Today’s Walking Classroom podcast talks about the food chain, which is made up of producers and consumers. Each level depends on the next for energy to maintain a natural balance. When one level of the food chain is destroyed, things fall apart. Entire species of animals can die out from hunger because their food source has disappeared or become overpopulated because there is no longer a predator to hunt them.
Character Value: Respecting Nature
Click for Standards Alignment
Common Core
L–Language | SL–Speaking and Listening | RI–Reading: Informational | RL–Reading: Literature | W–Writing | RH–6-8 Literacy in History/Social Studies | RST–6-8 Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Elementary School:RI.3.1, RI.3.2, RI.3.3, SL.3.1, SL.3.4
RI.4.1, RI.4.2, RI.4.3, SL.4.1, SL.4.4
RI.5.1, RI.5.2, RI.5.3, SL.5.1, SL.5.4
Middle School:
RI.6.1, RI.6.2, RI.6.3, SL.6.1, SL.6.4
RI.7.1, RI.7.2, RI.7.3, SL.7.1, SL.7.4
RI.8.1, RI.8.2, RI.8.3, SL.8.1, SL.8.4
RST.6-8.4
Next Generation Science Standards
PS–Physical Science | LS–Life Science | ESS–Earth and Space Science | ETS–Engineering, Technology and the Application of Science Elementary School: 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1Middle School: MS-LS2-1, MS-LS2-2, MS-LS2-3
Supplemental Resource Links and Downloads
Quiz: (Make sure you're already logged into your Gmail account, then click to copy this Google form to your Google Drive. Quiz keys are here.)
Food Chains Google Quiz
Slide Deck:
Food Chains Slide Deck
Explains how carniverous plants work.
Explains how humans are only a few steps away on the food chain from “dead stuff” like rotting organisms, pond, and pond scum.
Has an overview of plants, herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores.
Includes an overview of habitats, ecosystems, and food webs with animation.
Uses animation to discuss food chains.
Participate in a two-part virtual field trip to the aquarium, and discover food chains and the role of decomposers in the Belle Isle ecosystem.
Test knowledge about food chains with this quick interactive quiz from Scholastic’s Study Jams.
Create an accurate food web for a given ecosystem in this Better Lesson activity.
Test knowledge with this free worksheet from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service.
Investigate the organisms and relationships in food chains in this activity from Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom.
See More Podcasts in Subject Area: Science
See More Themed Groupings that Contain this Podcast: Life Science, The Environment