Science KS1: The food chain
This short film for KS1 pupils describes food chains, explaining what consumers and producers are, and what can happen if a food chain is disrupted.
It explores common food chains and explores how the ‘circle of life’ operates in nature.
It looks at what happens if one part of a food chain is taken away, and also explains the position of humans in the food chain.
Teacher Notes
This short film is an ideal tool to help pupils to explore what a food chain is and how essential they are to life on the planet.
From this film, pupils can explore and develop their own food chains to show local plants and animals become consumers and producers.
They can also look at what happens to a food chain should an element of this be removed.
Points for discussion:
· What is a food chain?
· Where do humans fit into food chains?
· What is a producer?
· What is a consumer?
· What happens if you remove part of a food chain?
Suggested activities:
After watching this short film, you could work with pupils to investigate the role of food chains in our lives and how these can change rapidly.
They can develop their own food chain diagrams to explore local producers and consumers and also how quantities of each may change as you move up through the food chain.
Pupils can explore photographs or diagrams of eco-systems and then develop their own food chains to show what happens in each.
They can consider how these eco-systems would change should one element be removed, and what this would do to the animals above the removed element.
Curriculum Notes
This short film is relevant for teaching science at KS1 in England and Wales, Foundation and KS1 in Northern Ireland and Early and 1st Level in Scotland.