Free Homeschool Science Lesson Plan - Animal Kingdom Food Chain

The animal kingdom food chain is a fascinating, and slightly gross concept for children to learn. Even though they say ewww about animals eating other animals, they will still find the concept intriguing.

This is a two day lesson plan so children have a chance to research the topic on their own, and bring information back to the discussion table that they found intriguing. It also gives you the chance to research answers your children ask you after the group reading segment.

Day 1 outlines the food chain and different animals that work together to form it. Children will most likely have a lot of questions about various aspects of this natural sequence. By splitting the lesson into two days, you give your child time to really absorb the information.

Day 2 gives your child a chance to create an art project to show what they have learned about the food chain.

Day 1 of 2

For day one, you should read this passage to your child. Print out a copy of the reading material so they can follow along with you.

Group Reading

When you think of animals, a lot of furry creatures comes to mind. There are a lot of animals that work together so that they can survive. For example, lions live in in prides. They do this because the male lions protect the female lions, and the female lions hunt to make sure the pack eats.

When you think of animals working together, the lion’s pride may be what you initially consider. However, every animal alive depends on the existence of smaller animals or plant life to survive. The animal kingdom food chain starts with the smallest animals and leads up to the largest animal on the planet.

Usually, the smallest animals in the food chain do not eat other animals, but there are a few exceptions. Most small animals eat seeds, vegetables, fruit, and nuts. These animals are considered herbivores, because they only eat plant life.

If an animal is not a herbivore, they are an omnivore or a carnivore. A carnivore is an animal that eats only meat, which would be other animals. An omnivore eats from plant life and animal life. Most humans are omnivores, unless they have chosen to follow a vegan diet.

The animal kingdom food chain starts off with small animals, like squirrels and mice. These animal are herbivores. The next animal in the chain will be either a carnivore or an omnivore. Snakes are carnivores, and they are well known for eating mice and squirrels.

After the snake eats the mouse, a hedgehog has the snake for a snack, which they are well known for. Another animal in this food chain would be something that eats hedgehog, like a hawk. When the hawk eats the hedgehog, he carries on the food chain. After the hawk eats the snake, something bigger can eat him.

For example, fox love to catch and eat birds, so the fox eats the hawk. If the fox does not pay attention, he could be eaten by a leopard. You would think this is where the food chain ends, right? No, there are animals known to hunt leopards, like hyenas. This cycle goes on continuously, and it is called the food chain of the animal kingdom.

Day 2 of 2

The second day of this lesson plan involves a little creativity from your child. They will need to research the eating habits of different animals and create an animal kingdom food chain of their own.

Materials

• 1 - 12 x 7 sheet of construction paper per child
• Glue stick
• Crayons
• Pencil
• Washable markers
• Colored pencils
• Scissors
• Printed pictures of different animals throughout the food chain

Directions

Have your child cut around each animal. They can cut around them in a circle or a square, depending on how they want their food chain to look. Fold the sheet in thirds, like a tri-fold flyer. This will make 3 columns.

Have your child label the top of each column placing one of the following terms in each column:

• Herbivore
• Carnivore
• Omnivore

Using the glue stick, have your child glue the animal cut outs into the right column.

This activity helps to reinforce your child’s knowledge of what animals eat, and where they fall in the food chain.

Example of an Animal Kingdom Food Chain

Now that you have completed this Free Lesson Plan on the Food Chain of the Animal Kingdom, Your child will be ready to move on the the next lesson, Free Homeschool Science Lesson Plan – Predator Vs Prey. (Link will not be LIVE until tomorrow, Aug 28^th.)

Please share this lesson plan on Pinterest!