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 elementary school 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 instructional slide decks, vocabulary guides, and 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 neighborhood.
- Set up a food web on your classroom floor using painter's 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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Food Webs - Research Project
Explore the food webs that exist in various biomes around the world with this student-centered inquiry task.
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Food Chains – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
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Insect Investigation - Research Task
Explore insect life cycles and food chains with this research task.
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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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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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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-centered activity.
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Swamp Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a swamp 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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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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Food Chains - Interactive Activity
Review producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this interactive digital quiz.
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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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Ocean Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste 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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Grassland Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste 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 Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste 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 Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste 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 Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste 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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Biome Food Web - Anchor Charts
Learn how energy flows through food webs in different biomes with this set of classroom anchor charts.
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Forest Biome 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 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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Predator or Prey? Forest Animals – Worksheet
Sort animals according to whether they are classified as predators, prey, or both with this worksheet.
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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 Chains & 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 Chains & 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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Food Webs vs. Food Chains – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn the difference between a food chain and a food web with this 18-slide instructional slide deck.
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Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers – Interactive and Printable Activity
Sort producers, consumers, and decomposers, with this printable and interactive activity.
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Food Chains – Teaching Presentation
Learn about the flow of energy in a food chain with this 12-slide teaching presentation.
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Food Chain Poster
A poster to display in the classroom that shows the food chain.
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Basic Food Chain Worksheet
A basic food chain worksheet for your students to complete.