Free Homeschool Science Lesson Plan – Predator Vs Prey
This science lesson will give your child a peek into the predator and prey way of life. I recommend that you present this lesson plan after using my previous lesson plan Free Homeschool Science Lesson Plan - Food Chain of the Animal Kingdom.
By helping your child understand the animal food chain, you will reduce some of the impact associated with animals hunting and killing for food.
Group Reading
A predator is any animal that hunts other animals, insects, or bugs for the sole purpose of food. Prey, on the other hand, is the animal, insect, or bug that is hunted. For example, cats hunt mice. In this scenario, the cat is a predator, and the mouse is the prey.
The mouse slips silently under the table. He found some crumbs a human left behind from their morning toast. The human’s pet cat sees the mouse and slowly closes in on it. Since the mouse is busy enjoying his toast crumbs, he doesn’t hear the cat coming.
The cat slowly works his way up to the mouse, close enough to be within pouncing distance. He waits for the perfect time when the mouse is completely occupied. When he has a chance, he pounces on the mouse.
Did the cat hunt the mouse to be mean? No, cats hunt mice for food, even if a human feeds them.
Just like the mouse was the cat’s prey, some animals prey on cats too. Just because an animal is a predator in one situation, does not mean he won’t be the prey in the next.
Question and Answer Session
Now that you have explained predator vs. Prey, let your child ask questions. If you need to, research the answers together online.
Predator VS. Prey - Art Project
Of course, no science lesson plan would be complete without an art project. Your child will enjoy the experience, and you may even like it too.
Materials:
- 1 Pencil per child
- Box of colored pencils
- 12x7 Sheet of white construction paper
Directions
After you have passed out the materials, instruct your children to draw a food chain that features predator vs. prey. Their food chain should include at least 5 animals and they must be in an order that shows the link in predator vs. prey. Have your child connect them using lines or arrows.
Have your child write the name of each animal below it, so there is no mistake later about what the animals are. Ager this is complete, have your children color the animals using accurate color representation.
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The reading for this and the previous lesson appear to have been deleted.