-centred inquiry task.
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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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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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Ocean Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create an ocean 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 Chains - Interactive Activity
Review producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this interactive digital quiz.
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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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Grassland 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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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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Freshwater 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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Forest 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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Bushland Habitat: Predator or Prey? - Worksheet
Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.
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Producers, Consumers and Decomposers – Interactive and Printable Activity
Sort producers, consumers and decomposers, with this cut and paste science worksheet.