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Food Chain Game
BROWARD COUNTY ELEMENTARY SCIENCE BENCHMARK PLAN
Grade 3—Quarter 4
Activity 38
SC.B.1.2.1
The student knows how to trace the flow of energy in a system (e.g., as in an ecosystem).
SC.B.2.2.1
The student knows that some source of energy is needed for organisms to stay alive and
grow.
SC.F.1.2.2
The student knows how all animals depend on plants.
SC.G.1.2.1
The student knows ways that plants, animals, and protists interact.
SC.G.1.2.2
The student knows that living things compete in a climatic region with other living things
and that structural adaptations make them fit for an environment.
SC.H.1.2.3
The student knows that to work collaboratively, all team members should be free to reach,
explain, and justify their own individual conclusions.
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SC.H.1.2.5
The student knows that a model of something is different from the real thing but can be
used to learn something about the real thing.
ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The following suggestions are intended to help identify major concepts covered in the activity
that may need extra reinforcement. The goal is to provide opportunities to assess student
progress without creating the need for a separate, formal assessment session (or activity) for
each of the 40 hands-on activities at this grade level.
1. Ask students to identify the role of each of these items in the Food Chain game.
a. the popcorn (producers, plants.)
b. a cricket (A cricket is a consumer when it eats producers, but it can also be prey
when it is eaten by an anole.)
c. an anole (An anole is a predator, but because it can be eaten by an owl, it is
also prey.)
d. an owl (The owl is the top predator in this food chain.)
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After evaluating these roles, ask students if they think this game is another example of a
scientific model and to explain why. (Yes, it is a model. It is not the real thing, but it helped
us study how a real food chain works.)
2. Use the Activity Sheet(s) to assess student understanding of the major concepts in the
activity.
394
activity 38 Food Chain Game
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In addition to the above assessment suggestions, the questions in bold and tasks that
students perform throughout the activity provide opportunities to identify areas that may
require additional review before proceeding further with the activity.
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Food Chain Game
OBJECTIVES
1
1 bag
1 roll
1 ball
Students play a game that simulates the
dynamics of a food chain. By acting the
roles of different members of the food
chain, students come to understand food
chain relationships more clearly.
The students
act out feeding relationships between
crickets, anoles, and owls
discuss how it feels to be the prey or the
predator
compare simulated food chain
relationships with real ones
SCHEDULE
*provided by the teacher
PREPARATION
1
2
3
About 50 minutes
VOCABULARY
predator
prey
4
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5
MATERIALS
marker*
popcorn
tape, masking
yarn
Delta Science Reader Food Chains
and Webs
Arrange to have the use of the playground
or gymnasium for the game.
Make a copy of Activity Sheet 38 for each
student.
Label eighteen index cards cricket,
nine index cards anole, and five index
cards owl. Punch a hole in the the top
corners of each card, as shown in Figure
38-1. Have students use crayons to color
the cricket cards yellow, the anole cards
blue, and the owl cards red, to make them
easier to distinguish.
Pop two large bowls of popcorn.
Cut a piece of yarn 1 m (about 3 ft) long
for each student.
For each student
1
1
Activity Sheet 38
bag, plastic, reclosable,
15 cm × 15 cm
For the class
1
1
32
chart, Food Chain Game
crayons, red, blue, and yellow*
hole punch*
index cards
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In real life, it is often difficult to observe all
the feeding relationships of a community. In
this activity, students assume the roles of the
animals they have been studying and
simulate their feeding behavior in a game of
food-chain tag (see Figure 38-1). In doing so,
they gain a deeper understanding of the
interactions that define a food chain.
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The term predator refers to an animal that
hunts and eats other animals, while prey is
the term for the animal that is hunted and
eaten. In this game of food-chain tag, the
owls will try to “eat” (tag) the anoles, the
anoles will try to “eat” (tag) the crickets, and
the crickets will “eat” (collect) the popcorn
(representing grass and seeds). The object of
the game is for each animal to get something
to eat before being eaten by a predator.
Activity Sheet 38
Food Chain Game
Answers will vary.
1. Which animals did you play during the game?
Answer the following questions for any animals that you played:
2. What was easy about being
a. a cricket?
b. an anole?
c.
an owl?
3. What was hard about being
a. a cricket?
b. an anole?
In this simulation, there are about twice as
many crickets as anoles and about twice as
many anoles as owls. In nature, there are
always many fewer predators than the animals
they prey upon, because it takes many prey
animals to support each predator. (Actually,
this difference is closer to a ratio of 10-to-1
than 2-to-1). If your class size is smaller than
the 32 students indicated, be sure to keep the
ratios of predators to prey similar.
c.
an owl?
4. Did you find any food when you were
a. a cricket?
b. an anole?
c.
an owl?
5. Did you get eaten as food when you were
a. a cricket?
b. an anole?
6. Can you think of anything that would make your life easier if you were really
any of these animals? What?
7. Which of these animals would you choose to be? Why?
Guiding the Activity
1
Review food chain relationships by writing
grass, cricket, anole, and owl on the board
and asking, How can we make a food chain
out of these plants and animals?
Additional Information
by drawing arrows between grass and cricket,
cricket and anole, and anole and owl
Write prey on the board and explain that prey
is a term for animals that are eaten by
other animals.
2
396
Some students may realize that many prey
are also secondary consumers.
Distribute a “name tag” and a piece of yarn
to each student. Have the students tie the
yarn through the holes in the name tags.
This will allow them to hang the name tags
around their necks during the game.
Tell students that they will be playing a
food chain tag game, and explain the rules
of the game.
Popcorn is scattered on the playing area to
represent food for the crickets. Eighteen
students will play crickets, nine students will
play anoles, and five students will play owls.
activity 38 Food Chain Game
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Write predator on the board and explain that
predator is the term for an animal that hunts
and eats another animal.
Guiding the Activity
Additional Information
The purpose of the game is for each animal to
tag the kind of animal it eats. When a student
is tagged, she or he must give her or his
name tag and popcorn to the tagger, and go
to the “time-out” area. There will also be a
“safe” area in the game for students to rest
while still playing.
3
Remind the students to bring their name tags,
then take students to the area where you will
play the game. Take along the popped
popcorn, masking tape, the Food Chain Game
chart, the plastic bags, and a marker.
When you are in the location where the game
will be played, tape the Food Chain Game
chart to a nearby wall.
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Scatter popcorn over the playing area (see
Figure 38-1).
Note: Tell students not to eat the
popcorn under any circumstances.
Figure 38-1. Students playing the Food Chain Game.
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Guiding the Activity
Additional Information
Explain that the safe area is similar to the
hideouts and shelters that the real animals
use.
Designate a “safe” area. Explain to students
that they may only stay in the safe area for 20
seconds at a time, and that predators must
stay five steps away from the safe area.
This will prevent students from being tagged
just as they emerge from the safe area.
Designate a “time-out” area and explain that
any student that is tagged must go to the
time-out area and stay there until that round
of the game is completed.
Crickets will collect popcorn in their bags;
anoles will try to tag crickets; owls will try to
tag anoles. When students are tagged, they
will give any popcorn they have and their
name tag to the one who tagged them and
go to the time-out area.
Have students put their name tags around
their necks, if they have not already done so.
Tell them that they must wait to begin until
their animal name is called. Review the rules
of the game.
4
Give each student a plastic bag and start the
game by saying, “Crickets can begin!” After
about 30 seconds, say, “Anoles can begin!”
Then in another 30 seconds say, “Owls can
begin!”
Play the game for 5–10 minutes, then call a
break. Take a census of which animals remain
in the game, and record this information on
the game chart on the wall (see Figure 38-2).
Wait to discuss the results until after all three
rounds are completed.
Food Chain Game
398
Begin
Crickets
18
Anoles
9
Owls
5
Game 2
Begin
Crickets
18
Anoles
9
Owls
5
Game 3
Begin
Crickets
18
Anoles
9
Owls
5
Figure 38-2. The game chart.
activity 38 Food Chain Game
End
End
End
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Game 1
Guiding the Activity
Have students scatter the popcorn back over
the playing area, redistribute the name tags,
and repeat the game twice more.
5
Additional Information
Encourage students to play different animal
roles in the different rounds.
Take the chart down, return to the classroom,
and tape the chart to the board. Distribute a
copy of Activity Sheet 38 to each student
and allow time for all students to answer all
of the questions.
Review the terms predator and prey by
asking, Which animals in this game were
predators? Which were prey?
The owls and the anoles were predators, and
the anoles and the crickets were both prey.
Lead a discussion by asking, What was it like
to be a cricket or an anole?
Both the crickets and the anoles had the
challenge of finding food while trying to stay
away from their predators.
Ask, What was it like being an owl?
As the top predator, owls did not have to
worry about anything hunting them, but they
had less available food than the crickets and
the anoles.
Ask, What helped each kind of animal be
successful?
Students will probably say it was helpful to
be fast, to be able to change directions
quickly, and to have a place to hide (the
safe area).
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Point out to students that these same things
are useful for real animals.
6
Ask, How could we change the game to
make it more like real life?
Students may realize that being able to
camouflage themselves like the anoles or
hide under leaves like the crickets would be
helpful to their survival.
Ask, Were all the animals in any one group
eaten?
It is unlikely this would happen, since the
game is set up with more of each type of prey
than predator.
Ask, What would happen in real life if all
the prey animals were eaten?
Eventually, the predators would suffer from
hunger because of lack of food. They might
even starve to death, if their diet consisted of
only one type of prey.
Tell students that in nature there are usually
many more prey animals than predator
animals, and just as in the game, it is very
rare that all the prey animals are eaten.
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Guiding the Activity
As appropriate, read or review pages 4–9 of
the Delta Science Reader Food Chains and
Webs.
REINFORCEMENT
Play the game with plants, and primary,
secondary, and tertiary consumers typical to
your region. For example, you might play the
game with hawks, snakes, mice, and seeds,
or with foxes, birds, butterflies, and flowers.
Scatter the popcorn in an appropriate place
outside for wild birds to eat. Have students
observe what happens and discuss the food
chain involved.
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activity 38 Food Chain Game
SCIENCE JOURNALS
Have students place their completed
activity sheets in their science journals.
CLEANUP
Have students empty the popcorn out of
the plastic bags and return the bags to the
kit, along with the masking tape and name
tags. Recycle or dispose of the Food Chain
Game chart.
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7
Additional Information
Connections
Science Challenge
Ask students whether earthworms could
have been included in the food chain
game. (Yes. Some owls eat earthworms,
and an anole might eat an earthworm if it
were small enough and above ground so
the anole could catch it.) Would the food
chain be longer if earthworms were added
to the game? (No. Earthworms would be in
a separate food chain with an owl and/or
an anole. Crickets and grass would not be
part of that food chain.)
Ask students to find out what other
animals eat earthworms. (Earthworm
predators include other birds, other
lizards, frogs, toads, snakes, skunks, and
rats.) Have students suggest food chains
that include these animals as well as
earthworms and owls.
Science Extension
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Write the terms herbivore, carnivore,
omnivore, and scavenger on the board.
Explain that herbivores are animals that
eat only plants and plant products. Which
type of consumer in a food chain are
herbivores? (primary consumers)
Carnivores are meat-eaters—animals that
eat other living animals, including worms,
insects, and other types of animals that we
may not think of as “meat.” What type of
consumer in a food chain are carnivores?
(secondary consumers or higher)
Omnivores are animals that eat both plants
and their products and other animals.
What type of consumer in a food chain are
omnivores? (primary consumers when they
eat plants and their products; secondary or
higher consumers when they eat other
animals) Scavengers are animals that eat
dead animals. Where do scavengers
belong in a food chain? (Scavengers could
be considered secondary or higher
consumers or could be grouped with
decomposers.) Ask students to research
and identify examples of herbivores,
carnivores, omnivores, and scavengers.
Make sure students understand that an
animal may be both a carnivore or omnivore
and a scavenger, depending on how it
obtained a particular food. For example,
hyenas are often named as a major example
of scavengers, since they eat the remains of
kills made by lions or other hunters.
However, hyenas are also skillful hunters
themselves. When they hunt and kill other
animals, hyenas are carnivores.
Science and Health
Tell students that humans are often named as
an example of omnivores, but this is not
entirely accurate. For a variety of reasons,
many people choose not to eat meat or other
animal foods. Such people are called
vegetarians. Ask students to find out about
different types of vegetarian diets and
whether such diets are healthy. (Strict
vegetarians eat no animal foods of any kind.
Other vegetarians eat fish, poultry, eggs, and
dairy products but do not eat red meat.
Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat eggs, milk, and
milk products but do not eat red meat, fish,
or poultry. Vegetarian diets are healthy so
long as they contain all essential nutrients,
including complementary proteins and
vitamin B12, which is ordinarily found only in
animal products. A vegetarian diet is low in
fat, so vegetarians are less likely to be
overweight or to develop diseases associated
with high fat consumption.)
Science and Language Arts
Ask students to use a dictionary to find out
where the words herbivore, carnivore, and
omnivore come from. (From the Latin herba,
meaning “grass”; carn, “flesh”; omni, “all”;
and vorus, “to devour,” thus “feeding on.”)
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activity 38 Food Chain Game